March 2021 NPD: PS5 Is Still the Fastest-Selling Console in US History

Fastest-selling consoles to bots. I just tryed to grab a PlayStation 5 through gamestop and they was gone in 3 minutes.

It’s important to say that this is units sold from retailers, not units in players’ hands. A large number of these sales have been to bots.

Congrats for sony, and it's nice now they have evergreen titles in the list (miles morales), maybe insomniacs should make exclusive iron man games for ps5 😃

@nessisonett Nah, most of the sales are from "real" people not scalpers, besides the reason scalpers bought ps5 is to sell them again, not to withhold them forever lol.

That Jim Cena image is my new background

@nessisonett That sucks but I'm sure most of those make it to gamers (either wealthier or more desperate ones) quickly. Scalpers wouldn't be invested in it so much if they couldn't move them.
What I'm trying to say is that they would still sell just as fast if bots and scalpers weren't involved (and f those people).

@nessisonett that’s purely speculation. Good on Sammy for not including it for once unless we have statistics to back it up

Even if bots account for a large percentage of sales that doesn’t guarantee the systems don’t end up in gamers hands. It’s only a matter of time before they do. And judging from the rich internet gamers today, they have no problems overpaying for tech! Whether directly from manufacturers or resellers on eBay

The vast majority of PS5 consoles are being sold straight to normal customers nowadays. I don't think the scalping issue is anywhere near as big of a deal as it was around launch last year. Sure, you have to be quick, but that's because so many paying people want one.

@Voltan Spot on, really. Even if there was no such thing as scalpers, the PS5 would very likely be selling out with every shipment — that's just how strained the supply is (and has been since launch).

Congrats to Sony but there's really no need to use Jim Ryan's face.

Jokes aside, it's still hard to get a PS5 from where I live. Not in a rush anyway but I hope to get one before FFXVI is released

Here in Greece even retailers now sell at higher prices. not major ones thankfully but smaller online shops..sony hellas has to make a move against them...the minimum ps5 disc-drive price is around 800 euros..

We got any proof one way or the other where the majority of purchases are coming from? Not looking for an argument, genuinely interested because it does seem like the bots are out in full force whenever new stock for PS5 or Series X/S arrives.

@TrueAssassin86x 3 minutes? lol. In 2 seconds.

@LiamCroft my only options are walmart and amazon due to where I live. So I have had only one chance per month lmao.

I won't get the ps5. Not until god of war releases I bet.
It pisses me off a little that some people just want it to play fortnite and apex, but their reasons are as valid I guess.

@ShogunRok It would definitely still sell out if there weren't scalpers! The only reason scalpers exist is plenty of people are prepared to pay $800 for a PS5. That's how much demand outstrips production

Those same people would happily buy a PS5 for $500 if it was in stock at a shop.

When people are sayings they're in the hands of scalpers, are they imagining scalpers with hundreds of PS5s just sitting on their living room floor somewhere? No, scalpers sell them on almost immediately

gaming's more popular than its ever been , of course it was gonna sell. they also have the 'rona to thank for it too.

@ThomasHL Absolutely right. Like many, I have some prejudice against scalpers, but I have to recognize that, despite having disposable income, a PS5 isn’t worth $800 to me yet—makes some sense that the units are going to those to whom they’re worth $800 rather than to me.

@ThomasHL Yeah, also a very fair point that people tend to forget!

Great for Outriders. That it is on GamePass does not matter if what you have is a PlayStation. Why PC gamers are buying it also (Still #2 on Steam)

Super fun game co-op with friends.

PS5 #1 Both dollars and Units. Obviously the "optics" are not that bad at all, PS5 is selling like hotcakes.

@Buckychop_Fandom I hope you get the opportunity to pay a reasonable price. I don't think it's not a good thing that they're ending up with people who are willing to pay above RRP.

It's just some people suggest they're not ending up in real peoples homes at all, which isn't the case.

I'd love to have one. Probably won't be until 2022 at this rate.

😒

Not bad for a company that is apparently losing the 'war'.

@Shepherd_Tallon More like 10 months iF sOmEtHiNg DoEsN't ChAnGe. Jim Ryan needs to be fired first, of course.
Also they might as well give up on hardware entirely since all their games are multiplatform now anyway. And by all I mean at least 4.

@nessisonett When dealing with math, it's best to not use estimations like "large number" because there's no telling what that means. Logically speaking though, scalpers are not sitting on PS5 stock, they are selling them to people that want PS5's. So it really doesn't matter that a "large number" is going to scalpers because they are ending up in people's houses, just at inflated prices. The only reason scalpers exist is because Sony still can't keep up with demand.

Can anyone explain what "launch aligned" is?

To me, units have either 1) been sold to a retailer by Sony, or 2) been bought from a retailer by a customer (scalpers included here obviously) Can there be a discrepancy in those numbers?

Well done to PlayStation and Sony. I hope this success keeps getting better for them as we move on from this pandemic and hopefully, hopefully, the unit is easier to obtain for those who have been trying for months. Cannot wait to get one myself.

@sanderson72 It means they're comparing the numbers of consoles sold in the same time window since launch. So the number of PS5 sold by April 2021 to PS4s sold by April 2014 and Switch by mid-july 2017 or something like that

@Voltan Thanks for the explanation. So they're saying the PS5 has sold more over its launch 6 month period than the PS4 did in its 6 month launch period or Switch over its initial 6 months?

@sanderson72 5 months but yeah, that's exactly it

bet that picture triggers people far and wide doesn't it 😂

It’s not all just scalpers. When I got one back in December I was the only person I know to have one. At this point almost every PS gamer I know has one. More and more people are getting their hands on the machine.

So to add in the comments, I can confirm scalpers have 5 millions PS5 since I have only one.

