Andrew House
Image: PlayStation

We don't like looking as far forward as next week, so the analysts at Strategy Analytics must have had to brace themselves when thinking ahead all the way to 2019. Fortunately for us, the firm reckons that the future looks bright for Sony, as it believes that the PlayStation 4 will reproduce the success of the PlayStation 2 over the next four years, achieving an install base of 80 million units.

The console's currently sitting at 18.5 million units sold officially, and could reach as high as 40 million by the end of this year if the manufacturer plays its cards right. As such, 80 million units certainly seems achievable in the not too distant future. Perhaps more exciting for fanboys, though, the firm reckons that Microsoft will only manage to move 57 million Xbox Ones in the same period, putting clear daylight between the two devices.

Of course, this is all guesswork for now, and who knows what could happen in the future? The trends are definitely looking positive for the PlayStation maker and its latest machine, but there have been a few chinks in its armour of late – primarily due to the up-and-down nature of the PlayStation Network. It still needs to work for every sale, then, so hopefully it's aware of that.

[source gamesindustry.biz, via vg247.com]