Sony has shifted 5.3 million PlayStation 4 consoles globally and will gain another massive spike in unit sales when it goes on sale in Japan later this week.

The company hasn't broken down the sales figures by region, but must be happy with performance so far - a record for the industry. Considering that it went on sale in the US on 15 November and the sales figures are up to and include 8 February, Sony has sold over 61,628 PS4s a day on average.

That means it sold as many PS4s in just over six days as Nintendo expects to sell Wii Us in the whole of February and March combined.

READ: PlayStation 4 review

Microsoft is yet to reveal how many consoles it has sold in 2014 so far. The last official figure was 3 million units sold by the end of 2013. Although it is not expected to match the figures posted by Sony, it will still have performed very well. And remember, both consoles are breaking sales records during a global recession.

"I am thrilled that so many customers around the globe have continued to select PS4 as the best place to play throughout and beyond the holiday season," said Andrew House, president of Sony Computer Entertainment.

"We are extremely grateful for the continued passion and support of PlayStation fans. 22 February sees the launch of PS4 in Japan, and I'm looking forward to Japanese fans sharing the excitement."

READ: PS4 outsells Xbox One in January, but Microsoft leads Sony in game sales