By the end of its release cycle, the PS5 might even surpass the sales of the PS 4.
Despite the slow start, Sony is more than happy with the sales of PS5 hardware. The company recently announced that the console has passed 50 million sales. Sony sees this momentum continuing into 2024. The current Xbox and PlayStation consoles launched at the height of the pandemic, hamstrung by crippled supply chains that made it almost impossible to find a game machine in stock.
The PlayStation 4, which was a huge hit for Sony, reached 50 million units in 160 weeks, which is impressive considering how few machines were available at retail during its first two years on the market. The PlayStation 5 reached 50 million units on Dec. 9, 161 weeks after it launched in late 2020.
Though the company has downplayed this in recent months, stating that goal will not be easy to reach, Sony executives sound optimistic. “We are still pushing really hard, and I think we will have a record-breaking year no matter where we end up,” Sony senior VP Eric Lempel told Reuters. Sony had previously stated that it wanted to sell 25 million consoles in the current fiscal year, which ends in March 2024.
The PlayStation 5 is finally available at most retailers without a runaround; Sony only announced that the shortage of components was over at the beginning of 2023. Sony also released slim versions of its digital and disc-based consoles this past fall, giving holdouts an excuse to pick one up just in time for the new Spider-Man game to arrive. The company claims that this past Black Friday was the best yet for the PlayStation 5.
While Microsoft has a relative lack of exclusive games, the Xbox had early hits with Halo and Gears of War, but newer titles in these series have not drawn much attention. Even much-hyped exclusives like Starfield and Redfall have not gained much traction. Microsoft has not released Xbox sales figures in several years, but a Financial Times analysis claims the PS5 has outsold the Xbox Series S/X by more than three to one. Spider-Man is not the only draw on PlayStation. Exclusive franchises like The Last of Us, God of War, and Horizon continue to draw new players.
It is possible that the PS5 will eventually outsell the PS4, which sold 117 million units during its run. Microsoft is playing the long game, acquiring game studios like Bethesda and Activision Blizzard to ensure it has exclusives in the future. So maybe the PlayStation 6 will not coast to an easy win like this one did. Even if the Xbox started outselling the PS5 tomorrow, Sony has already won this console generation.