Sony's PlayStation 4 becomes second best selling console of all time

Sony has announced as part of its second-quarter earnings report that it sold 2.8 million PlayStation 4 consoles between July and September. Since the company hit 100 million sales three months ago, the total is now at 102.8 million, meaning the PS4 has outsold the original PlayStation.

This puts the PS4 ahead of the PlayStation in terms of total units sold, making it the second-best-selling console of all time. Despite selling just enough units to the push total sales above the first PlayStation console, overall sales numbers are down from last year, approximately 1.1 million units.

Although achieving that level of popularity is impressive, the drop-in sales from last year is a clear indication that the console is reaching the end of its lifecycle. The drop-in number of units sold makes it all but certain that the PS4 won’t be able to dethrone or catch up to the PlayStation 2, which is the best-selling console of all time with 155 million units sold.

Apart from falling PS4 sales numbers, Sony also saw a drop in revenue and profit as compared to 2018. The Japanese tech giant also expects total PlayStation 4 sales in 2019 to fall short of its forecast by 1.5 million units.

Considering Sony’s announcement that the PlayStation 5 will debut during 2020’s holiday season, this year’s holiday sales might not fare as good compared to last year. However, Sony’s gaming revenue might get a small boost with sales of PlayStation 4 games as they will be compatible with the new PS5. Major exclusive titles like Ghost of Tsushima, Shenmue III, The Last of Us Part II, and Death Stranding will release before the close of the year.