Sony Rumored To Ship 10 Million PlayStation 4 Units, Topping Xbox One

If PlayStation 4 and Xbox One have equal demand this fall,

console could still lead the market.

According to

, unnamed sources estimate that Sony will ship 10 million PlayStation 4 units in 2013. This estimate is based on mass component orders that are currently being shipped. In comparison,

is expected to ship seven to nine million Xbox One units. Consequently, if both consoles sell out during the holiday shopping season, Sony will lead by default because it shipped more units. This may be music to the ears of PlayStation fans and Sony investors alike. But make no mistake: these figures are far from final -- and they may be far from accurate. After all, this is the

shipment-related story that DigiTimes has published for PlayStation 4. The first was spawned by sources who had told the publication that Sony could ship

this year. DigiTimes' second report claimed that Sony had

and may no longer ship 16 million units. Now the publication has stated that the number has dropped to 10 million units. Even in the best-case scenario, Sony could have a hard time shipping that many units to retail.

Before PlayStation 3 arrived in 2006, Sony planned to ship

. By the time the system arrived in the United States and Japan, only

were available. Granted, that was just the first shipment. But it shows how difficult it can be to live up to

expectations. Sony has not publicly stated how many PlayStation 4 units it hopes to ship this year. If there is a silver lining here, it's that component makers believe that PlayStation 4 and Xbox One demand will remain strong in 2014 as the consoles are released in new territories. This should ensure that these machines will continue to perform well globally even after the holiday shopping season is over. Disclosure: