It's long been understood that Sony's legacy PlayStation 4 gaming console has outsold Microsoft's Xbox One device, but new details emerging from a recent Microsoft regulatory filing reveal just how big the discrepancy is.

From their respective 2013 releases through March of 2022, PlayStation 4 outsold Xbox One by a tally of 117.2 million consoles to 55.8 million.

The data comes from a regulatory filing Microsoft made in Brazil, which was originally reported by enthusiast blog Game Luster.

As Protocol noted, Microsoft stopped reporting Xbox One sales in 2016, choosing instead to focus media and consumer attention on uptake of its online gaming service, Xbox Live.

Both Sony and Microsoft debuted updated versions of their respective consoles in 2020, but the legacy PlayStation 4 and Xbox One remain proliferate in global living rooms and are still popular platforms for connected TV apps.

However, with the emergence of these sales figures, which reveal the PS4 to be one of the best-selling video game devices ever, we now know that for SVOD, AVOD and FAST apps, not all "console support" is created equally. ■

They’re still debating whether the human eye can even perceive the improvement from 4K and 8K at screen sizes below 85 horizontal inches. And never mind that there’s still very little 4K content on the U.S. market, despite projections that 4K TV’s will be in 50% of U.S. homes by the end of the year.

But with the release of Sony’s next-generation PlayStation 5 video game console—which looks like it’s slated for sometime in 2020—the 8K era will officially dawn in North America, whether anyone gives a fork or not.

Speaking to Wired, the architect behind the upcoming console upgrade, Mark Cerny, described the major highlights of the upgrade, which include fancy new AMD chipsets and a solid state hard drive. Other hyped benefits include ray tracing—the processing-intensive capability of reproducing how light interacts with different objects and materials, which helps in creating ever-more-immersive gaming environments.

And then there’s 8K resolution capabilities.

The widely adopted HDTV standard offers about 2 million pixels on the screen in a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution format. A 4K display packs in about 8.3 million pixels at a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160.

As for 8K, it really brings the cow bell, with 33.2 million pixels crammed into the same screen area in a 7,680 x 4,320 resolution.

Research company Strategy Analytics thinks that around 500,000 8K TVs will be sold worldwide this year, and that 8% of U.S. homes will have these sets by 2025.

Content is another story.

“The availability of true 8K content is going to remain extremely restricted for some years,” noted Michael Goodman, director of TV and media strategies for Strategy Analystics. “Many content providers and distributors are still migrating to 4K from basic HD and will see little justification in investing in 8K when so few viewers will see any benefit for many years. Instead, they should focus on other important image enhancement technologies such as HDR (high dynamic range) and HFR (high frame rate).”

Regardless, interjecting the 8K discussion, however nascent, into one of the most important transoms into the American living room is interesting.

Sony disclosed in January that 91.6 million PlayStation 4 consoles had been sold worldwide since the console was introduced in 2013, making it the best-selling video game device in the world. In markets like the U.S., the PS4 is not just a video game console—it’s a key delivery agent for OTT services such as Netflix and Sony’s own PlayStation Vue lived-streaming service.

Will the PS5 usher in the 8K era in the U.S. before the 4K era even gets fully deployed?

As you can probably guess, there are lots of folks who doubt that, starting with gaming and digital entertainment and lifestyle pub Polygon. The blog wonders if Sony is really capable of packing in the necessary computer hardware to deliver things like 8K and ray tracing in a console that will be priced will under $1,000.

The blog notes that even top-of-the-line PCs have difficulty hitting 4K at a stable 60 frames per second.

And ray tracing? Polygon noted that Nvida has strived to enable real-time ray tracing with its new RTX line of graphics cards, targeted to high-end gamers and prices exceeding $1,000.

“The PS5’s GPU and CPU will be designed by AMD with ray tracing in mind from the beginning,” Polygon explained “But since most of the technology required to deliver 4K (let alone 8K) with ray tracing at playable frame rates isn’t available for consumers yet, it’s difficult to say just how well this might work in a console, or how powerful these chips will have to be.”

