What Sony's '4.2 Million PS4s Sold' Figure Actually Means

At CES today Sony announced that 4.2 million PlayStation 4s have been sold worldwide. This is an extremely impressive sales figure, but how does it compare to the Xbox One or Wii U? How much faster are the new consoles selling than their predecessors?

[pwnsause_returns]

it means that sony will achieve 5 million easily when it launches in Japan.

[GarrusVakarian]

It's probably already close to 5 mil due to the fact that 4.2 is as of the 28th of December 2013. They will most definitely hit 5 mil before the Japanese launch.

[scott182]

The thing isn't even in stock and it's no. 2 on amazon us. It's seriously a monster. It's selling at a low of $499.99 right now, and still doing good...

http://www.amazon.com/best-...

[mikeslemonade]

Now there you go for the Nintendo fans that kept saying the WiiU sold 3.06 million units from November 18(launch date)- December 31st 2012.

"Lastly, the Wii U may have struggled in 2013, but it actually launched very strong. 1.53 million consoles were sold in the US and Japan in around the first six weeks of availability."

And once again in no shape or form will the xbox one will even reach close to 80+ million units. Anyone who can actually think would be able to tell you that.

[ThePope]

@ Mikeslemon

Based on what? I'm in sales, very successful, and I can't tell you what the product I have been selling for 6 years will do in 2014 let along lifetime. I get it you're a Sony fan boy sheep, but don't make stupid comments, and say only intelligent people will understand.

@Scott182 Sony IMO has done a very good job of convincing people that they can't find one (if that’s indeed true) because they sell out so fast. Have you considered that they either A. Make them too slow, or B. They are artificially keeping stocks low to drive artificial demand?

[Cupid_Viper_3]

@ Pope

How do I put this nicely?

That was an incredibly idiotic assumption given how the video game market works when it comes to early sales and install base.

[scott182]

@ThePope

It will all be ok. Get some sleep, take vitamins and breath deeply. The bad Sony conspiracy will go away.

[ThePope]

@Cupid

In what way? Business is business.

The Videogame market is no different. Ever ask yourself why diamonds cost so much? It's not because they’re really hard to find. It’s that the market is very tightly controlled. Same with oil, exprensive cars, etc. Now if they're keeping stock low, they wont always, but the positive press is sure good for them...

[Bathyj]

Bottom line Pope, is less sales is less sales. I dont think Sony is holding back stock to drive demand, they would want to extend that lead as much as possible while launch fever is still on.

Besides, a recent article I read showed PS4 had over 3x more stock sold on Amazon (at that particular time) and it actually has more units moved in every territory. How are they holding back stock if its selling significantly more? By your rational Sony much be able to produce consoles way quicker than Microsoft in order to actually have the stock to withhold.

[ThePope]

@BATHYJ

Sony Doesn't have 3X the number of units sold. So how would the PS4 sell 3X more than the Xbox One? Is it that Sony buyers buy on Amazon and One buyers buy at Best Buy? Or is that number wrong? Do you see the logic there?

Sales are sales, you're right. But the PS4 is sold in twice as many territories (yes not Japan) and have 25% more units sold. So is that a victory? In sheer numbers yes. But when you look at the whole picture, while again still more, it's less impressive.

I'm not saying Sony IS for sure holding back stock but they haven't sold that many more, and from the sounds of it you can find an Xbox if you look for one.

So Here's the math:

According to the Pach Attack, each company can make 1 million units a month. Production started in August so to date 5 million of each have been made. Where are the other million PS4's???

[Cupid_Viper_3]

@ Pope

You say that you're in sales but you're doing a poor job of demonstrating it. Sony's financial situation requires them to sale more than consoles than Microsoft and Nintendo. Their investors are counting in them to show actual numbers to prove that they're indeed back to dominating the console market, especially given that the PS Vita didn't quite meet expectations.

Holding out on stock to create a fake demand would be the least logical thing for Sony to do given how much they invested in marketing the PS4 and making sure that it is selling for $100.00 less than its direct completion.

Secondly, the 4.2 million units sold through throws away your argument. If you work in sales, you're automatically aware of how difficult it is to manufacture 4 million units of anything, in 3-4 months time.

Lastly if Sony is holding back stock yet selling 4.2 million in 43 days, then Microsoft are in deeper trouble than we assumed originally. Because that would technically mean that Sony's plans worked, and they have artifially created a demand, and they actually now have some 2-4 million consoles ready to be shipped at any moment's notice, effectively doubling their install base to 8 million units anytime they want.

And regarding diamonds, you have no idea what you speak of.

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

@ThePope

***"Sony IMO has done a very good job of convincing people that they can't find one (if that’s indeed true) because they sell out so fast. Have you considered that they either A. Make them too slow, or B. They are artificially keeping stocks low to drive artificial demand?"***

That is just not a realistic assumption to make and just doesn't make any sense too boot. How the hell does scarcity make a product more appealing? I just don't get that logic/notion at all? The PS4 being hard to find has not made not one person crave it anymore than have prior to launch unless you're going to sit here and say that the scarcity has made you go from not wanting a PS4 to wanting one in a blink of an eye (which would be ridiculous).

