PS5 sales are matching PS4, but Sony's reliance on third-party games is clear
First-party game sales are down on PS5 and hardware sales have slowed
🆚 Sony's latest financial results show the PS5 has sold virtually as many units as its predecessor
🥳 Sales in the last quarter for the console are down, but the holiday period, where it sold 9.5 million units, was its most successful quarter to date
📈 Third-party game sales are up, although first-party game sales are down, with the last one coming in September 2024
🤔 Sony also thinks there will be a downturn in sales next year, as the PS5 may have peaked
Sony has virtually sold as many PS5 consoles in the same time period as the PS4 did, despite its higher price tag and the extreme stock shortages during the pandemic.
In the last financial quarter, the 2.8 million consoles Sony sold takes the PS5 to 77.8 million lifetime sales, where the PS4 sold 79.1 million in equivalent time. In addition, the previous quarter saw Sony shift 9.5 million units over the holiday period – the console's best quarter to date.
In spite of this, the last quarter is down by 1.7 million against the same period last year, leading the console to shift 18.5 million units this year, against 20.8 million last year.
Sony is doing well on the gaming front, with the sector's sales up nine percent, while operating income is up 43 percent. That’s primarily down to third-party game sales. Sony's most recent first-party title, Astro Bot, came out in September last year. Meanwhile, high profile third-party releases like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle are performing well on PS5.
Sony is, however, forecasting a drop in sales and profits, with an expected decrease in sales of hardware – the sales of the PS5 may have peaked, similar to the PS4.
Sony has been in the news recently for implementing price rises for the PS5 Digital Edition console in some regions, and there may be further PS5 price increases coming due to the US tariffs.
There have been some exciting developments for games too, with classic titles such as Returnal getting a useful PS5 Pro upgrade, while fans have some exciting upcoming PS5 games to look forward to, including Death Stranding 2 (and its special PS5 controller) as well as Ghost of Yotei.
Reece Bithrey is a journalist with bylines for Trusted Reviews, Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, TechRadar and more. He also has his own blog, UNTITLED, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in International History and Politics in 2023.