PS4 sales at 18.5M worldwide, PS+ subscribers near 11M

Come sale away

PlayStation Plus was such a clever way to migrate people towards the idea of paying for online mulitplayer. It's still a good service, but also sly as hell. I let my membership lapse last year, but I'm (probably) in the minority, as Sony has recently announced it has 10.9 million PlayStation Plus ($50 per year) subscribers, up 3 million since October 2014.

Similarly, the PS4's sales numbers are good despite a narrative that positioned Microsoft as making a holiday comeback (the Xbox One dominated Black Friday ad pages). Microsoft hasn't issued an update since the 10 million consoles shipped to retail milestone in mid-November 2014, but Sony says it has now sold to consumers over 18.5 million PlayStation 4s worldwide. 

The 18.5 million is up from 13.5 million (September 30, 2014). That means 5 million in the last three months. Microsoft (and Nintendo) may have done well over the holidays--the Xbox One is said to have outsold the PS4 in November in the US--but Sony has clearly continued to do well, uh, as well. If the Wii U was able to turn Smash Bros. into consoles sold, might be a healthy holiday season all around. 

Sony PlayStation 4 sales top 18.5 million units worldwide [Reuters]