PlayStation 4 Passes Nintendo 64 as 13th Best Selling Console

By November 2015, Sony had sold– not shipped, sold- 30.2 million PlayStation 4 consoles. The latest announcement revealed a massive holiday push.

(This article was updated January 9, 2016 with sales numbers for individual consoles.)

As of January 3, 2015 the PlayStation 4 sits at just under 36 million units sold, thanks to a holiday season that saw 5.7 million units land under the family tree. Sony announced the milestone via this PlayStation Blog post, which has been translated. President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Andrew House wrote about his excitement of a growing community, and looked forward to titles being released in 2016.

After passing the Atari November 22, 2015, at 30 million lifetime units sold, the PS4 has leapfrogged the Sega Genesis and Nintendo 64 in a month and a half. Up next is the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, which has a roughly 14 million unit cushion between the two.

In addition to consoles, Sony reported that over 35 million games were sold worldwide for the holiday season, both physically and digitally, and they saw a 60% increase in PlayStation Plus subscribers from 2014 to 2015.

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The PlayStation 4 has cracked the top 15 in its first two years.

The company looks to have a strong 2016 with console exclusives including Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, No Man’s Sky, Horizon Zero Dawn, and The Last Guardian.

My Opinion: For context, the SNES sold its 49.1 million units over 13 years of retail availability. The PS4 has been available just over two years. At this rate, it’s very possible for it to join the original two PlayStations in the top five highest selling consoles ever. That’s wonderful news, considering many were worried this would be the last console generation.


Christian Glass is a MONG Associate Writer.  There are four PlayStation 4s in his house. You’re welcome, Shuhei.  You can love him on Twitter, Twitch, and Instagram