The big picture: Sony's PlayStation 5 now ranks among the top 15 best-selling video game consoles of all time. Sony Interactive Entertainment recently said the PS5 surpassed 50 million units sold since its launch in November 2020. With momentum on its side, the company now believes the console is on track to eventually outsell the PlayStation 4.
Eric Lempel, senior vice president for global marketing, sales and business operations at Sony Interactive Entertainment, told the Financial Times that it took just one additional week – 161 versus 160 – for the PS5 to reach the 50 million units sold mark compared to its predecessor. The PS5 would have no doubt won the race had it not been for the pandemic and resulting chip shortage.
To date, the PlayStation 4 has sold just north of 117 million units worldwide since its 2013 launch, which is good for fifth place all time.
According to data from Ampere Analysis shared by the Financial Times, the PS5 outsold Microsoft's Xbox Series by nearly three to one in 2023. Per their data, PS5 sales grew around 65 percent this year to 22.5 million units while the Xbox dropped 15 percent to 7.6 million. Nintendo saw demand for its Switch fall by 18 percent to 16.4 million, which is still impressive given its age.
As it stands today, the Switch is the third best-selling game system of all time with 132.46 million units sold. The PlayStation 5 at 50 million units sits just ahead of the Super Nintendo in the 15th position. The beloved PS2 resides at the top of the list with more than 155 million consoles sold.
Microsoft may be down but they certainly aren't out. Xbox is a huge brand and with Microsoft having just wrapped up its colossal Activision Blizzard acquisition, they are still very much a major player. Hit franchises like Call of Duty, Candy Crush Saga, and World of Warcraft are now on their books, and that has got the competition concerned.
Image credit: Charles Sims, Marcos Ferreira