PlayStation 4 Sells 60 Million Units, But Surprisingly Few Of Them Are PS4 Pros

It seems Sony is feeling rather pleased with themselves, giving themselves a big ol' public pat on [...]

By Nathan Birch

WWGps4pro4
(Photo: Sony)

It seems Sony is feeling rather pleased with themselves, giving themselves a big ol' public pat on the back in a recent interview with Time. And why not? According Sony global game development boss Shawn Layden, the PlayStation 4 has sold almost 60 million units. That makes it Sony's fastest-moving system to date, outpacing even the PlayStation 2. Certainly, an impressive stat, considering the PS2 is the most successful console of all time, with nearly 160 million units sold.

That said, not all the stats Layden spit out were quite as impressive. According to the Sony exec "for every five PlayStation 4s Sony sells, one is a PlayStation 4 Pro." I think that was supposed to be a brag, but I'm not sure how impressed I am.

Yes, the PS4 Pro is $100 more expensive than the standard PS4, but when it comes to tech, consumers aren't afraid to opt for the slightly more expensive option if they think it offers a premium experience. More people buy the iPhone 7 than the iPhone SE or the New Nintendo 3DS XL than the standard version/2DS. The fact that only 20 percent of people are opting for the PS4 Pro shows they don't see any premium value in the half-step system.

That said, Sony's global sales chief Jim Ryan is happy with the PS4 Pro numbers:

"It is way ahead of our expectations. I suppose in forecasting these things we haven't done a very good job, the product is in desperately short supply. So that's one-in-five under severe constraint."

With the PS4 Pro struggling somewhat to carve out its own niche, could the souped-up system someday get games with exclusive gameplay features, or even outright exclusives? Don't count on it, says Layden:

"Because the games need to play on both Pro and standard PS4, there can't be a radical departure between the two experiences. I think we've hit a happy medium by enriching the visual experience, and developers enjoy having that extra oomph while knowing they're making games that play well on all 60 million PlayStation 4s. I guess we're trying to have our cake and eat it too. We're going to stay the course. There's still a lot of juice to squeeze out of the PlayStation 4 platform, full stop. So, ensuring PlayStation 4 games play on both consoles is our winning formula right now."

Not a shocking statement. Sony needs to keep the happy PS4 family together if they want to surpass that 100 million units mark, which is their next big target. In the end, I have a feeling the PS4 Pro may end up being a blip on Sony's record-setting journey.

Sony had plenty more to share in their Time interview, including their thoughts on the failure of the PS Vita, what they think of the Nintendo Switch and Xbox One competition, and plans for a less chatty E3 2017 press conference.

You can check out WWG's latest PlayStation 4 coverage here, and our back catalog of stories, right here.

[via Time]

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