As the PlayStation 5's launch looms ever closer, its predecessor's record-breaking run is finally in the home stretch. While it has virtually no chance of catching the PS2 in terms of hardware units sold, the PS4 is now the second best-selling platform in the PlayStation family as well as the current second best-selling console of all time period.
It goes without saying that a console that has sold over 100 million units is going to have some games that have moved equally-impressive numbers. At the same time, there have been quite a few flops released on the PS4, games that were heavily hyped and/or are part of huge IPs that sold almost nothing. Those are what we are going to be highlighting for the "lowest" half of the list, rather than just the straight-up worst sellers on PS4.
Note: All sales numbers were sourced from Statista.com, VGChartz.com, or PlayStationLifestyle.net, and mostly account for physical sales as digital sales numbers are seldom released by platform holders.
10 Highest: God Of War (10 Million)
The formula that the God of War series had followed from its first installment through its two console sequels and two PSP titles had began to wear a bit thin. Even worse, Kratos had become an over-the-top caricature of himself. Ascension tried to reign things in and give the series a much-needed refresh, but it missed the mark-- a mark that the simply titled God of War for PS4 hit a bullseye on. Fans agreed, making it the best-selling game in the series so far.
9 Lowest: World Of Final Fantasy (600,ooo)
Square Enix spent most of the late-2010s hyping up Final Fantasy XV, Kingdom Hearts III, and of course, Final Fantasy VII Remake. As such, they released World of Final Fantasy for PS4 in 2016 with little fanfare, and the result was the game falling flat on its face at retail. It's a shame, too, as World of Final Fantasy is one of the best FF spin-off games ever, a charming combination of that series and Pokémon with an achingly cute visual style. More people need to give this one a chance.
8 Highest: The Witcher 3 - Wild Hunt (11 Million)
From its humble beginnings as a scrappy little RPG from an unknown developer based on a book series that was mostly only popular in its native Poland, The Witcher quickly established itself as one of the best franchises of the decade and put its developer among industry elite. It wasn't until Witcher 3 that the franchise came to a PlayStation platform, and judging by the sales of the PS4 version of it, PlayStation fans had been eagerly awaiting its arrival.
7 Lowest: Everybody's Golf (500,000)
Everybody's Golf-- known as Hot Shots Golf in North America for a time-- has long been one of the most reliable first-party PlayStation franchises, the kind of series that comes to all of its platforms and that is never a disappointing purchase no matter what installment you pick up. For some reason, PS4 owners just didn't seem to care about the franchise's debut on that system in 2017, all but ignoring it despite critical acclaim and even some "Game of the Year" nominations from various publications.
6 Highest: Marvel's Spider-Man (13 Million)
PlayStation and Spider-Man have had a good relationship since the fantastic Spider-Man for PS1, and that tradition came full circle with Marvel's Spider-Man, one of the PS4's best and most brag-worthy exclusives. It also makes a strong case for itself as the best comic book-based video game of the generation, and maybe even of all time. The impressive sales numbers also prove that gamers will happily show up for comic book video games that are well-made and aren't just quick cash-grabs.
5 Lowest: Gravity Rush 2 (400,000)
The PS VITA had a rough go of it, failing to neither replicate the success of the PSP nor be a worthy contender to Nintendo's 3DS. But the handheld did manage a couple of impressive exclusives, including the beautiful Gravity Rush which got a much-deserved PS4 sequel. Unfortunately, perhaps because so few people played the original or even knew of its existence, Gravity Rush 2 didn't find much of an audience despite being one of the most interesting and visually-arresting games on the console.
4 Highest: Uncharted 4 - A Thief's End (16 Million)
Every console seems to have its one main, defining series, and there's little arguing that, for the PS3, that series was Uncharted. After a great trilogy on that system, the story of Nathan Drake and company came to a close with the highly-anticipated Uncharted 4, a game that would've had to be a complete disaster to not be one of the PS4's best-selling and most highly-acclaimed games. We wouldn't be surprised if the game was remastered for the PS5 and if it still ends up selling very well all over again
3 Lowest: Disgaea 5 - Alliance Of Vengeance (300,000)
The Disgaea series has always been pretty niche. However, its small fanbase has typically been loyal enough to justify the series not only continuing, but being localized for the most part. Sadly, that might change after the abysmal performance of Disgaea 5 for PS4, which sold poorly even for Disgaea standards and caused serious financial trouble for its publisher. Games need to sell a lot more to even break even these days than they did for DS or even PS2 than just a couple hundred thousand units.
2 Highest: Grand Theft Auto V (20 Million)
A lot of people can't believe that Rockstar is going to remaster and re-release Grand Theft Auto V yet again for next-gen consoles, but considering that just the PS4 version of the game alone sold over 20 million copies, it's not hard to understand the company's logic. People just can't seem to get enough of this game and will happily re-buy it as better versions become available, so don't be the least bit surprised if the PS5 version adds another eight-figure tally to the game's total history of units sold.
1 Lowest: Digimon Story - Cyber Sleuth (100,000)
The Digimon franchise has only been around one year less than Pokémon, but it obviously has not come anywhere close to reaching that same level of success. Still, it has endured, and many longtime fans called Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth for PS4 one of the best Digimon games of all time. Unfortunately, as this list has hammered home, quality doesn't always equal sales, and Cyber Sleuth sold next-to-nothing in terms of a well-known brand on a huge platform. Here's hoping that doesn't spell the end of Digimon in video game form.