Sony PlayStation 4 sales surpass 1 million units in first 24 hours

Kimberly Lee, left, purchases a Sony Playstation 4 from Ashley Delva, a sales associate at Best Buy in in Pembroke Pines, Fla.

By Dawn C. Chmielewski

Nov. 18, 2013 11:34 AM PT

Just last week, the Conference Board, which tracks consumer confidence, offered a gloomy forecast for the coming year.

Apparently, gamers neglected to check out the key economic indicators before rushing stores to buy the $400 PlayStation 4.

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. said it sold 1 million of its new video game consoles within the first 24 hours of the device becoming available on Nov. 15.

“Sales remain very strong in North America, and we expect continued enthusiasm as we launch the PlayStation 4 in Europe and Latin America on Nov. 29,” Andrew House, president and group chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment, said in a statement.

Colin Sebastian of Baird Research has projected that the PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s forthcoming Xbox One system, which is to go on sale Friday, will sell a total of 5 million units before the end of the year.

Both game systems are vying for the attention of game aficionados, who are among the first to buy the newest consoles. Sony has positioned the newest iteration of its PlayStation as “built for gamers,” whereas Microsoft is describing its system as an entertainment hub that does more than just play games.

Sony’s lineup of games at launch includes “Killzone,” “Shadow Fall,” “Knack” and “Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag.” It also offers access to entertainment options that include Sony’s own Music Unlimited and Video Unlimited services, as well as Amazon Instant Video, Netflix and Hulu Plus.

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