Sony's PS4 outsells Xbox One nearly two to one, clearing 6 million global sales

Latest figures show a big win for Sony - although the console is available in five times as many markets as Microsoft's rival machine

A picture taken on November 29, 2013 in a Parisian store shows the joystick of the new Sony Playstation 4 video game console (PS4). (JOEL SAGET/AFP/Getty Images)

Sony has pulled ahead significantly in the console wars, announcing that the PS4 has now sold more than 6 million units worldwide, with software sales – both physical and digital – tipping 13.7 million.

Although Microsoft has not released official figures in recent months, it’s thought that the Xbox One has shipped 3.5 million units over the same period, while the Wii U has shifted around 6 million since its launch in November 2012.

When comparing these figures though, analysts note that the PS4 is available in 57 markets worldwide while the Xbox One is currently only available in 13.

In the press release announcing the figures Sony was keen to stress the social functionality of the PS4 in their announcement, noting that of the consoles sold in the US, 90 per cent of these were connected to the internet.

Video game streaming service Twitch was also singled out for praise. The software has recently attracted plenty of attention online thanks to the fantastically successful Twitch Plays Pokémon, and Sony noted that since 1 January, PS4 gamers have accounted for 20 per cent of all daily broadcasts on the service.

Microsoft recently announced that Twitch would finally be coming to the Xbox One as well, coinciding with the launch of sic-fi shooter Titanfall. With both companies eager to get on the traffic phenomenon that is Twitch (the service attracts 45 million uniques views each month) it seems that social gaming is set to be a big battleground for the consoles in the coming years.

Sony also confirmed that its best-selling game is Killzone: Shadow Fall, with sales for the flagship title topping 2.1 million. This is good news for Sony considering Killzone is a PS4 exclusive, but the list of best-sellers remainsl dominated by non-exclusive franchises: Call of Duty: Ghosts, Fifa 14, Battlefield 4 and Assasin’s Creed IV. Despite the impressive sales, it seems that the PS4 (and the Xbox One) still have a lot of growing up to do.