Sony’s PlayStation 5 is one of the fastest-selling consoles ever in the UK, but not quite as fast the PS4 or Wii.
While the PlayStation 5 is outselling the Xbox Series S/X by a considerable margin, sales of Sony’s console have started to trend downwards this year.
Recently, Sony reported sales of the PlayStation 5 have hit 61.7 million in total, but the recent quarter saw only 2.4 million consoles sold, compared to 3.3 million during the same period last year.
Nevertheless, the console has now hit a major milestone in the UK, with 4 million units sold, but in a similar vein, the console took longer to cross this mark when compared to its PlayStation predecessors.
According to Gfk data, the PlayStation 5 is now the fifth-fastest selling console in the UK after it took 192 weeks to hit the 4 million milestone. This is behind the Wii (102 weeks), the PlayStation 2 (114 weeks), the PlayStation 4 (161 weeks), and the original PlayStation (182 weeks).
Interestingly, the PlayStation 5 has outpaced the Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Switch, which took 193 weeks and 203 weeks, respectively.
It’s important to note that the PlayStation 5 is more expensive than the other consoles listed, priced at £479.99. In comparison, the original PlayStation was under £100 by the time it reached four million sales, while the PlayStation 4 cost £349 at launch.
As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, the PlayStation 5 has generated more revenue than any other console at this point, bringing in just under £1.85 billion. Which is a direct result of it being more expensive.
Overall, while the PlayStation 5 has been a huge success in terms of revenue for Sony, it does paint a picture of a somewhat slower generation compared to past console cycles – with many people still clinging to their PlayStation 4.
It is only revenue that’s being reported but Sony has previous indicated that the PlayStation 5 is their most profitable console ever. Even so, most of PlayStation’s profits are made from software and subscription sales, as well as licensing third party titles.
When you consider some of the circumstances the PlayStation 5 has faced though, like stock shortages due to the pandemic and a weak slate of exclusives, it’s impressive the system has still managed to hit these numbers at the pace that it has.
For the months ahead though, Sony’s PlayStation 5 exclusive slate doesn’t exactly look packed, with only Astro Bot and Death Stranding 2: On The Beach on the horizon, after this month’s Concord.
It’s this lack of first party exclusives that is believed to be one of the main causes for the slowdown in sales over the last year or so, with Wolverine being the only other game currently announced by Sony.
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