PlayStation is celebrating its 25th anniversary on Tuesday, and what began as an aborted peripheral for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System has morphed into a colossal powerhouse for the industry. Now, Sony has been awarded a Guinness World Record as the best-selling home video game console brand in history, and the numbers are nothing short of staggering.
On Twitter, the official PlayStation account revealed that between the original system, the PlayStation 2, the PlayStation 3, and the PlayStation 4, the brand has sold more than 450 million units. We know the PS4 alone has managed to sell over 100 million units during its lifetime, and the PlayStation 2 has sold more than 150 million units. The first system has also sold over 100 million units, while the PlayStation 3 has sold more than 80 million.
The strong sales figures are no accident, as Sony established a strong first-party studio roster as well as great relationships with outside developers almost immediately. This has led to games like Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil 2, Final Fantasy VII, Kingdom Hearts, and Grand Theft Auto on the platforms, making them extremely enticing to players even when competing consoles may have offered more power or extra features. It has found a particularly strong foothold during the PlayStation 4’s lifespan, with stronger third-party support than Microsoft and a focus on gaming alone during a time when its competitors were casting a wider net over television and other forms of entertainment.
We're thrilled to be certified as the best-selling home video game console brand ever, with over 450 million units sold across the original PlayStation, PS2, PS3, and PS4 as of Nov. 7 according to @GWR.
And it's all thanks to you 💙 pic.twitter.com/maO0TOVqs2— PlayStation (@PlayStation) December 3, 2019
It’s worth noting that the Guinness World Record is for best-selling home console brand, as PlayStation has not been as successful when venturing into handheld territory. The PSP was moderately successful, but the PlayStation Vita could not make much of an impact despite excellent exclusive games like Uncharted: Golden Abyss, and Killzone: Mercenary. It is unlikely we will see a successor, particularly as game-streaming technology means we can now play home console games directly on our phones.
Sony’s world record is likely to get even bigger over the next few years. In late 2020, it will be launching the PlayStation 5, a console that supports 8K resolution and ray tracing technology. Once again, it will be competing with Microsoft’s Xbox in the form of Project Scarlett, as well as the Nintendo Switch.
