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Worldwide sales of the PS5 have reached a new milestone this week with the console nearing 60 million units sold. Sony’s 5th generation video game console has officially broken 59.2 million units sold according to Sony’s latest earnings report. This is after surpassing 50 million units sold back in December of 2023. While console sales have slowed, the PS5 is still doing relatively well overall. However, Sony has confirmed that based on its most recent figures, the PS5 did not meet the company’s sales target for the fourth quarter of this fiscal year.
The PS5 had an explosive start when it launched back in 2020, and it didn’t take long for PS5s to begin flying off of virtual shelves. Though Sony could have potentially sold more if supply wasn’t hamstrung by shortages. Earlier this year Sony revised its current fiscal year sales target down to 21 million units from the previous goal of 25 million – a lofty number that Sony initially believed it would be able to hit. The company may have been right about that, but it wasn’t too far off from its new goal.
Worldwide PS5 sales this fiscal year reach 20.8 million units
Sony may have missed its sales target for the PS5 in its current fiscal year, but there are a couple of silver linings. Sony wasn’t actually too far off from reaching the 21 million units it was shooting for. The company confirms it has sold 20.8 million units this fiscal year with the fourth quarter of it having ended on March 31. Which means it was only about 200,000 units off that mark.
The 20.8 million units sold is also a major milestone for Sony’s PS5 when it comes to sales. Because it’s more PS5 units sold than any other fiscal year the company has had since the PS5 launched back in November of 2020. It may have narrowly missed this fiscal year’s target, but the console is clearly still selling well.
That being said, sales of the console are lower this fourth quarter compared to the year before. Compared to last year when Sony hit 6.3 million units sold at the same time, the period ending March 31, 2024, saw the company move just 4.5 million units.
Sony expects sales to further decline this year
The PS5 may have had its best year yet in terms of sales. But that may not continue for the following fiscal year. Sony is expecting sales to decline for the year ahead. Part of this reasoning is due to the fact that Sony doesn’t have any major first-party titles planned for the rest of 2024. Sony confirmed earlier this year that it wouldn’t have any such game releases until at least the fiscal year 2025. Sony President Hiroki Totoki stated this back in February.
Noting that no new major franchise titles like God of War should be expected before March of 2025. This could contribute to a further decline in PS5 sales numbers. Though perhaps the release of the PS5 Pro could change that. Assuming it would launch before the next fiscal year.