The figure, which includes both the original and Pro versions of the console, was for 11 June, which was the day before Sony took to the stage at E3.

Sony said that it had sold 50 million units of the console as of December 6, 2016, about a month after the launch of the PS4 Pro. An added 10 million units in six months is not bad. Sony said that the PS4 Pro has represented about 20 percent of all unit sales.

All this is happening with Sony still insisting on its $499 price tag. Most people think that Sony could do better against the Xbox One X if it dropped the price of the PS4 Pro by $50 to $349.

In a statement released alongside the new sales milestone, SIE boss Andrew House said: "The PS4 platform is in its prime, with the industry's best lineup of exclusive and partner titles slated to release this year."

PlayStation 4 software has already sold 487.8 million units across physical and digital channels, along with 26.4 million paid subscribers for the PlayStation Plus service - both figures were accurate as of the end of March 2017.

Sony is predicting shipments of the PS4 to slow down, from 20 million in the year ended March 2017 to 18 million in the year ahead.