PlayStation 4, Plus Service Doing Phenomenally Well For Sony

Even though there's a lot of discussion these days revolving around the PlayStation 5 (and without an official announcement at that), we shouldn't forget that the PlayStation 4 deserves focus in its own right. Since its release nearly five years ago the console has become a massive hit for Sony, thanks to quality first and third party games and strong consumer support.

The company recently unveiled some sales numbers during its IR Day 2018 and Corporate Strategy Meeting event, disclosing not only how its latest console was performing but also noting the success of its PlayStation Plus program.

First off, the PlayStation 4 hasn't lost momentum at all. Since its release the system has managed to sell 79 million units worldwide as of March 31 of this year. That number will likely continue to grow as 2018 goes on, especially if a price drop gets announced in just a few weeks at E3.

PlayStation Network is also doing very well. It currently has over 80 million monthly active users for the same time period. And as of December 2017, it averaged around 800 million hours of gameplay per week. There's a good possibility that the number has risen since then though Sony did not have an estimate.

Software sales for PS4 games are through the roof. Estimates for the 2017 fiscal year indicate that 246 million units were sold though Sony didn't disclose if that included digital games along with physical.

But the real surprise here is with PlayStation Plus. The service is required to take part in online gaming, yet Sony added a neat initiative a while back with free games to download every month including some noteworthy AAA hits like Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and, most recently, Bloodborne. The program currently sits at 34.2 million subscribers as of March 31. And depending on what features it'll announce at E3 for Plus, we'll likely see that growth continue.

Now all eyes will be on the company at E3. It's unlikely we'll hear anything about the PlayStation 5 at the event, since Sony is likely planning a launch sometime in fall 2020. We might see a tease but that's not a guarantee. The majority of its show will focus on forthcoming games like Spider-Man, The Last of Us Part II and Death Stranding. So we certainly have those to look forward to.

Now it's just a matter of time before we see the PlayStation 4 crossing 100 million units. We're betting that after this holiday season, it'll be pretty damn close to that number.