EA expecting Xbox One, PS4 sales to hit 50 million by end of year

Speaking during the latest financial earnings call, EA's chief executive officer Andrew Wilson revealed that the company expects "close to 50 million" combined PS4 and Xbox One sales by the end of the year.

"That's a meaningful install base for us to build games for," he said, later adding that EA will slowly start moving away from last-gen game development and start focusing more on PS4 and Xbox One game development. Of course, this starts with Star Wars Battlefront which is slated to release only on Xbox One, PS4, and PC this November.

Wilson continued, "And the level of engagement we're seeing on a per-game basis is also very, very high, with people engaging in the live services that we're building around our games for much, much longer than before."

While Microsoft has been coy about its Xbox One sales (the latest confirmed figure is 10 million, but it should be higher by now), Sony couldn't be more boisterous, taking every opportunity they have to boast about sales. Rightfully so, too, as Sony most recently confirmed that PS4 sales have surpassed 22.3 million units as of March 31, 2015.

EA also noted that the new console transition is happening much faster than the last generation, and it's reflecting in sales. In fact, the company revealed that "approximately four out of every five copies of Battlefield Hardline sold for consoles that were eithe ron Xbox One or PlayStation 4."

With EA's push to develop on current-gen, it's not a stretch to expect another 18 million current-gen systems to be sold within the next 12 months.