Sony has been bullish about a platform launch before – but with the PlayStation 3, that buoyancy felt phoned in. With its impending next generation console, however, there’s a swagger from its executives that seems believable – and Jack Tretton has furthered that in an interview on the eve of the PlayStation 4’s launch, pointing out that the company's pretty happy with how things are tracking.
“This is a marathon, not a sprint, but getting out to a nice start is a good thing to do,” the SCEA president told Business Week, responding to estimates suggesting that it will sell three million PS4s by the end of the year. “That hurdle has been cleared. We’re very, very confident that we’re in great shape.”
As previously reported, the manufacturer hopes to have sold five million units by the end of March, but we get the feeling that it may even surpass that target if this month’s North American and European launches go well. “We’re very comfortable with it,” beamed Tretton. “I’m excited about next week to be able to talk about what was sold as opposed to what we may sell.”
We suspect that the platform holder will announce initial PS4 sales numbers right around the launch of the Xbox One on 22nd November, presumably in an attempt to steal attention away from Microsoft’s machine. It’ll then have an opportunity to announce further figures later in the year, as the system is not set to deploy in Europe until 29th November. How many units do you think that the device will move this year? Make a prediction in the comments section below.
[source businessweek.com, via neogaf.com]
Comments 13
I really believe that they're lowballing the estimates a bit. Personal opinion, but I think it'll do more than five million by March — assuming that the launch goes well and there aren't any major issues. We'll see.
EDIT: I should stress that it's not going to be much more than that, but I could see them hitting six million if hype stays high and inFAMOUS is really good.
5 million by March is a given with how well they've been handling things so far. Hitting that mark should put them comfortably in the black, especially if they move enough Vita TV's (off topic, I know).
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@Lelouch Getting in the black depends on Sony's other divisions, too - but I know what you mean! What's Sony Pictures' big movie this Christmas? Does anyone know?
@get2sammyb I believe Sony Pictures can recover, but it won't be easy. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 will be a good start, but they'll need to follow it up with something just as big or bigger - maybe God of War: The Movie.
Anyone know if the Vita TV will let you remote play with more than just the one controller using the PS4 Link app?
I heard that is all you can do with a real Vita just one of them.
Second Screen on the other hand I heard let's four devices connect.
Although things are looking really positive for Sony. I think caution is called for.
With Xbox only launching in 13 countries, the PS4 will get off to a great start worldwide, but the real battle is for the US, as the US is such a huge influence not just on sales, but also developers. Can the PS4 prove more popular than XBO in the US is the real question? Pre-orders "suggest" yes, but a lot of things have to continue to go well between now and Christmas. Resolutiongate aside, MS has regained considerable ground after their initial debacle, and their launch in the US will go very well.
2014 will also be interesting, because PS4 has lots of AAA games slated to release and MS only a few (so far), so XBO may struggle to maintain its initial momentum into next year. A lot rests on Titanfall.
The fact they recently reported pre orders soared when MS announced the xbox's global releases. I have a feeling they are in a position to destroy these goals.
” the SCEA president told Business Week, responding to estimates suggesting that it will sell three million PS4s by the end of the year. “That hurdle has been cleared. We’re very, very confident that we’re in great shape.”
That pretty much tells you everything you need to know. Based on that quote they've already sold 3 million PS4's and it hasn't even launched yet. I can't think of an exact estimate but it will be more than 5 million. I wouldn't be surprised if they sell 5 million by the end of the year. I guess in that case, I'm predicting 8 million by march.
5 mil is a LOT of $400 for everyone to spend, but I think they can get there in a few months if preorders are already around 2. (Sony should give the option to bundle their own HDDs with ps4s)
@charlesnarles Well keep in mind that each console costs money to make from parts and labor. Not every dollar earned is net profit.
Anywho, PS4 is definitely shaping up to be the next Wii launch (sold out immediately)
@charlesnarles
I agree, a t.v. gaming bundle. Why doesn't Sony do this? They dont even have to put out alot of them! and the ps4 could have a "special feature" or something like that
@DarkwingLz I just meant rhetorically "Dang, how many consumers will actually be willing and able to spend the $432 plus however many $64.80 games/peripherals to go with it?" Even 5,000,000 sunflower seeds is still a huge-assed pile of seeds, that's all. Sony is ambitious, as usual.
Mr Tretton should be feeling good as Sony have had a great run up to launch. Much better than the silent Nintendo did last year and we all know the PR disaster Microsoft had!
It's not just the PS4 launch they should be proud of either as the PS3 has improved over its lifespan. I've been an Xbox gamer over the last 2 generations, but recently converted to PS3 after there being so many high quality exclusives, most of which appeal to me much more than Gears of War and Halo.
I just hope Sony manage to keep up the amount of exclusives on PS4.
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