How Many PS5 Have Been Sold? – Sales Numbers & PS5 vs Xbox

Sony’s PlayStation 5 was officially unveiled in June 2020 and gamers couldn’t wait. Seven long years had gone by since the release of the super-successful PS4. With countless fantastic games and a colossal user base, it was obvious why Sony stuck with the PS4 for so long. But the PS4 was beginning to show its age by 2020. And PlayStation owners were ready for the next generation and to see what might be possible with newer tech. There was huge demand for PS5s as a result. However, supply was limited and aggressive scalping only made desperate consumers even more rabid for the consoles. They’d appear in stock briefly only to be gone moments later. Websites were crashing and queue systems were failing. And things are only just starting to get better with long-running supply chain issues finally easing. So, how many PS5 consoles have been sold to date?

How much is the PS5?

The PS5 is a ninth generation video game console. It competes directly with the Xbox Series X|S consoles, and indirectly with the Nintendo Switch (an eighth generation console). It’s a significant step up from the PS4 technologically. And it’s much more expensive because of this. Naturally, pricing plays a key part in how many PS5 consoles have been sold. How much is the PS5? The PS5 currently retails for $499.99/£449.99 for the disc version and $399.99/£359.99 for the digital edition.

How much was the PS5 when it first came out?

PlayStation 5 has been available for over a year and a half. But it hasn’t received a price cut yet. Its price remains the same today as it was when it was first released in November 2020. $499.99/£449.99 (disk) and $399.99/£359.99 (digital-only). Due to its limited availability to date, it’s unlikely Sony will drop the PS5’s price any time soon.

How many PS5 have been sold?

Overwhelming demand, rampant scalping, and supply chain issues have led to mixed commercial results for the PlayStation 5 so far. It was reported by Bloomberg in January 2022 that Sony decided to continue PS4 production until the end of the year to help combat the PS5 shortage. This was a clear sign that sales of the new console were being impacted by problems beyond the company’s control.

How many PS5 consoles have been sold? Sony has sold a total of 20 million units as of May 31st 2022. Veronica Rogers, SVP, Head of Global Sales and Business Operations at Sony Interactive Entertainment said of the milestone: “”We are thrilled to share that Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) has sold more than 20 million PlayStation 5 consoles globally”. The company announced two weeks after the PS5’s release in November 2020 that it was their biggest console launch ever. 80,000 PS5s were sold in 82 minutes over the first full financial year according to a recent summary. In that same summary, Sony also shared their expectation that the PS5 will overtake the PS4 in sales again by its fourth year. It outsold the PS4 in its first year, but fell behind due to supply issues.

How many people own a PS5?

When it comes to how many people actually own a PS5, this information is less clear. Of course, it depends what you consider as “ownership”. If a family of five has a shared PS5, does each member of that family own it or does it belong to the person that bought it? That’s up for debate – and probably doesn’t really matter. What matters is how many units have been sold. So, if you’re asking how many people own a PS5, the official sales figures indicate around 20 million people.

PS5 vs Xbox sales

PlayStation vs Xbox. It always comes back to this. No matter how successful a console is, it’ll always be compared to its main competitor. And Sony’s PlayStation and Microsoft’s Xbox have been duking it out for decades. But how do the most recent consoles measure up?

By April 2022, 13,867,499 Xbox Series X|S and 18,709,382 PS5s had been been sold (according to VGChartz). The PS5’s total sales figures increased to 20 million by the end of May 2022. Neither console is going anywhere anytime soon. And both companies have been struggling with ongoing supply issues which have significantly impacted sales. As those problems ease, a clearer and more realistic picture of how the consoles are faring against each other should emerge. There’s still plenty of time for fortunes to change.

PS4 sales total

The PS5 will have to perform well for an extended period to reach the sales heights achieved by the PS4. The PS4 has shipped an incredible 117 million as of March 31st 2022. It’s the second-best-selling home video console ever. Only the PS2 managed to sell more, with a total of 155 million shipped by 2012. The PS5 outperformed the PS4 in its first year, but lagged behind in its second. As mentioned, Sony expect the gap to close in the console’s third year before it finally regains the top spot in its fourth year.

Have you bought a PS5? What’s your opinion on its sales figures to date? Let us know in the comment section below and don’t forget to check out our other gaming articles…