Sony Corp. has debuted a new remote control for its PlayStation 4 console, one more adept at lean-back TV watching than game play.

And with the debut of the $30 Cloud Remote, Sony is offering a free 30-day trial of its virtual MVPD service, PlayStation Vue.

The new device pairs with the console via BlueTooth and can also control certain TV monitor functions including volume and power.

Related: PlayStation Vue Busts Out

The handheld device can be used in lieu of PS4’s native DualShock 4 controller, which is more fit for gaming. It will hit the market on September 19, available only at GameStop locations and on Amazon.

According to figures released by Strategy Analysts, PlayStation Vue ranges as the fourth biggest vMVPD, amassing around 745,000 subscribers since it debuted in 2015.

Among the major virtual pay TV services, Vue’s year-over-year growth of 59.4% is the second slowest next to market leader Sling TV, which expanded by only 25.9% from Q2 2017 to Q2 2018. 

NBC Sports Digital said the authenticated NBC Sports app has added another platform to the streaming mix following support for Sony's PlayStation 4 gaming console.  

The app delivers thousands of live sporting events airing on NBC, NBCSN and Golf Channel. Examples from this year include the NHL Winter Classic, the NHL All-Star Game, Super Bowl LII, the Winter Olympic Games from PyeongChang, the Premier League, and the French Open and Triple Crown.  

Starting with today’s World Cup opening match between Saudi Arabia and host country Russia, the NBC Sports app is also live-streaming Telemundo’s Spanish-language coverage of the tournament. 

The NBC Sports app is also supported on Fire TV devices and Fire tablets, Apple TV, Xbox consoles, Chromecast streaming adapters, Roku players and Roku TVs, certain Samsung smart TV models, web browsers, and Android and iOS mobile devices.  

The app is powered by NBC’s Playmaker Media division  

RELATED: NBC Sports Digital Launches Playmaker Media

WatchESPN, the sports giant’s TV Everywhere offering, has extended support to the Sony PlayStation 4, with support coming soon to the PS3.

ESPN didn’t announce a launch date for the PS3 but expects it to be available on that platform “in time for the remainder of the college football season.”

WatchESPN provides access to live streams to ESPN’s stable of networks, for authenticated viewers with TVE rights, and to a batch of short-form video clips for non-authenticated users.  Specific services offered to pay TV subs via the app include ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, SEC Network, SEC Network +, Longhorn Network, ACC Network Extra and ESPN Goal Line, Buzzer Beater and Bases Loaded.

WatchESPN is also offered on iOS and Android mobile devices, the Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku players and Roku TVs, Windows 8 products, Xbox One consoles, and Google’s Chromecast streaming adapter.

“WatchESPN on PlayStation 4 strengthens the value of the video subscription by delivering multiplatform accessibility to live and on-demand sports content on yet another streaming device,” Sean Breen, senior vice president, affiliate sales for Disney and ESPN Media Networks, said in a statement. “Gaming consoles have historically attracted significant engagement in minutes consumed for WatchESPN, and with today’s launch, the app increases its distribution footprint to reach fans on the most widely adopted platforms.”

We’ve known the price. Now we know the date.

The PlayStation VR will debut in the U.S. on October 13 and support more than 50 games between that launch date and the end of 2016, Shawn Layden, president of  Sony Interactive Entertainment America and chairman of Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios, announced Monday night at the company’s E3 keynote.

“2016 is a seminal moment in virtual reality,” he said. “The time has finally come for everyone to enjoy VR in their own homes.”

The PlayStation VR, which connects to the PlayStation 4, retails for $399. Sony, which has a higher-end, 4K-capable PS4 in the works codenamed “Neo” that should bring more pixels and horsepower to its VR-enabled gaming lineup, has previously announced a $500 bundle for the PlayStation VR that includes a camera and two motion controllers.

