Sony PlayStation 4 sales top 18.5 million units worldwide

TOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp on Tuesday said sales of its PlayStation 4 video game consoles exceeded 18.5 million units as of Jan. 4, up from 13.5 million at the end of October, showing solid holiday demand and a bright spot for a company recovering from a massive cyber-attack.

Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Andrew House said last month that holiday sales in Europe were so strong that it was fighting to keep up with demand.

The latest sales figures are also a relief for Sony as it grapples with weak sales of smartphones and TVs. The company is heading for its fifth net loss in six years.

The console went on sale in late 2013 in the United States, Western Europe and Latin America, around the same time that rival Microsoft Corp's Xbox One was released. Microsoft offered big discounts in the U.S. market for the XBox One in November.