PlayStation 4 will sell in the region of 120-130 million units during its lifecycle, according to Wedbush Morgan analyst, Michael Pachter.
By comparison, Microsoft’s Xbox One console is forecast to sell 100-110 million during its market life, with Wii U bringing up the rear with 20 million—a significant drop from its predecessor’s impressive 100 million.
Pachter argued that this generation is likely to be the last major one of its kind, though did not rule out Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo producing more hardware later down the line.
"The console installed base is as big as it’s ever going to get," he said. "[This] generation is not going to be bigger than the last generation. We’re going to be about the same.
"This is the last real console cycle," he added. "I don’t mean that Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo will go bankrupt and shut down – they will not. Each of them will make another console, some people will buy them, and the next console cycle will be to this console cycle what the 3DS is to the DS. The 3DS is selling about 15 million units a year, the DS had five consecutive years where it sold more than 26 million. So about half as big.
"So when I say that this console cycle is the last console cycle, the reason is that console games shouldn’t require a console. And I’m not talking about the cloud."
PS4 and Xbox One both launched in November 2013, although to date Sony’s machine has comfortably outsold its leading rival, with over 25 million consoles shipped worldwide to date. Microsoft has not yet divulged an exact sales figure for its flagship home console.
In addition to posting strong sales worldwide, PS4 is also tracking faster than the multi-million selling PS2 in the U.K., where it is reported to have outsold Xbox One on a monthly basis since the beginning of 2015.
PS4 launched in Japan in February 2014, and has since gone on to sell over one million units in its home territory. Sony recently announced a price cut for PS4 in Japan, with Xbox boss Phil Spencer predicting a similar move for the west later this year.