• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Tech

PlayStation 4 Becomes Second Best Selling Home Video Game Console of All Time

By
Chris Morris
Chris Morris
Former Contributing Writer
Down Arrow Button Icon
January 7, 2020, 1:15 PM ET

Over the entirety of the current video game console cycle, Sony’s PlayStation 4 has been the top selling system. Now the popular console has a new accolade to add to its list: At Sony’s 2020 CES press conference on Monday, the company announced that PS4 sales have officially topped 106 million units, making it the second best-selling home console in the history of video games.

The achievement makes the PS4 more popular than Nintendo’s groundbreaking Wii, as well as the original PlayStation. To date, only the PlayStation 2 has sold more systems, topping the charts at 157 million units.

But there is a caveat: PS4’s second all-time ranking does not factor in sales of handheld game systems, such as the Game Boy and Nintendo DS—both of which devices have outsold Sony’s console, to date.

The PS4’s popularity has also had a ripple effect for game makers. Since its retail debut on Nov. 15, 2013, players have bought 1.15 billion games for the system, Sony says.

Sony also announced another noteworthy video gaming milestones: Sony’s PlayStation VR headset has sold 5 million units since its debut in October 2016. In addition, PlayStation Network, the company’s online gaming service, now has 103 million active users, Sony says.

The PS4’s sales milestone is more than a bragging right for Sony—it’s an argument against the idea that the current generation of consoles could be the last (or near it). Six years ago, when the PS4 and Xbox One launched, some analysts and observers openly wondered about the fate of game systems. But hardware innovations (including VR and new subscription models), and an overabundance of quality games kept players actively engaged throughout the systems’ life-cycles.

“PlayStation is the embodiment of a creative entertainment property, with a solid foundation of technology,” said Jim Ryan, president & CEO of Sony Interactive Enetertainment. “And it’s our mission to embrace the entire creative community.… That commitment will carry us through as we launch our next generation of PlayStation.”

Sony will launch the PlayStation 5 later this year, telling players to expect hardware enhancements like a much faster hard drive (drastically reducing or eliminating load times), a 4K Blu-ray drive, and a more adaptive controller in the console’s next iteration. Critical details, including price, backwards compatibility and the console’s design will be announced at a later date.

The PlayStation is critically important to Sony’s earnings. Even though sales in its division were down 17% year-over-year in the most recent quarter, it was the second biggest contributor to the company’s overall revenue.

More must-read stories from Fortune:

—7 companies founded in the last 10 years that you now can’t live without
—Electronic health records are creating a ‘new era’ of health care fraud
—Apple, Amazon, and Google want to create a smart home standard
—What a $1,000 investment in 10 top stocks a decade ago would be worth today
—Amazon is on a collision course with employee activists outraged by the climate crisis

Catch up with
Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily digest on the business of tech.

About the Author
By Chris MorrisFormer Contributing Writer

Chris Morris is a former contributing writer at Fortune, covering everything from general business news to the video game and theme park industries.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Success
Billionaire philanthropy's growing divide: Mark Zuckerberg stops funding immigration reform as MacKenzie Scott doubles down on DEI
By Ashley LutzDecember 22, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'
By Sydney LakeDecember 22, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Travel & Leisure
After pouring $450 million into Florida real estate, Larry Ellison plans to lure the ultrarich to an exclusive town just minutes from Mar-a-Lago
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezDecember 22, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
The average worker would need to save for 52 years to claw their way out of the middle class and be classified as wealthy, new research reveals
By Orianna Rosa RoyleDecember 23, 2025
12 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
'When we got out of college, we had a job waiting for us': 80-year-old boomer says her generation left behind a different economy for her grandkids
By Mike Schneider and The Associated PressDecember 23, 2025
15 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman says in 10 years' time college graduates will be working 'some completely new, exciting, super well-paid' job in space
By Preston ForeDecember 23, 2025
14 hours ago

Latest in Tech

AIEye on AI
Silicon Valley’s tone-deaf take on the AI backlash will matter in 2026
By Sharon GoldmanDecember 23, 2025
10 hours ago
Young rich woman in front of plane
SuccessBillionaires
There are more self-made billionaires under 30 than ever before—11 of them have made the ultra-wealthy club in the last 3 months thanks to AI
By Emma BurleighDecember 23, 2025
12 hours ago
ChatGPT Atlas illustration.
AISecurity
OpenAI says prompt injections that can trick AI browsers like ChatGPT Atlas may never be fully ‘solved’—experts say risks are ‘a feature not a bug’
By Beatrice NolanDecember 23, 2025
12 hours ago
SuccessSmall Business
10 crucial insights for small business owners to succeed in 2026—and beyond
By Ashley LutzDecember 23, 2025
13 hours ago
Photo of Sam Altman
SuccessCareers
OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman says in 10 years’ time college graduates will be working ‘some completely new, exciting, super well-paid’ job in space
By Preston ForeDecember 23, 2025
14 hours ago
Kurian
AIGoogle
Google Cloud chief reveals the long game: a decade of silicon and the energy battle behind the AI boom
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 23, 2025
14 hours ago