PS4 to hit 60m install base – SuperData

SuperData has estimated the PlayStation 4 will hit 60m units worldwide when Sony releases its fiscal year earnings report tomorrow, giving it almost double the number of sales as Microsoft’s Xbox One.

According to SuperData CEO Joost Van Dreunen, Microsoft’s Xbox One platform has currently sold around 33m units worldwide, putting it at a severe disadvantage compared to Sony’s PS4 family.

As a result, Sony is much better-positioned to weather the transition from physical to digital, says Van Dreunen, and that it stands to benefit from as much as 66 per cent of the digital console market going forward:

"With legacy publishers Electronic Arts, Take-Two Interactive, Activision Blizzard, and Ubisoft now moving into digital more aggressively, PlayStation stands to claim roughly two-thirds of the $7.8 billion digital console market," he told MCV.

"Over the past five years the share of revenue for full game downloads has increased five-fold in the United States, as publishers have started to exploit its benefits and relied more heavily on the sales of add-on content and bundles."

Van Dreunen’s also optimistic about Sony’s PlayStation VR headset thanks to the growing location-based VR sector, despite growing competition from its mobile-based rivals:

"We believe the establishment of a ‘location-based entertainment’ unit is promising. By expanding its scope beyond the living room, a broader consumer audience will have a chance to familiarize themselves with the PS VR. However, headwinds from cheap substitutes in mobile VR render this an upward battle even as Sony currently enjoys sole dominance over the console-based VR segment. Finally, a relentless slate of new PS VR title releases shows the company’s commitment in search of a killer app."