Can PS4 Outsell The PS2?

SwitchedOn Gamer writes: The PS4 hits 100 million units shipped faster than the best-selling console of all-time, the PS2. Will Sony's current PlayStation generation make history?

[IRetrouk]

If they keep it alive long enough, support it and maybe release a slim pro and price drop at some point it could, I'm not sure it will, can defo happen though.

[_SilverHawk_]

The ps4 is outpacing the ps3 so its possible for the ps4 to sell more than ps2

[blitz0623]

Highly unlikely. The PS2 hit 100m about 1 year before the PS3 came out, so it still sold 50m after. I would say it still sold well because of the PS3's price and no BC. If the PS5 does come out next year, it will most likely slow down PS4 sales because it will have BC and it won't cost as much as the PS3 did. PS4 will probably hit 130m

[JackBNimble]

Ps3 was BC out of the box , it was later that Sony removed the emulator .
It also took about 12 years for the ps2 to hit 150 mil and ps4 is coming up on 6 years in Oct. Plenty of life still for the ps4 .

[darthv72]

A price drop is guaranteed to boost numbers. It just seems like Sony is holding out as long as they can. It's all about timing.

[affrogamer]

once a console generation ends in the developed countries the markets shifts to 3rd world countries where they half the price of the consoles. But I'm still not all that sure if the PS4 can sell another 50mil when the PS5 arrives.

[badz149]

as much as I love for it to happen, 155mil is a pretty tall order. not even the DS with all its dominance manage to reach it.

the PS2 had the "leverage" in the form of the PS3 underperforming and also it (the PS2) being hacked early in its lifetime which ultimately boosted sales in 3rd world countries where pirated games are sold everywhere for cheap ($50 original vs $2 pirated). having dominance over 3rd parties also helped. it sold a further 35mil units after the PS3 launch which was unheard of.

so, yeah, the PS4 reached the 100mil mark faster than any console in history, with no massive hacks and mods like the PS2 was, and not yet at the MSRP of $199 nonetheless, it's very impressive indeed. but it's very unlikely that Sony is going to screw up the PS5 like they did with the PS3 thus eliminating the "leverage".

with the PS5 fully BC to PS4 games, I think we can expect the PS4 to slow down but this gen we have the Pro which is an anomaly. I don't know how Sony will handle selling 3 tiered consoles from 2 gens comes next year, but I don't see having all 3 consoles in the market will be profitable for the PS5 but discontinuing either the Slim or the Pro in the short term is not going to make Sony looks good because the Slim is their bread and butter which brings profits and the Pro is a nice option for late adopters. it's like Sony is stuck between the aim to reach PS2's number with the PS4 which will cannibalize PS5' sales or pushing PS5 sales and give up on reaching PS2's number with the PS4 because no matter how you see it, the market is not big enough for both of the PS4 and PS5 to keep pushing big numbers.

ahh... I don't want to think about what will Sony do. I'm just excited about the PS5 but in order for the PS4 to inch on the PS2's numbers, both the Slim and Pro are equally important is what I'm trying to say.

[UltraNova]

I agree in everything but one point - the part where Sony "targets" 155m units for ps4. The moment ps5 is launched, that...target will shift to the newer console. Market share amd public reception is more important to Sony than any arbitrary record.

[IRetrouk]

They did say they wouldn't force ps4 sales, I think they are happy with the numbers they are getting at the moment, they still have price drops to use, maybe even a slim pro, I dont think they need to target ps2 numbers, 100 mill is a record few reach.

[FallenAngel1984]

It’d have a far greater chance at doing so if Sony dropped the price to $200

[The_Sage]

That's what he says in the article.

[Thundercat77]

Wait a minute, what are you implying? That the user just read the subject and didn't even bother to read the article at all?

Come on! This is N4G. How dare you.

[PhoenixUp]

It’s amazing that PS4 has been actually able to keep a faster pace than PS2 despite having a significant smaller presence in the Japanese market & more fierce competition.

Just goes to show that the PlayStation brand has grown to be a far stronger global brand than it’s ever been prior.

[solideagle]

yes it is amazing but I highly doubt PS4 will outsell PS2...Google says Ps2 sold 158 million that's a lot of consoles.

PS2 library was amazing compared to PS4 (number of exclusives + third party)

PS2: 58+ titles having 90% or above meta (without remasters)
PS4: 30 titles having 90% or above meta (and it has few remastered)

I would say 120 million at best in my opinion. I hope PS5 gets similar support from Sony, so more amazing games as Sony has 20% first party and 80% third party. Microsoft has bought new studios so Sony might change it to 30%:70% ratio...we will see :)

[Immagaiden]

So much for the antiquated belief that the console market is dying.

Ah hell who am I kidding? Even in the face of the fact that the current most successful console is doing better than the most successful console of all time in the same timeframe, there’s still going to be be journalists & various other people who will still question the viability of consoles moving forwards

[Hardiman]

Pretty incredible that in it's sixth year the PS4 is still doing the business it's doing. I seem to recall a lot of doom & gloom circa 2011 that the console market was dying. Well here we are and it's never been stronger. Heck Sony has even had success with VR and are getting ready for the successor to the PS4 next year in the form of the PS5.

Can the PS4 outsell the PS2? Well if they continue to support it with cross gen games and it's gets to that $199. sweet spot, then I say it has a really good shot. Either way I'm really excited for the surprises that await us fans and by surprises I mean games!

