Curious about how well the PS4 (review) is faring less than half a year since its launch? It turns out the answer is very well indeed. In the latest stats released by the company, its next generation console has racked up six million in sales since its launch. This averages out to more than a million units sold per month since the next gen console debuted.

No doubt, only bolstering the PS4’s fortune is its recent launch in Japan, the one holdout region in which the PS4 had yet to make its mark.  

Caring about sharing

Strong sales, however, is not the most interesting part of the PS4 picture; considering how robustly Sony’s console came out of the gate locally and abroad, that was hardly a surprise. According to the company, that honour goes to the console’s sharing features, which have been enthusiastically embraced. Apparently, the Share button on the Dualshock 4 controller has shared in the love being shown for the console, having accounted for an impressive 100 million in-game shares via Facebook and Twitter.

Furthermore, John Koller, the vice president of marketing: home consoles and handheld platforms for SCEA, elaborated that the console has also spawned 3.6 million live broadcasts and more than 56 million spectate sessions on PS4 through Twitch and Ustream. He noted that Stateside, the vast majority (90%) of PS4s are connected to the internet, no doubt helping matters.  

Fore!  

Koller also intimated that players can look forward to richer sharing experiences to come. “Developers are beginning to take advantage of PS4’s new interactive live broadcasting gaming features, integrating modes that allow broadcasted gameplay to become interactive for spectators. Even as a viewer, you can now influence livestreamed gameplay,” he elaborated. More specifically, he cited Dead Nation: Apocalypse Edition, which boasts an integrated Broadcast+ mode.

With this, players will be able to stream their gameplay while viewers on the PS4 or a web browser influence positive and negative effects experienced in the game.

To our minds, gaming as a spectator/participant sport to rival live sports matches in the near future seems entirely possible. It is certainly more appealing than sitting next to that loud, sweaty guy in the bleachers who is unfamiliar with the concept of personal space (or regular showers). For the PS4 though, all indications are that Sony has scored a touchdown of note.