The PS5 keeps selling, and not just a little bit! The proof with this impressive number that will make the console go down in history.
Sony’s PlayStation 5 was released in November 2020 and comes in two flavors. The first, “classic”, is more powerful and has a Blu-Ray drive, while the second offers slightly less impressive performance and only works with digital games. While waiting for a hypothetical “Pro” version and a new PlayStation Portable, Sony’s latest console continues to impress.
The PS5 goes down in history
Together, Nintendo and Sony have produced the eight best-selling consoles (four each) in history. If closely followed by the DS, it’s the PS2 that takes the top spot in the rankings. It was released in 2000 and has sold over 155 million copies. A colossal number that the manufacturer’s other machines find it difficult to expect. The first PlayStation, PS3 and PS4 sold 102, 87 and 111 million copies respectively. The PS5, which hasn’t been helped by months of component shortages, is content with 38.4 million sales for the moment. Nothing to worry Sony that much. Inventory is now increasingly discoverable and sold at high speed.
The Japanese company shared the proof with the data as part of the publication of the results of its last fiscal year, which ended at the end of March. A chance to look at the company’s gaming division which was targeting 6 million PS5 sales in Q1 2023. This goal seemed very (too?) ambitious, and yet! Between January 1st and March 31st, Sony sold 6.3 million PlayStation 5s worldwide! If you’re wondering what that means, just know that this is a historic record. No other manufacturer has ever sold the same console so many times in the same period. Sony’s revenue last fiscal year also broke a record, reaching $24.4 billion.
Exaggerated ambition?
Perhaps Sony will grow wings with this record number. It must be said that this represents a 215% increase in PS5 sales compared to 2022! In that fiscal year, 19 million copies were sold. A drastic increase after a difficult start. And Sony sees the future bright as the company plans to sell 25 million PlayStation 5s in the upcoming fiscal year. That would still be a record for her. And there’s reason for optimism knowing that 7.1 million latest-gen consoles were sold in the last quarter of 2022. A number higher than early 2023 but including the Christmas period.
Sony’s financial statements are also an opportunity to remember how gaming services have taken precedence over the rest. Between March 2022 and March 2023, microtransactions and additional content alone brought in $5.8 billion! That is more than the sales of dematerialized games (4.4 billion dollars). And if you still doubt it, physical games continue their descent into hell. They brought in just $1.3 billion for the automaker in one year. Lots of numbers in this article, so here’s a very simple summary: Sony is in great shape and the PS5 has a bright future ahead of it.
