PS4 its has gimmicks. PSVR and PS Vue are huge new additions to consoles this gen, either outside of the gaming space, or outside of traditional gaming. PS Vue is doing huge things in the US, and Sony has added support for similar services from 3rd parties in many regions. PSVR is just getting up and moving, and I think it will do big things over the next couple of years.

Also, PS4 brought Sharing to consoles this gen. People are streaming their gameplay, and uploading pics/videos like crazy with the capture tools built right into the system.

You now also have the ability to play multiplayer with friends even if they don't have the game. This has been a huge feature for many people I talk to, especially those that play a lot of sports games.

PS4 offers a lot of new options that were not possible last gen, and those options cover a wide variety of gamers. So, I guess you are right. PS4 is the first console to sell like this without a single Fad. PS4 has multiple Fads, and together they are helping it sell as it is.

Also, expect more Fads/Gimmicks.

Hasn’t the whole “PS1/ PS2 only sold well because of CD/ DVD” Argument been disproven for a while now? Playstation consoles sell because they’re great gaming systems. The insanely high games attach ratios prove this.

I'd say the only market leading console that sold because of a fad was the wii (and I don't even think it's entirely true), NES, SNES, Ps1, ps2 and ps4 offer solid arguments to their leadership. You can't reduce ps2 dominance to it being able to play DVDs

It may have helped, but PS4 was going to do solid numbers regardless. Considering that MS has long since backtracked on all their orignial XB1 poor design choices, that should’ve been able to turn things around sales wise and made XB1 more competive. Arguably, XB1 has little disadvantage to PS4 (outside of exclusive games), and yet it’s still getting outsold by a larger margin every year. 

Every video game console has one basic gimmick. Better graphics. Yes, graphics are a gimmick. The internet has skewed the word and molded it to mean something negative. Gimmick just means a trick or device used to sell more. A video game console is a gimmick in itself. It's more accessible than PC gaming in price an usability in its philosophy. PS4 is far from the first or last.

The whole PS2 succeeding because of the DVD boom is a bit of a history rewrite, which only really popped up after Sony itself claimed around the PS3's launch that the PS2 pioneered DVD. Cheap DVD players were already becoming popular in some households before the PS2 launch - the PS2 didn't seem to have a super tangible effect on this outside of giving gamers an excuse to buy DVDs.

Of course at this point we can't prove either side is more correct with more detailed data that we just don't have, so the PS2 succeeding because of a "fad" is a claim that can just be thrown around!

The PS4 doesn't need to be special compared to the others in the 100m club, it doesn't need an extra ego stroke or to take shots at its older brothers or the Nintendo systems to feel better. If we really want to start defining fads, I can guarantee each of the highest selling systems moved many units to those that don't usually buy systems just due to word of mouth, popularity, or because it was a status symbol. My buddy's non-gamer dad owns a Switch because it's popular, and I believe coincidentally also had a PS2 for that same reason!

Yeah ps4 doing a really good job with that tech with the psvr. Which itself is another awesome piece of tech. 

Ps4 would sell awesome without vr but it's the icing on the cake for sure. 

All consoles are a giant big fad though :P

It'll pass one day.

Consoles don't sell that high because of a fad.

I still remember that interview, where when asked 'What about those who dont have an internet connection?' to which I watched open mouthed as Don Mattick replied 'we have a console for them, its called the Xbox 360'... the biggest middle finger to the consumer base I can recall :D