Also if rarity truly does in fact create artificial demand why doesn't Microsoft do it as well? I'll tell you why, purposely not selling a product when there is clear demand for it, is stupid.

If Sony was holding supply back they wouldn't have broken records and they wouldn't be on pace to far surpass their 5 million consoles sold expectations by the end March. 4.2 million sold in two months is a lot. I don't know how much you want them to sell in order for you to be convinced that they aren't holding back supply. Would 10 million in two months be enough, hmm? Just stop with that silly nonsense.

Edit: @ThePope again

***"According to the Pach Attack, each company can make 1 million units a month. Production started in August so to date 5 million of each have been made. Where are the other million PS4's???"***

You do realize that applies to Microsoft too right? Which makes your argument even more silly unless you're gonna sit here and say that MS is holding back supply too.

[Cupid_Viper_3]

"According to the Pach Attack, each company can make 1 million units a month. Production started in August so to date 5 million of each have been made. Where are the other million PS4's???"

Do you know when exactly in August production started? Do you know if it was the 1st or the 29th of August?

There are 30 days in a month. But since we don't know exactly when in August they saltarted, let's split it right down the middle and say August 15th. From August 15 to December 15 that's that's 4 months and technically 4 million PS4 manufactured. Which falls right in line with Sony's numbers of 4.2 million units by Dec 28, 2013.

So by your own logic, you're wrong.

[Bathyj]

I didnt say 3x more overall, it was just at that time on Amazon. I should have shown a link, sorry.

http://www.cinemablend.com/...

Anyway, the fact remains Sony is selling more than Microsoft, more units are physically walking out the door, so I dont see how they are holding back stock or ever shipping less units.

And youre basing production numbers based off what Pachter says? How would he have any clue? Hes guessing.

[minimur12]

The funny thing is, according to a ratio of consoles per country, Xbox has done better. Let's say ps4 IS at 5 million, its available in 48 countries at the most and 5m dividedy 48 is 104,166, meanwhile if Xbox has sold 3m, its available in 13 countries I believe, and 3m divided by 13 Is 230,769.
So in theory, unless Microsoft is telling fibbies (lies), as a country to console ratio , Xbox has sold more.

And that confuses me. When I got my ps4, I asked the delivery driver how many deliveries he's got today, and he said 'a lot more than Xbox that's for sure.'

[scott182]

^
It doesn't work to divide numbers sold, by countries, because unit allocation differs greatly. There are few large demand territories and many many small territories, there are much more units available in the large territories. besides that there is only a limited stock regardless of how many countries you are in.

[Skip_Bayless]

^Pope

"Based on what? I'm in sales, very successful, and I can't tell you what the product I have been selling for 6 years will do in 2014 let along lifetime."

You're a garbage sales person then. Because I've said PS4 would outsell X1 3:2 early on and 2:1 later. So far I'm correct right now. Right now the gap is widening and PS4 is in more demand. It's a little more than 4:3 but when Sony meets the supply it should be pretty darn close to 3:2

And I predicted sony would have sold 4.1 by the end of the year. They sold 4.2 by December 28th.

Doesn't take a business degree to see the obvious trends. So once again I'm not gonna bother explaining why X1 will not even come close to 80 mil. I've explained myself enough times, so if you're interested you can look at my old comments.

So I will gladly take your business degree and shove it down the toilet lol

[Prime157]

Sales vs business, they are two different things.

Minimur, you can't divide the number of consoles sold per country. Don't forget that they sold one million units on the 15th of November, and that was in N.A. only. That stock has also been replenished several times. The majority of their consoles will go to the markets they have to compete most in.

[badz149]

@minimur

WOW...just WOW! you spin like Microsoft! if Major Hleb Nelson is here, he'll pat your back ans says "atta boy"!

[Joe913]

@ the pope since you are smarter than everyone even if the ps4 demand was artificial wouldn't that mean once they put the console on shelf it would sit cause there is no real demand right or if the demand was really not there how could it be #2 on amazon the fact that you felt the need to call ppl fanboys or sheep shows that you yourself is a MS fanboy before the system came out everyone had a idea what the demand was based off pre orders and by fake demand are you telling me if Sony had supplied 4.2 million ps4 on day one they wouldn't have sold them all lol by your logic your saying I only want a ps4 because I can't find one.

[Triella]

@The Pope

"According to the Pach Attack, each company can make 1 million units a month. Production started in August so to date 5 million of each have been made. Where are the other million PS4's???"

Pachter is a moron who spout things out without verifying them.

First : Sony said they were in mass production by the begining of September therefore they probably started to manufacture the PS4 two weeks prior to that. The pre-(mass)production phase is usually used to optimise chains of production to max them out.

Going by their sale target figure of 5m end of March, Sony started to produce on a basis of 850K/per month, but rapidly they said they had to ramp up production to meet demand (and ensure enough consoles for Japanese launch) that's when they upped it to pass the 1m PS4/month.

Now by the end of December they said its 4.2m sold and probably, as I explained in a previous post, for Sony produced = sold atm, even the one that are not yet shipped, since they struggle to meet the demand (either for supplying distributors, or ensuring Japanese preorders).

