PlayStation 5 consoles sold very well at Christmas despite the economic situation. However, Sony’s console is no longer keeping up with its predecessor.
What a tough generation for Sony’s PlayStation 5 and Microsoft’s Xbox series. After two lean years, manufacturers now face a much more difficult economic context.
However, Sony had started its generation very well by achieving the feat of better selling its PlayStation 5 at the average price of 450 euros, compared to the PlayStation 4 launched at 400 euros. And, this, despite the much fiercer competitive context of a Microsoft with an appetite for it and a fully successful Nintendo Switch.
In 2022, things have changed a lot.
One in 5 PS5s sold by Christmas 2022
Sony announces that it has managed to sell 32.1 million PlayStation 5 since its launch at the end of 2020. Of these sales, 7.1 million were sold in the last quarter, that is, in October, November and December 2022.
PlayStation 5 has shipped 32.1 million lifetime units pic.twitter.com/J6GFmXd4s1
—Benji-Sales (@BenjiSales) February 2, 2023
This represents 22.12% of console sales since the start of the generation in the last three months alone. An impressive figure, especially since it is achieved after the increase in the price of the console. Unfortunately, some of Sony’s numbers are a little less rosy.
Less subscribers and games sold
The manufacturer reveals, in fact, that game sales fell by 16% compared to the previous year, in particular due to a drop in game sales from other publishers on their platforms.
PlayStation Fiscal Year 22 Third Quarter Financial Results
• 32.1 million PS5 shipped since launch
• 7.1 million PS5 shipped in Q3
• 86.5 million games
• 20.8 million first person games
• 46.4 million PS+ subscribers
• 112 million active PSN accounts per month—FdeSousse (@Taleboules) February 2, 2023
Additionally, the number of PlayStation Plus subscribers dropped to 46.4 million. This may seem worrying in the middle of the Christmas season at the end of the year and when Sony has relaunched its offer in 2022 with PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium. It is this new offer that allows Sony to increase its revenue from its subscription services despite the drop in the number of subscribers. There are fewer paying players, but the paying players have increased their monthly subscription amount.
The PlayStation 5 sells less than the PS4 in its day
If at the beginning of its life, the PS5 sold better than the PS4 despite the scarcity, now it is no longer the case. The 7.1 million sold for this 9th quarter since its launch can be compared to the 8.4 million PlayStation 4 sold at the time.
In total, 37.8 million players chose the Sony PS4 while 5 million fewer chose the PS5. Now that inflation is there, with a console selling for an average of 500 euros, and that the PlayStation Plus Collection will disappear, it remains to be seen how Sony can increase the appeal of its console.
The firm has launched a “Live from PS5” communication campaign to emphasize the return to stock of its console. It also has big releases in 2023 like the highly anticipated final fantasy 16 for the summer and the big blockbuster of the end of the year spider man 2 officially scheduled for fall.
Do you want to join a community of enthusiasts? Our Discord welcomes you, it is a place of mutual support and passion for technology.