PS4 Pro vs. PlayStation 4: 20% Of Sales Are For New Console, Sony Says

The PlayStation 4 and PS4 Pro are driving Sony's current hot streak, and now we have a better idea just how much the PS4 Pro has contributed. In an interview with Time Monday, Shawn Layden, Sony’s head of global development, said of every five PlayStation 4 units the company sells, one is a PS4 Pro.

Since its launch last November, Sony generally has been positive about the PS4 Pro’s sales performance, even if it’s generally been a secondary option to the main PlayStation 4. A December 2016 NPD Group report found the PlayStation 4 sold an estimated 1.56 million units, with the PS4 Pro comprising around 238,000 of the total unit sales, Windows Central reported.

Read: Project Scorpio & PS4 Pro May Be Ousted By High-Spec PCs By 2020

Elsewhere in the interview, Sony also had other good news for PlayStation owners. Layden confirmed the PlayStation 4 had moved a global total of 60 million units since its launch last year. The PlayStation VR virtual reality headset also broke more than 1 million units in total sales, keeping it in line with Sony’s initial sales projections. The $399 PlayStation VR, which needs to be paired with a PlayStation 4 or PS4 Pro, has been a stronger-than-expected performer for Sony’s VR ambitions and has been a showcase for VR games like Resident Evil 7.

"It is way ahead of our expectations," Sony global sales chief Jim Ryan told Time. "As with PSVR, and I suppose in forecasting these things we haven't done a very good job, the product is in desperately short supply. So that's one in five under severe constraint."

For Sony, the PS4 Pro’s steady performance alongside the main PlayStation 4 largely validates the console’s unconventional spin-off model. Especially against past console generations, the PS4 Pro wasn’t necessarily a sure bet for Sony. While handheld consoles like the Nintendo Game Boy have seen incremental mid-cycle updates, it’s rarely been done to a significant degree on home consoles. Traditionally, gamers could expect that their $400 console would last for a full life cycle and not need a major upgrade after a few years.

Read: Sony Has Sold Almost One Million PlayStation VR Units

But for the PlayStation 4, the Pro offered the type of platform upgrades traditionally seen in PC gaming. Internally, the console sports better specifications and — most significantly — offers native gaming 4K support. As TV owners have started to migrate from traditional high-definition TVs to 4K-native sets, Sony is banking its PlayStation 4 install base will want to make the same jump. Microsoft plans to make a similar move with its upcoming Project Scorpio, a gaming 4K-capable refresh for the Xbox One.