As for MS, they have never been able to manufacture 1m per month for the sole reason they themselves lowered their initial manufacturing target figure (for end of June 2014) already at end of September from 7m to 6.2m. Chinese press reported component supply problems, which tells me that XBO entered production begining of September or at the very end of August and was in mass production only by the middle of it.

If MS had produced 1m/month they would have already manufactured 4m consoles by end of December and sold only 3m of them ? If you take out a rough estimate of 500K XBO still on the shelves worldwide, you have a discrepancy of 500k, that's too big of a stock to be stuck with in my humble opinion.

Now if they managed to get back to their initial manufacturing expectation of 7m (770K XBO/month), then they would have had 3m XBO produced by the end of December. That makes more sens and would explain how they can tout 3m sold and still be "credible", number wise, despite the fact they are obviously still many consoles on the shelves.

[Ritsujun]

TehPopie is mad!

[Pekka]

I still wouldn't say that X1 wouldn't even reach 80 million considering that X1 is selling a lot more than 360 did at the same time. Actually twice as much. And even 360 have sold over 80 million with much slower start. And 360 had much wider release that X1 and still it had 50% less sales.

Sure, X1 might not reach 80 million but nothing in first sale figures suggest that yet. Actually, first sales are actually incredibly high for both consoles.

[XisThatKid]

I personally agree I don't think X1 will sell 80+ in assumed 7 years I may be wrong but I wouldn't put my money on it if I had to bet.

Now I have to say ThePope has failed miserably on almost every point he/she tried to make. Although some could be viable points are terribly executed. Why can't Sony just be winning at some point? Fanboy included? If I was a fanboy or if I wasn't The facts are PS4 has sold more than X1 thus far. Why some strange discredit or mislead to take away form the spot light. I don't care If I'm called a "fanboy" for largely or small expression of pride in my console of choice or whatever on some massly opinionated site about gaming and its respective industry. Facts are facts I would like Sony to "win" this thing but if X1 "wins" it is what it is. We can try and lead in between the lines to spaces that may or may not even be there but whatever is happening Sony is doing something incredibly right what ever they're doing. I'm glad they have made my console of choice.
@ThePope I'm not entirely sure but I do think that PS4 is still in less territories as well, I could be wrong. I know def at launch we in at lease 10 less territories.

[MightyNoX]

@pwnsause_returns - Pretty much this. Japan is Sony's land. I can easily see them reaching 1.1 mil on launch day.

Anyway, in reference to the article, what this means is that Sony is poised to be this new gen's market leader.

[N4OGs]

It means throw away your xbox one's and xbox products fanboys your xbox is dead like myspace. the ps4 is the new king and rising like facebook did. this the same thing happening right now dont be the lasst to jump on the ps4 train dudes. dont be so 2000 and late chumps

[badboy776]

Xbox Gamers Don't Eat at Mcdonalds's????

[hazelamy]

they'll already be past five million by then, by a pretty large margin i'd wager

[MGSmarioPRO]

In my country is sold out everywhere and the new ones will only come day 13. The thing is, all are reserved around online and normal stores, so they only accept now reservations for February.
Never saw a thing like this and i question to myself when i will see a PS4 on a store.

[Rainstorm81]

It was the same way with PS2.... i remember i got mine at launch and they werent openly available til around March.

What makes this so amazing is PS2 had much less consoles in stock.

[StinKyNuGz]

I just walked into Walmart they had 1 just got it tons of xbox ones then went to gamestop they had two traded in xbox ones for 479.00

[Rainstorm81]

I went to Gamestop and picked up Dragon Crown....and they had signs everywhere saying X1 is in stock

I got to the register and asked any ps4? The gamestop girl said "No we don't have any ps4s.. they are the holy grail right now, everyone wants one"

The demand is ridiculously high

[testerg35]

demand is high, but I don't think Sony is even shipping a lot. Two weeks after the PS4 launch, I looked at Target site and it said they just got it that morning. So I went before they opened and they only received 2 to sell.

[fr0sty]

Sony still has another launch to prepare for, so that is why shipments aren't as high as X1. Once Japan is launched, and the factories continue their production ramp-up, that will change.

[thehitman]

@ tester

Most likely they only told you they had 2. I wouldnt doubt they hold some for pre-orders that werent met on launch. Also keep in mind that target probably sells a lot online before they even hit their brick and motor stores. They are competing with Walmart, Bestbuy and Amazon.

[Prime157]

@testerg35

Here's the thing. Ps4 is in 30+ countries for 4.2 million.

X1 is in 13 countries for 3 million.

If you live in a country that has x1 then most likely they will be easier to find. That's probably Microsoft's fault, mostly.

That being said, I wouldn't doubt Sony is leading in most of those countries x1 has released in. Especially north America and uk markets (the number one and three markets).

X1 still has little to no chance in Japan (number two market). That's a culture thing.

Brazil (as the biggest growing market along with the China situation) is probably the only country Sony will lose in because of their laws.

[JodyCones]

Same thing for me. My gamestop clerk told me he sold 9 PS4's in just the past hour and only 2 xbone's in the past week.

[Joe913]

@testerg35 When they do ship consoles to U.S most of them go to Amazon and GameStop.