[nitus10]

Assuming 20 to 15 million by the end of 2020 and 5 to 10 million by the end of 2021 the PS4 would be on track to come close or beat the PS2's overall lifetime sales. What could really give the PS4 a boost is a possibility that games developed for the PS5 will be playable on the PS4 admittedly at a reduced quality which would be similar to the PC gaming market. A reduced price of say US$200 would help as well.

Of course, I could be wrong but only time will tell.

Note: We won't get to purchase the PS5 till late 2020 so 20 ~ 15 million sales of the PS4 are a reasonable possibility.

[DarXyde]

Doubt it.

It isn't selling what PS2 did in Japan and I think it's too late for that with the arrival of Switch. Cannot discount the market share Sony has not completely gotten back from Xbox in North America either.

My estimation is around 120M lifetime sales, with 130M at the high end.

But that's just me.

[The_Sage]

You should read the article. PS4 has already outsold the PS2 in the same timeframe.

[DarXyde]

Correct. I read the article, and I'm saying that I do not believe it will outsell PS2 lifetime sales.

What I'm saying is that there is likely a regional ceiling where you cannot really get more out of consumers. Even though PS4 is tracking higher than PS2, there are different circumstances between then and now. Let's get into that...

1. PS2's final price was $99. The console with the most gen 6 games BY FAR in terms of quality and quantity was $99 near the end of its life. HUGE point to bolster sales.

2. Assuming PS4 does even 20% better in other parts of the world, it still has less than half of the presence in Japan as PS2.

3. Sony's competition was GameCube and Xbox. Loved the GC, but it was no PS2. PS2 was head and shoulders above their competitors, outselling their combined sales more than 3x over.

4. Despite its overall relatively weak sales, Xbox One is still able to have a significant enough presence, especially in the west - keep in mind that Sony's Japanese presence is diminished. And now, you have Switch very frequently beating the competition AND killing it in Japan.

Outselling PS2 to this point just says to me that they are able to make up a decent chunk of sales outside of Japan, with less assistance from Japan. There will come a point of market saturation in the West. When that happens, you likely won't see PS4 sales tracking as high anymore. It's a very multivariate issue, and chalking it up to "it's outselling PS2 at the same time in its life" is myopic.

I'm feeling extremely confident that it will not outsell PS2 lifetime.

[StarLink]

It could but it also could not since the PS5 will be backwards compatible. The PS2 sold 158 million units, for the PS4 to sell 58 million more units it could be an uphill battle just because of BC. Sure some can argue that price can be a factor PS4 costing $200 at some point while the PS5 will be upwards of $400. If it does or doesnt really wont matter since the PS4 has done a great job.

[The_Sage]

PS3 was also backward compatible.

[StarLink]

True but not fully(I think) and the BC model was dropped or the model without BC dominated the PS3 with BC.

Only time will tell really.

[PhoenixUp]

PS2 was backwards compatible and PS1 still went on to sell enough units to pass the 100 million mark in 2005

PS1 sold over 30 million from Jan 2000- March 2005
PS2 sold over 50 million from March 2006- Jan 2013

PS4 is guaranteed to move huge units going forward just like those two consoles. It may not surpass PS2 but it’s not going to dramatically decline like Wii & PS3 did when their successors released.

[The_Sage]

I still have my PS3. It's fully backward compatible. It has The emotion engine from the PS2 in it. The last irritation of the PS3 dropped it for cost sake.

[sprinterboy]

Ps4 will max out @ about 120/5 million imo

[Firebird360]

Needs a super slim model and a price drop.

[mkis007]

It would only begin to be feasible if they get the ps4 to $150 ASAP. The only consoles to get past the 150 million line were available for an official price of $150 or less at some point in their lifespan.

Even Nintendo's own gameboy line, which, until the 3DS, was priced under $150, never attained such heights with their low original price.

[The_Sage]

Based on what he says, it does seem very possible.

[Shikoku]

Doubtful

[Elda]

If it does a price drop it may or come close.

[Segata]

No. 2nd best-selling home console easily and 3rd best system overall easily. It will not outsell PS2. Its cap is about 125-130. It already lost Japan and has not outsold PS2 in Japan nor will it at this pace.

[Drithe]

If the ps5 is coming out higher than 400 bucks and the ps4 drops then it just might. If thE Ps5 comes out at 400 then probably no. If the ps5 comes out 350 or lower then forget about it. lol

[AK91]

Possible but not probable.

[Tross]

Maybe. It's possible, which in itself is quite an achievement to say the least.

[bluefox755]

Not likely considering the number of people that bought a ps2 purely for its DVD capability, but who knows? Either way, it's been a massive success.

[NextGenCeo]

If Sony quickly put Price tag 199$ before last couple exclusive games release, maybe PS4 total sales numbers reach 125 million Before PS5 release. But over 145 million sales like PS2 it is really difficult. I hope they break the PS2 record. I really want but it's difficult.
(ESL Guy here)

[Fraggle1987]

It needs a pretty big price drop to get to ps2 numbers. Its near double price than ps2 was at same point.

[Juusterey]

I doubt it
it sold 100 million since 2013
can't see another 50 million with ps5 on the horizon

[Tsar4ever01]

Yes if It was fully supported up to 12 years like the PS2. But I really doubt the PS4 will be supported & manufactured till that point.