Sony sold over 150 million PS2s in its lifetime.
While Sony has sold more than 80 million PlayStation 3s worldwide since its launch in 2006, the PlayStation 2 still reigns supreme.
“As successful as the PS3 has been, the PlayStation 2 was more successful, selling more than 150 million units in its lifetime,” said Peter Wyman, founder of research firm Newegg. “If we assume the average price was $150 for the PS2, which carried a lower sticker price, then Sony may have generated $22.5 billion in hardware sales.”
The PS3’s 80 million sales puts it in a dead heat with Microsoft’s Xbox 360, which went on sale in 2005. It shows what is possible when a video game console — even with heavy price tags ranging from $200 to $600 — catches on as a mass market item.
“If we assumed the average price was $300 per console, then Sony could very well have generated $24 billion in revenue from hardware alone,” said Warman, who noted that Sony’s figure is based on sell-in to retail, while Microsoft counts sell-through at retail.
And as Sony launches the PlayStation 4, it will continue to tout the PS3. More than 300 games are launching on the PS 3 this holiday season, including the highly anticipated Gran Turismo 6 racing game. Gran Turismo has already sold 70 million copies. All told, 4,332 games have been released on the PS3 in seven years. One of the last big ones was The Last of Us, which sold 3.4 million units in its first three weeks on the market.
“Over time, Sony brought down the costs of manufacturing the console, consolidating and eliminating components thanks to advances in manufacturing,” said Warman. “That allowed it to ride down the price curve from $600 at the outset to around $200 today.”
