PS4 Sales Reach 18.5 Million Units

Sony has now sold more than 18.5 million PlayStation 4 units worldwide, the company announced today in a Japanese press release translated by Reuters. This is up from 13.5 million at the end of October 2014. The new milestone counts consoles sold up to January 4, 2015.

In addition, Sony revealed that it now has 10.9 million PlayStation Plus subscribers, which is up from 7.9 million at the end of October 2014. A PS Plus subscription costs $50 per year.

Sony achieved the new PS4 sales figure despite some strong headwinds in recent months. The rival Xbox One outsold the PS4 in November, while a Christmas Day DDoS attack brought down the PlayStation Network for upwards of 48 hours, causing headaches for millions.

It's possible PS4 sales could have been even stronger if it weren't for supply issues in Europe during Christmas, according to PlayStation president Andrew House. The executive also admitted that PS4 sales conditions were "tougher" in November due to the Xbox One price cut.

By comparison, the Xbox One had shipped 10 million units as of November. Microsoft has not provided a new sales tally since. We'll have that information for you as soon as it becomes available.