Although its PlayStation Network was put into question over the holidays with server issues, it was no doubt a good season for Sony and its PlayStation division.
The company recently provided sales data for its PlayStation 4 console, as well as its PlayStation Plus service, which provides a handful of free games to its subscribers each month, as well as other bonus items. Needless to say, Sony has a good head start as the year rolls onward.
According to Sony, 18.5 million PlayStation 4 consoles have been sold through worldwide, with 4.1 million systems accounted for from Black Friday through the end of 2014. The PS4 therefore appears to continue its installed base lead over its competition at Microsoft and Nintendo, and intends to keep it with a number of exclusive titles, including the forthcoming The Order: 1886, Bloodborne and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. We have yet to hear from Microsoft and Nintendo as to how many consoles they sold in the last quarter, but it’s a fair bet that if they had surpassed Sony’s sales we would have heard about it by now.
In addition, the attach rate for the PlayStation 4 is just over four games per console, with global software sales sitting at 81.8 million units worldwide leading into the beginning of 2015. Over the holiday period, over 17.8 million games were sold in both physical form and via digital download.
As for the PlayStation Plus service, its subscriber rate has never been higher. There are currently 10.9 million subscribers to the service across all consoles, although PlayStation 4 undoubtedly leads the pack, since it’s required to access online features like multiplayer.
All of this comes as good news for the company, despite the recent slump on PlayStation Network following hacker attacks over the holiday season. To make up for it, the company announced that it will provide a ten percent discount to all users on their next digital purchase through the Network, as well as five additional days of service to PlayStation Plus subscribers.
The news also comes on the heels of Sony’s confirmation of a subscription plan for its PlayStation Now cloud-gaming service, which kicks off next week.
