Since the official rollout of PlayStation 4 (PS4) in the United States and Canada last month, the game console has been achieving one milestone after milestone. After notching one million sales within 24 hours of its debut in the U.S. and setting a sales record of 250,000 units sold in 48 hours of its launch in the UK, PlayStation 4 has set yet another record - per Sony, gamers worldwide have purchased over 2.1 million units of the game console as of December 1.
The gaming industry has been monitoring the head-to-head competition between the PS4 and Microsoft's Xbox One that also broke the one million mark on its first day of sale. And, so far, it seems Sony is ahead in the game.
"It's an impressive and record-setting accomplishment for our company and for our industry, and we couldn't have done it without you. I want to personally thank PlayStation fans, both old and new, for your vote of confidence. The best part: the PS4 journey has just begun. In addition to an incredible lineup of PS4 games from the best developers in the world, we will continue to introduce valuable new features and services to PS4 in the months and years ahead," Sony Computer Entertainment President and Group Chief Executive Andrew House said through the official PlayStation blog.
"While PS4's capabilities will continue to evolve, our commitment to gamers and breakthrough entertainment remains steadfast. We believe that videogames represent the pinnacle of artistry and entertainment, and we will work tirelessly to make sure that PlayStation remains the best place to play," House added.
Sony reported through a press statement that it sold 700,000 units of PS4 in Europe and Australasia when it launched in those markets on November 29. There are 20 games available for the PS4 at the moment, including popular titles such as "Call of Duty: Ghosts," "NBA 2K14," "Killzone: Shadow Fall," and "Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag."
The PS4 is selling for $399 in the U.S. compared to Xbox One, which has a sticker price of $499.
"A lower price than Microsoft's Xbox One is probably helping boost sales of the PS4. PS4 sales will certainly help Sony," Japan-based Mito Securities analyst Keita Wakabayashi told Bloomberg Businessweek.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has not yet released official sales figures of its latest gaming hardware since its launch, but terms such as "50 million hours in games and entertainment," "over 3 billion zombies killed in 'Dead Rising 3," and "90 million miles driven in 'Forza Motorsport 5," used by Microsoft is a good indication that the console is no pushover. The Xbox One is now being sold in 13 countries.
