On November 8, Sony announced it has sold 65.6 million PlayStation 5 units. This information was released by Sony in their Q2 2024 financial earnings report, according to Gematsu. 3.8 million units were shipped during a three month period which ended on September 30, this is a 1.1 million decrease from the previous year.
Sony’s current sales trends for the PlayStation 5 can be linked to increased third party title sales and Playstation Plus subscriptions. PlayStation Network has over 116 million users which is a 9 million increase from the previous year of 107 million. CNBC comments “Sony’s gaming division has held up well thanks to a shift to digital game purchases and the PlayStation Plus subscription service. However, hardware shipments have proven lackluster amid a weak console market beset by a lack of hyped-up triple-A games.”
According to Level Up 77 million combined units of PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 titles were sold during the Q2 earning period. These sales represent a 10.1 million increase from the previous fiscal year of 67.6 million sold in the same time frame last year. 5.3 million of these titles were first party titles, an increase of 0.6 million from the previous fiscal year’s 4.7 million. 70% of all sales were for digitally downloaded games.
Sony has recently released the PlayStation 5 Pro, it is fair to anticipate that the market will trend towards this brand new iteration of the PlayStation 5. The model is abandoning the disc drive, features an enhanced GPU and AI Upscaling. Its price, while greater than the base model, may not be a deterrent for some. Regardless both consoles fall under Sony’s gaming umbrella and will continue to contribute to the existing figure of units sold. Sony continues to reach their sales goals while keeping the PlayStation 5 relevant and ever competitive in the gaming market.