[Sethry101]

@Prime157, I agree with you, PS4 launched in the biggest African market (South Africa) and was sold out in under 3 hours.

Xbox one is not even on sale here let alone anywhere else in Africa, they completely ignored a continent, and that sealed any doubts I had on getting a PS4. So I grabbed it at launch, even though I loved my 360 I refuse to buy from Microsoft of they just Ignore Africa completely.

[N4OGs]

its because no sane person wants a crappy xbox one. they see there parents got them an xbox one for christmas and they trade it in to get a ps4. i actually know a lot of people who returned the xbox one because they thought it was gonna sell like the ps4 but no one wants an xbox one. you can only flip ps4's for huge profit. ps4 is the king of this gen some fanboys just gonna have to let go of the xbox one and come over to the playstation. ps4 better then xbox live chumps.

[Joey_Leone]

AMEN.

[Joe913]

Lol calm down without the Xbox one Ps4 could have had DRM remember Sony did have a patent for it I honestly think they did have it but saw the backlash the Xbox one got when DRM info was leaked. Also I hope MS learn from Sony which I think they did judging by Phil Spencer comments lately.

[DragonKnight]

@Joe913: It's a good thing that your "beliefs" aren't facts then because Sony vehemently denied, from day one, that they would have any DRM for used games on the PS4. They didn't need to wait for any backlash against the Xbox One because, months prior to it, they already said the PS4 wouldn't have it. The PS3 had a similar patent that was never used. Just because a patent claim is filed, doesn't mean that what's in that patent will be used. In all likelihood, Sony was anticipating MS trying to pull a DRM stunt and patented their version of it so they could make money off of Microsoft if Microsoft tried a similar implementation.

[Axios2]

There's no arguing with math, both are doing well

PS4 = 700k per week in 50 countries

X1 = 600k per week in 13 countries

[DarkHeroZX]

Lol spin it however you like but the fact is the US and Europe, where both sell have Sony marginally ahead.

[GhostTurtle]

Marginally ahead even with xbox ones in stock and no ps4s anywhere.

[Prime157]

Not to mention they will dominate Japan again. 360 couldn't dent that culture, and they are the 2nd biggest gaming market.

[Pekka]

Then again, in most of the europe X1 haven't been released yet.

[RiPPn]

Doesn't Microsoft technically have a 1 week edge on Sony since they launched before everywhere with the exception of the US and Canada. Or maybe the launch date doesn't matter as only the bottom line does, and that says Sony is outselling Microsoft by over 25%.

[XisThatKid]

own

[JodyCones]

PS4's outselling them in every country look at the math still.

[ginsunuva]

Want to know even cooler math:

BF4 Ps4 sales: 1.23m
BF4 XbO sales: 0.88m

Ps4 sales: 4.2m
XbO sales: 3.0m

Ratios:
1.23/0.88 = 1.4
4.2/3.0 = 1.4

STATISTICS ACTUALLY WORKS

[calis]

Mother.
Of.
God.

[fanboybeatdown]

@Axios

Not sure why you got so many disagrees. (50+)
You made a positive statement and your numbers appear to be correct.

Some members of the community on this site are so one-eyed.

Either they are spiteful 13 year olds, or there is a preponderance of religious fanaticism amongst grownups on here that cannot stomach the idea that the more expensive competitor is almost doing as well in sales as the cheaper one.

[Joe913]

I to agree with axios but the fact you feel the need to come in and call names and have the nerve to call ppl 13 year olds I said it before and I will say it again you are the most pathetic fanboy on this site out of MS, Sony, or Nintendo fanboys can't stand ppl calling ppl names because of their opinions if ppl disagree that's their right to who the hell are you I sure you disagree all the time your name is a contradiction.

[fanboybeatdown]

Joe.

So wait. I get it right and you agree that I got it right, but still I am the worst of the worst on here?

There is something very wrong with your comment.
Think about it.

Also, if the behaviour is that of a 13 year old, then why can't i call it for what it is?

Also, calling me "the most pathetic fanboy on this site out of MS, Sony, or Nintendo fanboys" is rather extreme.

Also you chastise me for calling people names, then you yourself go and do exactly what you said not to do.

This is a textbook example of the pot calling the kettle black.

You really need to relax!

[KingDadXVI]

ROFL at the disagrees. I knew that most of the people on here were dumb but this really takes the cake. I guess 2+2=5 on N4G.

Here are the facts:

Both consoles are selling very fast.

Both companies are capable of producing about 1 million units per month.

There are more Xbox Ones in stock than there are PS4s.

The Xbox One is being sold in 13 countries.

The PS4 is being sold in 48 countries.

So the results are very simple:

1 million Xbox Ones are spread out over 13 countries. Simply math means that if they are spread out evenly per country that means 1,000,000/13=76,923 Xbones available per month in each of the 13 countries. Now obviously they will put more in the larger markets like NA and the UK, etc.

1 million PS4s are spread out over 48 countries. Simply math means that if they are spread out evenly per country you get 1,000,000/48=20,833 PS4s available per month in each of the 48 countries. Once again they will obviously put more consoles in larger markets like NA and the UK, etc.

The result? You have less PS4s available in each country for purchase causing more shortages because the same number of stock is spread out over more customers.

