Sony has revealed that they are projecting sales of 5 million units for the Playstation 4 by the end of this financial year, which is March 2014. As a rule, the company does not publicly reveal their forecasts until they release their financial reports.
To put things in perspective, the Playstation 3 was launched in November 2006, for the price of $ 399, and sold 3.55 million units by March 2007. The Playstation 2 before that was launched in March 4, 2000 for $ 299, reaching sales of 1.41 million units by the end of that month (technically the end of that financial year), and 9.20 million units by the end of March 2001.
The Playstation 2 took the gaming industry by storm and cemented Sony’s position as market leader. In stark contrast, Playstation 3 was a considerate step back for the company, with several missteps taken throughout that console’s lifespan.
As things stand now, Sony has just had its first profitable year in ages, and they hope it can drive momentum for its gaming business again with its latest home console. Sony has had challenges in its businesses in the past few years, including its gaming division, but thus far CEO Kazuo Hirai has been taking all the right steps to bring the company back to its former glories.
The Playstation 4 launch, along with the Xbox One launch, is significant for the industry as a whole as well, as it has been seeing a decline in numbers in consecutive years. While many industry analysts speculate console gaming is facing stiff competition from mobile gaming on smartphones and tablets, others also point to 2008’s subprime mortgage crisis in the US as the industry’s biggest challenge. The crisis adversely affected gaming’s biggest market, but has also had a bad effect on the global economy, including other major gaming regions, as well as affecting manufacturing costs and other factors.
Source: WSJ
