10 Reasons Why The PS4 DOMINATED This Console Generation
Remember when everyone thought consoles were done for?
The last console generation was one to forget for the Playstation 3. Outperformed in almost every field, the Xbox 360 reigned supreme, and great new franchises like God of War and Uncharted had to give the spotlight to the likes of Halo and Gears of War.
But like the phoenix, the PlayStation 4 rose from the ashes of its predecessor and has proven to be too much to handle for the various versions of Microsoft's Xbox One and Nintendo's Wii U and Switch. After launching in November of 2013, the Playstation 4 wasted no time in establishing itself as a must-have console for any gamer.
Now, almost 7 years later, the Playstation 4 has undeniably become the most popular and best-selling console of this generation. As of December 2019, the Playstation 4 has sold over 108 million units. This makes it the fourth best-selling console of all time, behind the likes of the Gameboy (118 million), the Nintendo DS (154 million) and its own older brother, the Playstation 2 (155 million).
So what were the major reasons for why the Playstation 4 took back the crown from Xbox?
10. Sony Learned From The Mistakes Of The Playstation 3
Those who do not learn from the past, are doomed to repeat it. This must have been at the back of Sony’s mind when they started development on the PlayStation 4.
The biggest problem of the PlayStation 3 was its production issues. Constant delays meant it would launch in Japan and North America in November of 2006, but other regions would have to wait until March of the following year before they could get their hands on it.
These delays resulted in PlayStation losing the exclusives they had enjoyed in the past, such as Final Fantasy and Grand Theft Auto, to the Xbox 360, which launched the year before and had already sold 10 million units by the time the PlayStation 3 hit the shelves. In addition, the runaway success of the Nintendo Wii made staying competitive an uphill battle.
Sony were keen to avoid similar mistakes with the PlayStation 4, and started development on the console just two years after the launch of the PlayStation 3. More accessible development kits, tighter control on the console's production line and better bundle deals for gamers meant the PlayStation 4 would avoid repeating any of its previous blunders.