The Uncharted franchise has sold over 28 million copies worldwide, according to Sony Interactive Entertainment America (SIEA) chief, Shawn Layden.
Speaking during an interview with FOX Business, the executive observed that first-party efforts such as the Naughty Dog action-adventure franchise remain a key component in Sony’s console strategy.
“We believe that fans—longtime and new—find high quality exclusives to be a key factor in choosing the console they play on,” said Layden. Layden also said that PlayStation 4 sales are “approaching 40 million” worldwide.
Elsewhere, Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter expects Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, which was released on PS4 earlier this week, to sell around 10 million copies globally.
Said Pachter: “It likely will sell between seven to 10 million units. It’s hard to attach at a rate higher than 25% of the 40 million PS4’s out there.”
The first chapter in the franchise, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, hit PS3 in 2007 and became one of the first major selling points of the console. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves followed in 2009 and is considered by many to be one of the best games of the last console generation.
Developer Naughty Dog closed out the PS3 trilogy with Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception in 2011, while Sony Bend gave the series its first (and to date, only) PlayStation Vita entry with Uncharted: Golden Abyss.
While Naughty Dog is leaving Uncharted behind with the fourth instalment, it hasn’t ruled out the chance of another studio taking over at another point. The Santa Monica outfit also confirmed it has at least one more PS4 game in the pipeline.
Read our review of Uncharted 4 here.