The PS4 is currently the most successful console on the market- it’s nearly sold 50 million units, and with the launch of the PS4 Pro, the PS4 Slim, and the PlayStation VR, it doesn’t look like it’s going to slow down selling any time soon. In fact, in an exclusive interview with GamingBolt, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter revealed that he thinks Sony could sell as many as 175 million PS4 consoles worldwide- if they play their cards right.
“I think Sony could go as high as 120-140 million pretty easily,” Pachter said. “And what I am most encouraged about is that the PS4 Slim is priced at $249- we’re seeing a faster degradation of the price curve for the PS4 than we saw for the PS3. That’s pretty impressive.
“And it’s the same with Xbox- you know, the Xbox 360, I don’t think it ever got below $300. Certainly you had sales, but I think the official price was $299 back when the Xbox One launched. So seeing the two major consoles at $249, barely three years after launch, is a really good sign. And if we can get a PS4 for $199, or $149, yes, they’re going to sell a ton of them.”
Pachter further added that this rapid price deterioration for these consoles is what could lead to very high sales in the long run, noting that ‘cheap is good.’
“Yeah, cheap is good,” he said. “I mean, let’s be real, most people on the planet think that $400 is a lot of money. And most people on the planet appreciate that $300 is less than $400, and $200 is even less. Cheaper is better. And we know that McDonalds sells more hamburgers than restaurants sell stakes, because hamburgers cost a dollar, and stakes cost $20. So, you can feed yourself for a dollar instead of $20- it just makes sense. So if you dropped the price of a console to $200 – if Sony were able to – I think they could go as high as 175 million.”
My personal take: I can see the PS4 crossing 100 million units sold with ease, but getting to 175 million, which not even the mighty PS2 could manage, seems to be a long shot to me.