Sony predicting 5 million PS4s sold by March 2014

Ambitious sales target would be a 40 per cent increase on the PS3

Sony Computer Entertainment make the Playstation consoles (AP)

Sony’s next-generation console, the PS4, isn’t due to launch until November (in the US on the 15th and in the UK on the 29th) but Sony are already predicting sales of more than 5 million units in the first fiscal year.

This would mean that by the end of March 2014 Sony would have to have sold more than a million units each month. By comparison the Playstation 3 sold around 3.55 million units in the same time period from November 2006 to March 2007, whilst the Xbox 360 took a whole calendar year to reach Sony’s target for the PS4.

The PS4 will be substantially cheaper than the PS3, but it won’t launch in Japan until 22 February – three months after North American and European markets.

Sony made the predictions at the Tokyo Game Show where Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Andrew House said: “Our first priority is to satisfy our core users, but the possibilities of the PS4 will not end there… The PS4 will bring people together — not just virtually — but through shared experience, whether it is through dance, karaoke, or party games.”

The PS4 will retail for $399 in the US (£349 in the UK) compared to $599 for the PS3 and $499 for the Xbox 360. Whilst it took four years for the PS3 to become profitable, Sony are expecting that its successor’s lower price will mean it turns a profit “much sooner.”