PlayStation 4 PS4 Hardware 1

There's a perception perhaps more among American gamers that the PlayStation 4 is only really seeing such wild success right now because Microsoft dropped the ball with its Xbox One at launch. While there's some truth to that, we've always tried to explain that the main reason Sony's so far ahead is because it appeals to a global audience – and we have some new figures which demonstrate that.

According to research firm GfK, the PS4 has sold 2.8 million units in Germany to date. That's an impressive number alone, but when you compare it to the competition it becomes even more staggering: the Wii U is sitting at 690,000 units, while the Xbox One has mustered just 600,000 units to date. That means that Sony currently commands almost 70 per cent of the market.

It's a staggering statistic, and when you consider that the above figure rises to around 90 per cent in countries such as Portugal, the runaway success of the system starts to make a lot more sense. Of course, the platform holder mustn't rest on its laurels – it needs to keep improving the console and supplying it with a steady stream of software. Few could have predicted this situation five years ago, though.

[source boerse-online.de, via neogaf.com]