Yes the PS4 has sold more consoles as it should have seeing how it is being sold to a larger group of customers.

Yes the PS4 is in stock less often than the Xbox One as it should be due to the fact its quantity of consoles is spread out over a far larger number of stores.

People should be happy about the sales of both consoles as they are selling extremely well and this means good strong competition and better gaming for all gamers.

[extermin8or]

People need to look at the individual sales for territories particularly the large ones like NA and UK both former MS strongholds if they wish to compare, considering the ps4 is like goldust here in the uk it's sold a considerable amount more not including preorders for when stock comes in-some places are still on sorting pre launch preorders that stock couldn't meet. SO it's not ass simple as this "oh they've launched in more territories" nonsense. BOth are selling well so I don't see the issue really...

[Joe913]

Do you are really have to call ppl dumb why is it that all the MS fans have to get to name calling I see some outlandish Sony fans but it seems like MS fans have to fall back on calling ppl names like you are a 5 year old funny cause I stopped playing on Xbox live because ppl on Xbox seem more hateful I thought it was just me but based off radical fan comments from Ms, Nintendo, and Sony fans MS fans seem more a aggressive lol that's why I come at y'all like I do well that and it piss me off when someone starts name calling because someone expressed there opinion that is supposed to be the main reason for comments.

[Rainstorm81]

Well said Joe

It all Reminds me of the next gen episode of South Park

[imt558]

God damn! Many number of countries doesn't matter. If demand is high and PS4 is available in ( for example ) 10 countries, it will be sold out anyway.

[extermin8or]

except ps4 originally launched in usa and got 1 million sales in just 2 territories, MS had a week of launched in 13 territories and sold 1 million in first 24 hrs, then ps4 launched in eu and sold another million. Over half a million consoles were sold in the uk.... vs i think it was just under 300k in uk. They only launched in india etc a couple of weeks ago and it seems already sold probably at least a million. Now MS chose not to launch in more territories so really that's not a reasonable way to spin in because the figures show in the big territories the ps4 is selling faster minus stock issues. Either way both have been selling excellently.

[KingDadXVI]

I agree that both are selling very well and yes the PS4 has currently sold more consoles.

What I am trying to say is that you cannot simply compare the two as they are apples to apples.

Here is the current population of all the countries that each console has been launched in:

Total Population where PS4 is sold = 1.656 Billion.

Total Population where Xbox One is sold = 1.027 Billion.

As far as large population areas go that the PS4 is selling in that the Xbox One is not here are a few:

Poland 38.54 Million
Russia 143.5 Million
Argentina 41.09 Million
Colombia 47.7 Million
Peru 29.99 Million
Saudi Arabia 28.29 Million
South Africa 51.19 Million

I left out any country under 20 Million but just those 6 countries account for 341.8 Million. If you count the total difference the PS4 as of Dec. 13th was available to 629 Million more people than the Xbox One was available to. That works out to a 61% larger market than currently available to the Xbox.

Simply put this 61% sales advantage ensures that a) there will be fewer PS4s available and thus more stock outages than the Xbox and b) the PS4 is going to have a larger volume of sales.

Currently PS4 is selling at a rate of 98,000 units per day to 1.656 billion people while the Xbox is selling at 77,000 units per day to 1.027 billion people. If you want to do the extra math you can figure out how many units per day each console is selling for a standard size population. In this case it works out to:

PS4 = 5.9 consoles per day per 100,000 people.
Xbox One = 7.5 consoles per day per 100,000 people.

The larger population that the PS4 is selling to is what makes the difference here not the adoption rate.

[MannGamer]

@ KingDadXVI
I have to give it to you. You are really good at spinning. I am gonna try using some spinning myself. By the way numbers were taken from VGC and you know that their old numbers are accurate since they fixed them after official numbers.
1)PS4 is ahead of the Xbox one in countries that were Xbox 360 land: UK and US.
2) North America (US+Canada+Mexico) represents 57% of Xbox 360 sold
3) UK represents 11% of Xbox 360 sold
4) If you add UK and North America together they represent 68% of Xbox 360. Now this clearly takes care of your 13 countries vs 48 countries arguments.
5) Now let us add two more countries in the mix: German and France which represents about another 8%.Now if I add this to 4) that makes it 75% of Xbox 360 total sale were made in US+Canada+Mexico+UK+Germany+Fr ance... Oooohhhh no, it's only 6 countries
6) Now let me help you now since I know you are going to say that VGC data has errors and I will already admit that you right and there is a 10% error in those data. So 10% out of 75% is 7.5% and minus 75% that gives us 6 countries representing 67.5% of Xbox 360 sold in 6 countries.
7) Now I still haven't put the data of the 7 countries left where and it's already 75% if VGC is correct and 67.5% in the worst case scenario VGC would be wrong.
8) Now the 13 countries MS had released the Xbox One are his strongest 13 countries. I had just proved to you that 6 out of those 13 countries represents 75% of Xbox 360 sold or 67.5% with a 10% error of Margin.

