On December 3, 2019, PlayStation completes 25 years of its launch, and the Sony PlayStation has been certified as the all-time best-selling video game console by Guinness World Records.
PlayStation tweeted the news along with a photo of Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan and former CEO Ken Kutaragi with the Guinness certificate flanked by PlayStation mascots Toro Inoue and Piposaru from Ape Escape.
The total PlayStation hardware sales between December 3, 1994, and November 7, 2019, have reached an astounding 450,190,000 units. The first version of PlayStation sold over 100 million units, PS2 sold over 150 million units, PS3 sold 80 million units, and PS4 has sold over 100 million units.
At an event in Tokyo to commemorate the 25th anniversary of PlayStation and the Guinness certification, ex-CEO Ken Kutaragi who is also affectionately known as “the father of the PlayStation” said “We launched the PlayStation platform with the aim of changing the face of entertainment… I feel the support of the players who have enjoyed our consoles over the years, and as the father of the PlayStation, I can see it has a bright future.”
Speaking at the event, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan remembered how the original Playstation had sold over 100,000 copies in Japan on the first day and went on to sell more than 100 million units worldwide. He further said, “PlayStation has an exciting future ahead, and we’ll continue to do our best.”
For the PlayStation, Sony created a strong first-party studio roster and worked with external developers worldwide. The result was the creation of highly successful games like Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil 2, Final Fantasy VII, Kingdom Hearts, and Grand Theft Auto, which have attracted generations of users. The sole focus on gaming has reaped rich dividends as competitors spent resources on exploring television and other types of entertainment.
PlayStation did not reach the same levels of popularity in the handheld devices gaming sector as it did in the gaming consoles. The PlayStation Vita tanked despite games like Uncharted: Golden Abyss and Killzone: Mercenary.
The sales of PS4 will keep rising as Sony’s has planned several exclusive games like The Last Of Us Part 2 and Ghost of Tsushima, which will keep bringing users to PS4. Sony will launch PS5 by late 2020 with features like 8K resolution and ray tracing technology.
