Sony has sold 7.8 million units of its PlayStation 5 console since its launch in November 2020.
This was revealed in the company’s annual earnings report for the 2020 financial year.
The majority of these consoles were sold in the first two months after launch, with shipments totalling 4.5 million units in November and December 2020.
An additional 3.3 million units were shipped between January and March 2021.
These numbers might have been even greater had Sony not struggled to meet demand for its next-generation console due to scalpers and the ongoing global semiconductor chip shortage.
Reports from many markets have revealed that eager buyers have struggled to find stock as retailers repeatedly sold out within minutes.
In South Africa, multiple PlayStation 5 pre-order rounds from BT Games, Koodoo, Raru, Takealot, Makro, and Game also sold out quickly after going live.
The inability to buy the latest console might have contributed to Sony managing to move a further 2.4 million PlayStation 4 consoles during the same period that the PlayStation 5 was available.
These sales led to an increase in PlayStation Network users to 109 million, while PlayStation Plus subscribers climbed to 47.6 million users, as shown in the graph below.
Sony also posted solid overall financial performance, with an increase of 94.4 billion Yen (R12.2 billion) in revenue year-over-year, mainly due to the company’s gaming and financial division.
PlayStation 5 vs Xbox Series X|S
Sony still has some way to go if it wants the PlayStation 5 to surpass the lifetime sales of the PlayStation 4, which now stands at more than 115 million units.
On the Xbox side, estimates from VGChartz claim Microsoft had sold 3.94 million Xbox Series X|S consoles by 6 March 2021.
This is also still some way off of its estimated 50 million sales for the previous generation Xbox One.
Reports speculate the gap between sales of the PlayStation 5 and Series X|S might close with Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda.
Xbox head Phil Spencer has confirmed that some of the studio’s most popular future games will be exclusive to Xbox and PC.
This could drive more gamers to opt for Microsoft’s console.
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