Sony PlayStation 4 has now outsold the original PlayStation

PlayStation 4, now six years old, is the second most successful console for Sony after the PlayStation 2.

But profit at Sony’s gaming business dropped (REUTERS)

Sony in its second quarter earnings report revealed it had sold 2.8 million units of PlayStation 4 between July and September 2019. So far, Sony has sold 102.8 million units of PlayStation 4, making it one of the most popular consoles for the company.

PlayStation 4 has now outsold the original PlayStation which sold about 102.5 million units. Sony's console has also beaten Nintendo's Wii (101.6 million units). Sony PlayStation 4 is now behind PlayStation 2 which sold 155 million.

Sony's profit, however, from gaming business have dropped as contributions from big gaming hits last year, such as "Marvel's Spider-Man", faded out. Overall, sales of its mainstay PlayStation 4 console have also fallen. The company had sold 3.2 million units of PlayStation 4, which is now six years old, in the first quarter.

Sony and other traditional console players also face a growing challenge from cloud-based gaming platforms. Google is doing away with the need of consoles with a new Google Stadia platform whereas Microsoft is working on Project Xcloud for the same.

With a growing focus on streaming, Sony slashed its annual subscription fee for the PlayStation Now Cloud gaming platform to $59.99, down by 40%. Sony will be now hoping Death Stranding, Last of Us Part II and other exclusive titles will revive the sales.

Sony is also gearing up to launch PlayStation 5 in 2020. The next version of PS is said to come with big improvements and a new controller. Interestingly enough, Sony has already secured trademarks for the next five iterations of PlayStation, starting from PlayStation 6 to PlayStation 10.

(With inputs from Reuters)