Since I will assume you are very good with numbers let me know your conclusion

[Rainstorm81]

Mann Gamer well said

Kingdad your useless numbers are useless

Why would u go by population when gamers represent the smallest percentage of the population

There are 7 Billion people on the planet and the most successful console ever did around 150 mil

Its much wiser to judge by market

[_QQ_]

Congratulations Sony.

So Kojima? we should get MGSV soon right? if i remember the conditions correctly...

[extermin8or]

Ground Zeroes is out in MArch.

[Godmars290]

Think the real point to remember is that its yet to be released in Japan and pre-orders there are selling out within hours of new stock allotments.

So that's going to be a thing that happens.

[Funky Town_TX]

Great news, but I want one. :'(

[MrPoopyPants]

It means they at least made 1,675,800,000 pittance! Nice

[SPAM-FRITTER-123]

HA...NO

Consoles make pittance when sold.

MS and Sony will be lucky if they are not selling at a loss.

The real money for MS and Sony is from selling rights to the machine for companies to release games on.

[fr0sty]

Sony is said to take a $60 hit per ps4 sold. MS is at break even or slight profit if my memory serves me right.

[RytGear]

Yes but for Sony buying one game with it breaks even and with an attachment rate of 2.3 they are not doing badly by any means.

[mhunterjr]

I can't believe you are getting disagrees. People on this site hate facts. According to the parts break down, both consoles are being sold for a little bit more than what they cost to make. So people take that to mean that Sony and MS are making a profit at this point.

What they forget to consider is the various middle men who get a cut along the way, and the massive world spanning ad campaigns that accompany a system launch.

[HiddenMission]

@frosty

Your wrong both companies are making money off each console sold but Sony is making like $16 more from what I understand but not a ton of money for either company. You can Google this if you like.

[JackVagina]

@mhunterjr

console teardowns dont take shipping and manufacturing costs into account.

fr0sty is right, awhile back sony DID say they were taking a 60$ loss, but they also said 1 game and a PS subscription makes up for it.
Source: http://www.gamespot.com/art...
http://www.eurogamer.net/ar...
http://www.vg247.com/2013/0...

so overall Sony is definitely making money of PS4 right now.

[extermin8or]

In usa sony are making slight loss that one games purchase breaks them even. In places like UK and EU they are making a profita as our price is considerably higher than a direct conversion to $. Head of SCEE as good as confirmed this back in october. MS should be making a slight profit per console based on whats inside and the price, ofc kinect 2 might be offsetting that. They should be at least breaking even.

[RPG_Lover]

it means nothing since we dont have actual Wii U features nor do we know who is making profit on each unit.

I remember when IGN did this EXACT same article for 3ds, dooming it, then year 2, it exploded.

Counting Wii U out after it started better than PS3 and 360 is stupid when both those systems went on to be 80 mil sellers.

[Rainstorm81]

Started out fast now.. its wheezing in the back

While i dont think the Wii-U is Doomed...it certainly isnt comparable to the PS4 which has nearly the same amount of lifetime sales as the Wii-U....or the X1 which is also en route to passing the Wii-U

Product confusion and most companies grouping the Wii-U in with the PS3 and 360, will hurt the console tremendously when attempting to compete within the current gen.....not to mention 3RD party support

[extermin8or]

Look at ign chart, PS4 has at least equalled Wii U lifetime sales... and xbox one is very nearly there lol difference is ninendo got 3rd party support for 3DS however- wii u is steadily being abandonded by devs-like rats leaving a sinking ship.

[kneon]

The Wii U started better but very quickly tanked and spent most of the year selling much lower than the 360 or PS3 every did.

We won't know for another 6-9 months whether the PS4 and/or XB1 will suffer the same fate once the initial pent up demand is satisfied.

[RPG_Lover]

3ds is selling more than the PS4 and vita combined, whats your point?

[fr0sty]

3DS is a handheld from a company with a long history of top-selling handhelds. And nobody here is talking about 3DS. What's your point?

[Rainstorm81]

Elemental you seem to be the definition of fanboy

your Wii-u argument fell through now you want to move the goal posts and talk about handhelds....

Dude the 3DS is doing great just like every Nintendo handheld before it.....Now if you are hoping for Wii or Handheld success for the Wii-U...you are being delusional...the Wii had more success than any other Nintendo console in history, was it the best nintendo console??? not by a long shot.

So you can still enjoy your Nintendo products even if the competition looks to outsell it....I enjoyed my N64, Xbox, Gamecube to a lesser extent PS3, and currently enjoy my Wii-U....but that doesn't mean live in Denial

The PS4 and X1 nearly sold in a month and a half what the Wii-U did in a year....These are facts , #dealwithit

[Hicken]

But the Wii I isn't the 3DS.

[MasterCornholio]

So why didn't sales for the Wii U explode yet?

:I

[CGI-Quality]

Actually, what is yours? What does the 3DS have to do with what he said?

OT: PS4 is rockin' house, right now! It's like the Wii's launch all over again, but with even stronger numbers! Crazy!

[InTheLab]

Again with this who's turning a profit crap. Means nothing if you cannot recoup losses. If X number of consoles are produced and 1/3 of those get sold, it doesn't matter how many nickels you eventually made off that 1/3. If stores are not buying your console because gamers don't want that console, your console has failed.

