Sony's numbers represent the company's estimates of units sold to consumers, as opposed to retail shipments. According to Sony, the PS4 "continues to demonstrate the fastest and strongest growth in PlayStation hardware history." To contrast and compare, the PS3 shipped 10.5 million units within a similar timeframe, and the PS2 10.6 million units.
"We are absolutely delighted that so many customers around the globe have continued to select PS4 as their console of choice throughout this holiday season," said Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Andrew House. "We will continue to reinforce and deliver additional value on PS4 as the best place to play, by bringing even more exciting content and by enriching our wide array of service offerings."
Sony will be hoping Now can go on to replicate the success of fellow subscription service PlayStation Plus. According to this week's announcement, more than 10.9 million users "have been taking advantage of the features and benefits" of Plus. In November 2014, Sony said the service reached "7.9 million members."
Finally, if you're interested in how the PS4's 18.5 million sales translate into software figures, Sony's got you covered there too. The company estimates software sales are up to 81.8 million (both physical and downloadable), including 17.8 million across the holiday season.
[Image: Sony]
