Via VGChartz numbers.

• Destiny 1: PS4 Sold 6million copies (in comparison to XB1 3.5million)
• Destiny 2: PS4 Sold 4million copies(in comparison to XB1 2million)
• COD BLOPS3: PS4 sold 15million (XB1 7.5million)
• COD WWII: PS4 Sold 13million(XB1 6million)
• GTAV: PS4 sold 18.5million (XB1  8million)
• Overwatch: PS4 sold 4.5million (XB1 2.5million)

I have a slightly different take on the PS4's success.  Sony's strategy for the PS4 wasn't bad, but it wasn't exceptionally good either.  To me it doesn't look terribly different than their PS3 strategy.  People say that PS4 has great first party games like God of War, Uncharted and the Last of Us.  Weren't these franchises also available on the PS3?  But with the PS3, Sony lost money and now they are making money.  What changed?  

Two things:

1) Sony launched at a lower price point for the PS4, $400 which helped them right from the start, compared to the PS3's $500/$600 launch price.  And more importantly,

2) The PS4 had really crappy competition while the PS3 had really tough competition.  

The PS3 launched a year after the XBox360 which was already doing decently in the marketplace.  It also launched at the same time as the Wii which broke all sorts of sales records during its first 3 years on the market.  I mean for anyone paying attention during generation 7, the PS3 was getting hammered from both sides.  The Wii was topping the charts in both software and hardware while the Xbox360 had a much better online service and it often had a earlier release date for multiplatform games.

The PS4 did not have this kind of competition.  You could see it right when these consoles were first presented at E3.  The Wii U was stupid and the XB1 was evil.  Both of the consoles looked repulsive to consumers.  Then there was the PS4, reasonably priced and not offensive in any way like the other two consoles.  Why wouldn't people want a PS4?  It was the only decent choice available.  Since then, the Wii U was retired early, while Microsoft seems to have mostly given up on the XB1 as well.  The PS4 never really had any decent competition.

It's not Sony that really did anything different.  It's Microsoft and Nintendo.  The PS4 was so successful, because its competitors sucked.

They're not focusing on it, the ones they've made havent stuck.

And there's a million 3rd party MP games, no need to add to that when there aren't a million experiences out on this gen comparable to GOW, Uncharted, Horizon etc.

Playstation has still dominated 3/4 participating generations.  By huge margins. I think it's unlikely each time were a fluke of circumstances, at least as a whole. If anything, The PS3 is the anomoly from the norm. PS brand is strong, it is usually a cheaper comparable if not a more powerful alternative, and it is usually known to get the widest selection of games in various genres. That is not an accident. They took a big gamble with PS3 being a bit too tech forward, more costly, and a year late. Even then the PS3 ended up in 2nd Place(slim lead).

To drum it all up to weak competition is to say that in the last 4 gens the competition was not up to par to dethrone them which would still make them the stand out quality console manufacture.It comes down to the choices Sony makes for their business are usually the right ones when it comes to Playstation.

1) Playstation dominated in 3/4 home console generations.  I point this out, because competition matters.  The PSP was a good solid system with lots of great games, but it still got dominated by the DS.  Competition matters. 

2) Both the PS2 and PS4 faced weak competition.  The Gamecube's library was as bad as the Wii U's, and the original XBox was just Microsoft's first try.  They didn't put the same level of effort into the original XBox that they did into the 360.  I do have to praise Sony for the original Playstation though.  Nintendo was the king of gaming and they dethroned the king.  That was legitimately impressive.

I bring up competition also because we already know that the Switch is not weak competition.  It is not a dud like the Gamecube or Wii U.  It is tough competition.  But it is not really competition for the PS4, so much as it is for the PS5.  I already expect the PS5 to do worse than the PS4, because we already know that it will have tougher competition.  Sony will have to step up their game if they want the PS5 to be as successful as the PS4.

I agree with your sentiment, I am just saying there are not even that many console generations, we are on the 8th. If Sony was able to sweeep 3/4 generations  its because the competition is on average inferior to theirs. That basically means most consoles stumble out the gate and what we are calling poor performance is really the norm. 

I agree that the 7th Gen is where the Playstation met it's steepest competition. Xbox 360 had a lot of positive air going for it before the PS3 even released. Year head start, $100 cheaper, and easier to develop for. While the PS3 basically had cinder blocks tied around it's ankles with its bloated price point and obscure tech design. It also was the gen that took place during a recession which forced many would be buyers to look for cheaper alternatives (IE Wii). Yet, PS3 was gaining on 360 for half the gen and eventually passed it. That was no small feat. Not to mention towards the end both 360 and PS3 shrunk the gap between them and the Wii.

I wanted to say this. Sony do actually make a decent amount of multiplayer content. 

However OP you do have a point. Sony smartly focus most of their attention on the single player scene. There was a void left there as a result of third parties focusing on multiplayer components too much. Another aspect is Sony get 30% of digital sales on psn from third parties including micro transactions. So they greatly benefit when third parties thrive on their platform. 

Not as much a you think. On PS4 there was also the promise of great experiences (which was fulfilled) thanks to a few PS3 notable games like TLOU and people knew Sony would be giving great games until the very end like on PS3. And they are actually more than fulfilling that promise on PS4.

For reminder Micsosoft quickly abandoned to produce compelling content on XB360 , and Nintendo did the same with Wii and then Wii U.

The most important multiplayer games are third party anyway, and i mostly prefer sony because they focus on singleplayer exclusives so good for them(and me) that it works out and i hope they keep the same formula next gen.