SUMMARY
- PlayStation 5 seems to be the top dog in the console market right now.
- According to a latest report, PS5 has sold over 50 million units.
A new report from Reuters reveals that Sony’s PlayStation 5 has outsold Microsoft’s Xbox Series X/S this year. PlayStation 5 is believed to have sold three times more than Xbox. Reports suggest that the 2023 Black Friday sales have turned out to be a massive success for PS5, helping it reach the milestone.
The report also reveals that Sony recorded its best-ever November for its entire range of PlayStation console sales with the PS5. Notably, PS5 is currently in its fourth year of lifecycle.
How many units has PlayStation 5 sold?
Reports suggest that PlayStation 5 has now sold over 50 million units. Sony confirmed that with that number, it is on track to surpass the record-breaking sales of PlayStation 4.
Interestingly Sony has set a target of selling 25 million PlayStation 5 consoles in the current financial year which ends on March 31, 2024. If the company manages to hit that number, it will be the highest number of consoles Sony has ever dispatched in a single financial year.
Sony announced they have officially sold 50 million PS5s pic.twitter.com/TGe7IqZnd8
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) December 20, 2023
Recently, Sony had said that the 25 million target was “high” and “not within easy reach.” However, not that the console has already reached the 50 million mark, Eric Lempel, senior vice president for global marketing, sales and business operations at Sony Interactive Entertainment, voiced his confidence in the PS5.
Lempel said, “Given the momentum we’ve had in November and a lot of what we’re seeing in December, just in general we’re feeling very good about sales overall. We are still pushing really hard and I think we will have a record-breaking year no matter where we end up.”
He also stated that the PlayStation 5 is now on track to outsell PS4. The preceding console has sold 117 million units ever since its launch in 2013. “I think we have the ability to get there. Demand for the [PS5] going into this year was huge… Momentum is strong now and it’s continuing,” Lempel said. Notably, the PS5 hit the 50 million mark 161 weeks after its November 2020 launch, while the PS4 reached the 50 million mark in 160 weeks.
PS5 outsells Xbox and Nintendo Switch
While Sony’s PS5 seems to be doing great business, its rival Microsoft seems to be having a tougher time with the Xbox. The sales for Xbox have significantly dropped in Europe. Interestingly, Microsoft has not announced Xbox Series X and S sales in years, which could possibly be because of poor sales.
An analysis by Ampere indicates that PS5 sales grew about 65% to 22.5 million units in 2023. On the flip side, Xbox sales fell about 15% to 7.6 million. It clearly implies that the PS5 has outsold the Xbox Series X and S by almost three to one.
Meanwhile, the seven-year-old Nintendo Switch, witnessed its sales falling 18% to 16.4 million this year. However, Nintendo is anticipated to release its next-gen console next year.
Not to forget Microsoft as a whole has strengthened its gaming revenues this year after it acquired Activision Blizzard for $69 billion. The acquisition signifies that hit titles like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and the mobile game Candy Crush Saga now fall under the Xbox banner.
The company is expected to begin launching Activision Blizzard games into Game Pass in 2024, thus hinting that the future Call of Duty games may be released on Xbox Game Pass on day one. Besides, Microsoft is also rumored to be working on its own app store to take on Apple and Google.
Earlier this week, a group of ransomware hackers published stolen data from Insomniac Games online. In one of the documents leaked it was seen how Sony was worried about Microsoft acquiring Activision.