Sony Has Sold 50 Million PlayStation 5 Consoles

Sony’s PlayStation 5 has led a resurgence in the console market this year, with sales of its latest PlayStation 5 model reaching 50 million units, nearly matching the pace of its predecessor.

The growth, driven by improved availability of the PS5 and a strong lineup of games like “Spider-Man 2,” “Starfield,” and “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom,” marks a recovery close to the pandemic boom year of 2021. Sony’s success comes despite initial supply challenges due to component shortages.

Eric Lempel, head of global business at Sony Interactive Entertainment, expressed confidence in the PS5’s trajectory, telling the Financial Times, “Demand for the [PS5] going into this year was huge. Momentum is strong now and it’s continuing.” He believes the PS5 is on track to surpass the sales of PlayStation 4, which sold over 117 million units.

Sony announced reaching the 50 million sales milestone for the PS5 on December 9, just 161 weeks after its launch. This performance is in stark contrast to Microsoft’s Xbox, which has not published official sales figures for several years and has fallen behind Sony and Nintendo in the market.

Ampere estimates show PS5 sales grew about 65% to 22.5 million units this year, while Xbox sales dropped approximately 15% to 7.6 million. Nintendo’s Switch sales also declined by 18% to 16.4 million units. This surge has helped the console market grow by 7.2% to $60.9 billion in 2023, following a decline in 2022, says Ampere.

“There was a lot of pent-up demand [for PS5], so when the supply came in, [Sony] broke all records in the first quarter of this year,” said Piers Harding-Rolls, head of games research at Ampere. He added that Microsoft faced supply issues for its Xbox Series X model and struggled with flagship titles.

Carolina Milanesi, an analyst at Creative Strategies, highlighted a strategic shift at Microsoft, focusing more on its Game Pass subscription service than hardware sales.

The gaming industry has also seen a revival in big game releases delayed by the pandemic, with 2023 being hailed as a vintage year for both big-budget and independent titles.

Despite the competition from popular online multiplayer games like Fortnite, Lempel emphasized the importance of exclusive titles in driving PlayStation sales. He also noted that Black Friday sales contributed to the biggest November for PlayStation in Sony’s nearly 30-year gaming history.

While Sony’s PlayStation VR2 has seen slower growth, Lempel remains committed to virtual reality products, acknowledging the challenges in the category but optimistic about its potential in gaming.