During Sony's TGS press conference, SCE president Andrew House said (by way of translator) that Sony is projecting the sale of five million PlayStation 4 consoles before the end of the year.
Sony president of worldwide studios Shuhei Yoshida, who presented the PlayStation smartphone app and PS Vita TV later in the same conference, clarified this statement on Twitter.
As opposed to consoles sold by the end of 2013, as was implied, House and Sony meant by the end of the fiscal year, which ends in March 2014.
The PlayStation 4 launches in North America on November 15.
Our Take
Translation can be a
tricky, so it's doubtful that House misspoke when he said how many
consoles Sony projects to sell. Five million consoles before the end of
March 2014 is still an impressive estimation. The excitement that
appears to be surrounding Sony's console, especially when compared to
the competition, makes it seem like it's totally possible.