When Sony revealed their updated PS4 sales numbers of 4.2 million at CES 2014 this week, it put them over 1 million units ahead of the Xbox One as 2013 finished up.
Despite this early lead, SCEA’s VP of Marketing for Consoles and Handhelds John Koller told CVG that he doesn’t see the quick advantage as a big deal:
It’s really not. We look at it really just introspectively. The ‘4.2 million’ number is important because it gets us further towards our goal. And that goal is the largest install base we can possibly get, to encourage publishers and developers to continue to make great game experiences for PS4.
That’s the ultimate goal. You want to make it economically viable, and a great business for the big publishers and developers to say, ‘You know what, I wanna be on PS4 either first, exclusively’ or whatever it is, utilize the feature set the PS4 has and really encourage that as a business.
I think that’s the goal of the larger install base. I mean, sure, we all look at the competition and see where people are, but for us we’ve got to keep growing, getting bigger and bigger. I think we’ve got a great opportunity specifically because we’ve got a great product.
After admitting how PS4 “demand is going to chase supply a bit,” and stock is selling out as soon as it hits stores, Koller was asked if reaching the lifetime sales of the Wii and PS2 was something they looked at as being possible for the PS4:
We look at it. I don’t think that’s really the goal though. Again, it’s really about how can we just get the biggest possible install base. I don’t think we have a specific number that we’re shooting for because that’s where the PS2 was or that’s where the Wii was. We did have the biggest launch ever in 24 hours – we’ve talked about that publicly, but in general it’s really about how can you get the biggest install base and encourage a great business, and really make games that our gamers want.
I think the beauty of the PS4 launch is we’ve been as focused as we’ve ever been on saying we’re for the gamer. We’re for you, we’re for the person that wants to engage with great games.
If you want to get to the entertainment we have that too, but we’ve got the best games. And so I think that has brought a lot of people into the fold who I think would otherwise have said, ‘Wait, I’m not sure which [console to buy], maybe I’ll just make a decision based on where my friends are’. In this case they’re saying, ‘I know that PlayStation stands with me’. So we return that favor by making sure the best games come.
While the reaching Wii and PS2 sales heights will be a challenge, Andrew House did previously state how he believes the PS4 “has an opportunity to significantly exceed what we’ve been able to achieve with PS3.”
Do you think Sony is underplaying the significance of this early lead, or is it just that, an early lead in a long console generation? Let us know in the comments below.
