PlayStation 4 sales reach 18.5m worldwide to cheer Sony following cyber-attack

The PlayStation 4’s popularity as a Christmas present this holiday season has pushed sales of the Sony games console to 18.5m worldwide.

 

According to the company, around 4.1m units were sold over the period from 23 November to 4 January.

 

Despite the well-documented problems plaguing other areas of the company, Sony will undoubtedly be cheered by the continued success of its latest console.

 

The Japanese technology giant also said that subscriptions to PlayStation Plus had surpassed 10.9m, while over 81.8m games for the PlayStation 4 (PS4) had been sold.

 

Sales are likely to still be ahead of Microsoft’s Xbox One, which had sold 10m units in November according to Microsoft’s most recent update.

 

The PS4 was also named the fastest selling console in UK history following its release in 2013. 

 

Sony’s best-ever selling games console, the PlayStation 2, sold over 150m units before it was discontinued in 2013.

 

Following its release, industry analysts expected the PS4 to reach 50m sales by 2018.

 

Sony’s Hollywood-based movie division was hit by a devastating cyber-attack at the end of last year, which was blamed on North Korean hackers by the US.

 

Chief executive Kazuo Hirai broke his silence on the matter at the CES trade show in Las Vegas, praising his employees who stood up to the "extortionate effort of these criminals".