Report: Xbox One and PS4 will sell 100 million units each by 2020

A new report from video game research firm DFC Intelligence forecasts Xbox One and PlayStation 4 sales to reach 100 million units each by 2020. If the systems do indeed perform that well, it would mark the first time in history two competing platform hit that milestone.

Price cuts were factored into the DFC Intelligence report, but these cuts are expected to happen "fairly slowly," DFC representative David Cold told GamesIndustry International. You should expect more bundles versus a simple price cut, Cole said.

Cole also said that DFC's 100 million milestone is actually a "conservative" estimate, based on the possibility of a newcomer system from Amazon, Apple, or even Nintendo disrupting the market. Amazon is reportedly readying a $300 system to launch this year, while Nintendo has already spoken about its next console.

Nintendo's Wii was the only console of the last generation to reach 100 million units sold. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 lagged behind at 80 million units sold worldwide to date.

The DFC Intelligence report also forecasts 2014 total game revenue to hit $77 billion (compared to $68 billion last year), while revenue by 2018 could be as high as $96 billion thanks to the "core gamer spending more than ever."

The report also suggests that the PS4 could "easily" become the "lead platform" for Western and Japanese developers and publishers. However, the report also points out that both Microsoft and Sony still have a "great deal of room for positioning."

The PS4 is out to an early sales lead over the Xbox One, with Sony's console selling 4.2 million units in 2013 compared to 3 million for Microsoft's new system. But don't read too far into the numbers, as they don't tell the whole story.