Next you'll be telling me N is happy with these numbers cuz 3ds blah blah profit blah blah...

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

I agree with you on not counting the Wii U out just yet as they still have potential system sellers left in the bag (Super Smash Bros, Mario Kart, Monolith Soft's next Xneo game, next gen Zelda, etc.), but do remember that the 3DS got a huge price cut early on. People easily forget that. The 3DS is not necessarily representative of can happen with the Wii U.

[fOrlOnhOpe57]

Sony are advertising on full page spreads here in the UK about PS4 being available again now.

[DigitalRaptor]

PlayStation consoles usually sell themselves (counting out the Vita, for obvious reasons).

Yeah, Sony really stepping their game up. I'm surprised in all honesty.

[MaximusTKG]

What do you mean for obvious reasons? I dont see any reasons why they didnt sell as well except for the underutilized marketing by Sony. Both me and a friend bought Vitas when we got our PS4's and until some better games come out for the latter, my Vita is currently the better buy. Dont get it twisted though, I still love my PS4.

[solidboss07]

It means 4200000 people have common sense when spending their dosh.

[user7402931]

sony are dominating. they are better.

[fanboybeatdown]

PS4 is $100 cheaper.

I do apologise for being the harbinger of this inconvenient truth.

[SpitFireAce85]

Funny you forgot to mention that about the 360
being $200 cheaper then the PS3...And the PS3
still outselling the 360.

[BanginBiscuitz]

You guys must live in small towns or something 3 of the 4 gamestops in a 10 mile radius here have PS4 and X1's for sale, just called now to actually see for myself. Stop acting like they are impossible to find if you search now and call you can find them.

[MASTER_RAIDEN]

just called 3 gamestops a few hours ago to see if they had any used copies of AC4. Also asked about ps4's just out of curiosity. not a single one of them had any ps4s in stock. also didnt have any at the walmart yesterday, which had several xbox one consoles sitting on the shelf.

maybe you live in a small enough town where the gamestops arent too busy. perhaps they have a ton in stock or something. i live 15 min out of chicago.

[joel_c17]

In Australia you literally can't get a ps4 anywhere. Xbones are in stock at most retailers though

[jukins]

I part time at Wal-Mart in Maryland and we've had ps4s in stock for the past couple days as well as the surrounding area stores. The past few weeks whenever ps4s were in stock they sold out the same day. I know it's not indicative of total sales but my particular area seems to be slowing down.

[MASTER_RAIDEN]

4.2 million? pshhhh...pocket change!

25 million by the end of this year go go go!!! :D

[MasterCornholio]

That they outsold the competition.

:)

[TheFallenAngel]

They will outsell the competition easily. ps4 is unstoppable.

[barb_wire]

So, when does the article..

'What Microsoft's "3 million XB1 sold" figure actually means

go up?

From my personal observations.. I haven't seen a PS4 in a store anywhere but I've seen and continue to see plenty of XB1's in stores.. was at a Sam's club this last weekend and they had 6 XB1 but zero PS4's.

[InTheZoneAC]

my best buy had a stack of xbox one boxes, probably at least 30 in a pile, I had never seen so many in one spot.

[Mr_Writer85]

I'm far to tired and lazy to look up myself and I doubt it's any where near.

But how does the PS4 launch compare to the Wii?

[TheEnigma313]

It has passed the wii launch so far.

[Mr_Writer85]

Fair enough thank you.

[NewAgeisHere]

All I know is that 80% of my friends on PSN still can't get a PS4...it's either not out yet where they live or out of stock.That pretty much tells you how good PS4 is doing.

[quenomamen]

Costco out here in Inland Empire, CA had about 25 X1s and about 15 PS4s stacked right next to each other this past sunday.

[mhunterjr]

I'd say we're well passed the point where xb1s will be out of stock in the US. The PS4 hasn't reached that point every where here, but it's getting close. Where I live there has been plenty of both in stores since before Xmas.

[xo151]

Xbox One in stock on Amazon. PS4 not.

[Bathyj]

Must have just come in. Probably gone already.

[GraveLord]

A historical launch indeed. Congrats Sony. You deserve all the success you will get with the PS4.

[Bathyj]

Didnt Sony want 5 million by the end of March? I'm guessing more like 7 if they can get enough stock. And if that happens how many could they sells in a year? 15M? Its not out of the question.

If they build it, we will come.

[TheFallenAngel]

If Sony can keep up with demand they can have 7 million by February lol.

[RPG_Lover]

If you cant even properly find the right numbers for Wii U's launch or numbers since (by the way we dont have october either), you cant really compare. Bottom Line.

I dont care how fastly PS4 outsells things at launch. Consoles are a marathon and not a sprint.

The fact that Wii U outsold PS3 and 360 at launch, 2 systems that went over 80 mil sold, but Wii U is in trouble and cant possibly recover, is foolish.

Unit sales are irrelevant in console health and success. Unit profit per unit is all that matters. Something only Nintendo has been able to balance

[InTheLab]

The thing you continue to ignore is that at no point in the history of the PS3 and 360 did they ever fail to sell less than 8m in a single year. Even 7 and 8 years later and only $50 cheaper, they are still outselling the WiiU by a wide margin.

At some point, you're going to have to face reality and accept that the WiiU is in trouble and that a small profit on each sold (which is not the case for the WiiU) won't dig them out of the whole they are in. N is a slave to the margin like every other company so it really bothers me when I see you and that other guy talking about profit per unit as if all the software that's not selling was free to make and that the millions of console sitting on shelves were free to produce, and that the WiiU cost nothing to develop.

Do yourself a favor and google BREAK EVEN POINT. That's how many units you need to sell to make margin. Guess what, the GC didn't hit it and the WiiU is nowhere near that number based on what they've sold and what needs to be sold.

Edit: every time I see someone talking about making profit on units sold I will type nothing but Break even point, as I'm tired of giving business 101 lectures...

[TheEnigma313]

Very well said.

[LOL_WUT]

So much butthurt in your comment just let it go dude the Wii U is going to get surpassed in sales and games ;)

[PS4isKing_82]

Was at target over the weekend. They had 12 xbox ones in stock. No ps4s. I asked the sales guy if he had any and he had sold his last three earlier that day. As a matter of fact, if you go on target's app and search xbox one and type tour zip code, it'll give you a list of stores in your area that have stock. Most stores in Texas list the xbox one as being in stock as well as other cities and states I checked. Not to mention amazon has had it in stock since before Chrismas.

[Sharius]

it will be fun to see if sony can hit the 9m mark of nintendo by the end of this fiscal year

[Gorilla_Killa_X]

What is this 9M mark you speak of from Nintendo?

[brew]

I think he's referring to Nintendo's goal of 9 million Wii-U's shipped by then.

[kingPoS]

Man that Pope guy [ah heh hehehehe!] I didn't know you could sell 4 million by holding back. MS must of had the same idea too.

Gateway MT6706 2008

[MultiConsoleGamer]

It means a bright future for console gaming, the very same industry that has been proclaimed "dying" for the past several years.

[Clarence]

It means that 5m goal will easily be smashed.

[DigitalRaptor]

I'd say 6+ million if they can match demand.

DriveClub, inFamous and third parties with PS4 advertising? Easily indeed.

[matt1877]

it means I don't give a fuck I just want the one I ordered 3 weeks ago

[_QQ_]

Funniest thing ive read all week.

[kidhero99]

all these clowns need a megaton punch

[jessupj]

Looks like sony is in it's rightful spot, you know, because they were for the gamers from the start.

Unless of course you believe a company the tried to ruin gaming for more money should be getting sony's sales...

[mytsoutsou]

I really don't know what's going on in other countries but here in Greece all Ps4 units were sold in day 1,since november 13 it's out of stock and anyone who wants to buy it(including myself) will have to wait till february and the crazy thing if we buy it from abroad Sony Greece doesn't accept it if it's broken even if you buy it from another European country.

[Rock_On_PS4]

It has already sold 5 million.
VGChartz under tracks PS4 and PS3.
VGcharts over tracks Wii U and XBox ONe.

[saber00005]

Sony sold almost 5 million game consoles with 90% of them having PS+. That's a WIN WIN right there. As I recall, Microsoft had a much less percent of people who have xbox live.

[bligmerk]

The other factor is every game that has XBO as its main platform is being downgraded. Titanfall 6v6? Why bother?

Remember when the hub-bub was the PS4 is 50% more powerful than the XBO and MS was saying nuh-uh? Reality is intruding into that delusional denial and showing the XBO was obsolete last year and it doesn't somehow magically become more powerful because it is a new year. XBO just gets weaker and weaker as this year marches on. Prepare for MS to be even more pathetic at E3 2014.

[ziggurcat]

"What Sony's '4.2 Million PS4s Sold' Figure Actually Means"

uh... it means that they've sold 4.2 million?

[rnmartinez]

I think the bottom line is this: as much as I am a Nintendo guy, the Wii U is in trouble. Is Sony beating MS? Yes, they are, and quite handily, having said that, considering that the XB1 is $100 more, I think it is selling incredibly well.

I'll add this - I haven't turned on my PS4 since launch; I really wish that Second Son had been a launch title, and that Playstation Now were here. There is no doubt that at the $399 price point it is a phenomenal piece of hardware, but my Wii U has been a lot of fun (keep in mind that most of my gaming time is shared with 2 toddlers).

I just feel that if Nintendo had really found some cool use for the gamepad, they wouldn't be so far behind. Regardless, Sony is killing them this gen.

[S2Killinit]

Sony has done a great job of catering to the gamers and they will continue to out pace the other two systems in my opinion.

[Jack_Reacher]

God I love this site. It's like watching the cripple fight from South Park over and over again.

[andrarfc]

@N40Gs wow! First of all, learn to write in English you opinionated thick retard.

[bligmerk]

The relevance to a true gamer is *USER BASE SIZE*. User base size determines titles that become exclusive simply because the dev can't make the trade-off between down-porting and returns from sales if the lower end box doesn't have sufficient volume.

Remember these words after the Japan launch in February.

[andrarfc]

Ps4 launches in more than double the countries of Xbox One and everyone is amazed it has sold more!???

[Mister_G]

It means greatness has arrived and is here to stay :)