PS4 is the only console to grow UK sales so far in 2016

Sony’s PlayStation 4 is the only console in the UK to sell more so far this year than it had in 2015.

That’s according to hardware figures seen by MCV, which indicate that PS4 sales year-to-date are 6.7 per cent up year-on-year to 207,907 units. Overall, console sales in the UK are 22.6 per cent down.

Sony has the momentum in the hardware market and has done since the machine launched in November 2013. The first half of this year has been boosted by impressive sales of PS4 exclusives: Ratchet & Clank broke series records, while Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is one of the fastest selling games of 2016. The firm has also benefitted from third-party hits such as Doom and The Division.

Despite this, PS4 has generated less money this year, with the average price of the machine falling. PS4 UK hardware revenue is down 10.4 per cent to 55m.

Elsewhere, Xbox One UK unitsales are down 15.8 per cent compared with the same period in 2015, while revenue is down 27.4 per cent.

But the machines that have suffered the fiercest declines are Wii U (down 48.3 per cent), PS3 (down 74.6 per cent) and Xbox 360 (down 87.2 per cent).