Sony will have a big base to market its VR platform to, as the CE giant has already sold more than 40 million PS4s worldwide.  Sony will be competing in the sector against two high-end VR platforms -- the Oculus Rift ($599) and the HTC Vive ($799), which must be tethered to high-performance PCs.

During the keynote, Sony showed off several VR titles, including Star Wars Battlefront: X-Wing VR Mission, Batman Arkham VR, and Final Fantasy XV. 

Update: Sony said Star Wars Battlefront: X-Wing VR Mission will be exclusive to PS VR this holiday season and will be free for owners of Star WarsBattlefront. Sony also estimated that PlayStation VR titles will range from $9.99 to $59.99, and that PlayStation Move controllers will be available as a two-pack bundle for $99.99. 

Confirming rumors that have been swirling for months, a top exec at Sony toldThe Financial Times that the CE giant is developing a “high-end” version of the PlayStation 4 that will support games and video in 4K resolution. 

Notably, Sony doesn’t plan to trot out the new device, codenamed “Neo,” at next week’s E3 show, but House said the new product will carry a heavier price tag than the current-gen PS4, which recently surpassed 40 million units sold worldwide.

"It is intended to sit alongside and complement the standard PS4," House told the publication, adding that Sony “will be selling both [versions of the console] through the life cycle."

Both the current-gen and Neo versions of PS4 will support the PlayStation VR headset, which will arrive in October and start at $399.

Sony has not announced any 4K content partners for the Neo console. However, Netflix and Amazon Video are examples of streaming apps that already offer libraries of 4K titles. It’s not yet known if PlayStation Vue, Sony’s OTT-TV service, will use Neo as an opportunity to add 4K content to its programming mix. 

Shomi, the multiscreen SVOD service from Canadian operators Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications, has expanded access to the Sony PlayStation 4.

The service, which launched across Canada  last August, is also offered on Web browsers, Android and iOS smartphones and tablets, Rogers and Shaw set-top boxes, Apple TV (via AirPlay), the Xbox 360, and has been optimized for the Google Chromecast streaming adapter. The shomi site notes that the service is “coming soon” to the Xbox One.

“Members have been asking for shomi on the PS4 system since we launched, and I’m thrilled we are now able to provide our service on this platform,”  Ann Tebo, shomi’s director, product management, said in a  statement. “With the addition of the PS4 system there are now four Internet-connected ways for members to get great shomi content on their TV screen.”

Update: You.i TV of Ottawa said shomi's deployment on the PS4 is the first app from the vendor to launch on a game console, and that it uses the same codebase that powers shomi's apps for iOS and Android devices. 

Shomi, which is tangling with Netflix in Canada, costs $8.99 per month, though new shomi customers are in line for a two-month free trial. Rogers introduced a major 4K initiative last year that will offer movies and TV shows on shomi in the pixel-packed format.

Nearly half (45%) of all TV viewers in Canada now use an OTT service such as Netflix, shomi, Crave TV or Club Illico, according to a new survey from Media Technology Monitor. 

The Interview and the recent hack attack on Sony got top billing at Sony’s CES’s press conference, with Sony president and CEO Kazuo praising Sony employees for their response to the attack.

Hirai noted that Sony was “the victim of one of most vicious and malicious cyberattacks in recent history” and praised Sony employees who “stood up against some of the extortionists that attacked Sony and worked tireless 24 hour a day to bring The Interview to audiences in U.S. and Canada.”

Highlighting the importance that over-the-top platforms are playing this year at CES, Hirai began discussing their products with the new PlayStation Vue Internet video service, calling it a product that “reinvents the TV experience.”

But he provided few new details on the service which will launch in the first quarter and Sony executives did not discuss pricing or channel counts.

Hirai did note that PlayStation 4 has been the fastest launch of any of their PlayStation products, selling 18.5 million consoles since launch and about 4.1 million during this year’s holiday season.

In addition, its subscription service now has 10.9 million subs.

For more, please see the full story at B&C.