Good thing Jim Ryan took over, look at how well the company is doing.

Thought that was Conan O'Brien's head photoshopped on Cena's body for a sec.

Those thinking that Gamepass would be the only way people would play a game are clearly wrong. It looks people are definitely willing to pay for a game even if it is in a subscription service. This isn't good news for Microsoft, who has been hemorrhaging money investing into all these things...and they still can't catch up to PS5. I look forward to seeing where this goes and how sales will change once all those studios Microsoft bought up start releasing games but Sony's also still got ratchet and clank releasing soon. There's always another big game in the near future. Microsoft has Halo which is releasing...at some point.

The best news from all of this is Demon's souls is nowhere to be seen. No slight on the developers, but if Capcom can sell at £55 AND give Sony a 30% slice, i'm sure Sony can do it and still make plenty. Here's hoping all £70/$70 games bomb regardless of quality.

Sony needs a slap over this and i'm glad to see it happening.

@Loftimus souls games ain’t anybody cup of tea and why would you want games to fail because you don’t want to pay 70$ or can’t afford 70$ games. You sound like a casual my dude who should be playing on Xbox with that mentality.

@4kgk2 Ive been playing games for 35 years, supporting devs for 25 of those, so don't come tell me what i sound like. I pay £70 which is $97. Ask yourself if you'd be prepared to pay that and if you would then, you sound like a mug!

The dollar sales metric is a bit redundant to me. Yeah, it's $500 so if it sold the most units, it's made the most money too.

@Loftimus gaming is a expensive hobby if you can’t understand that than you shouldn’t be gaming in the first place I’m sorry. I got 3 70$ games preordered right now because I want to support my hobby and developers who work hard for years to make the games I love.

@4kgk2 I'd pay $70 plus tax as it comes up £55, which i find a fair price. So you see, you are paying what i was happily paying last gen. What would you say if the price parity went the other way and instead of U.K prices coming back down to £55, U.S prices go upto $97! Would you still have 3 games pre ordered?

@4kgk2 who argues to pay more for something anyway?? Only the seller!

@Loftimus The reason for the price disparity is mostly to do with VAT @ 20%.

The USA is low tax, pro capitalism. It’s great for buying things at good prices. Terrible for getting paid a decent wage, not dying because of no health insurance, or getting a good education without paying absurds amount of cash. So swings and roundabouts eh.

@Dekutheevilclown so only £3 of the £15 increase is going to tax...

Plus we've payed national insurance for that service, long before games came along.

Cool, I usually buy at launch but haven’t been able to get one. Not that any games on there are motivating me to try all that hard right now.

@Loftimus

I’m in the US and I’m not really happy about the price increase either.

It’s made me reevaluate what I will buy on day one and what I will buy on sale a few months down the line.

$10 doesn’t sound like much, but it adds up quick. That’s 50 bucks extra if you buy 5 games at full price per year. Which is two tanks of gas in my car.

One thing, games is a hobby. The other is my livelihood, to get me to and from work. Priorities.

@Gamer83 PS5 sells out instantly, Series X stays available for a long time after stock. Series S you couldnt pay most people to take one

@Immortal_Barnet Just totally inaccurate, really. 😂

I ignored this article all day thinking it was related to some wrestling game news lol. Just didn't pay attention to headline.

Anyway, I wonder where their numbers would be without this chip shortage. Or has scarcity helped them sell more. I know every time I see an article about consoles being in stock somewhere my ears perk up and I almost forget I'm holding off until more games come out. It's hard not to want something when it's so rare.

@uptownsoul I completely agree.

But were PS1 games only $50? I read somewhere that some sega games used to cost around $80 .

If you compare what you were getting with NES/PS1 games back in the day and what you get now with ps4/5 games, the difference is massive. Many of those games could be made in a matter of months and by a tiny team compared to number of people that it takes nowadays to make a game like Assassin's Creed.

PS5 games may release at £70, but looking at game prices now after 5 months I think it’s pretty obvious they’ve yet to have that many games people want. Godfall, Watchdogs, Dirt, Rainbow Six, Mortal Kombat, Fenyx, all under £30, Demons Souls now down to £55.

I can see eventually 3rd party publishers taking a £50-£60 price start again as gamers move away from buying day one.

Damn, yet more L’s for Sony! 😏

@uptownsoul read the conversation! I'm being asked to pay £70 which is worth $97US. Ps1 games where £40 here in UK. You're right that $70 games are cheap, but thqt is not what i'm being asked to pay.

It amazes me how many Americans think a dollar is worth as much as a pound. It's nowhere near.

Jim Ryan is Killing it(in a good way it seems) I can now see why Microsoft panicked now The PlayStation brand is unstoppable Well as long as they keep bringing us brilliant Exclusives that is.

@Loftimus I have no problems paying $100 USD for a good game. As many have rightly pointed out, just a standard price $50 (USD) NES game in 1985 is ~$125 adjusted for inflation. That doesn't even count the higher end ~$70-$80 games. If we didn't buy games back then for $100-$200 each; then gaming wouldn't have become what it is today.

As @4kgk2 's said, this is an expensive hobby. Sure you can get into the hobby for relatively cheap and there are ways to stay cheap (buying used, years later, etc...) but overall if you want to be on the front lines of this hobby; its going to cost you.

Even with the new standard price of games, with more people buying games, more used copies available, from more sources online; and digital sales and indie titles, its never been cheaper to be a gamer on a tight budget (and this is a perfectly reasonable way to enjoy the hobby), but you can't be a budget gamer and want all of the latest and greatest on day one.

@thedevilsjester if you was that bothered about "your" hobby, you'd want to make it as accessible as possible, so that it continues to thrive. If you're that bothered about giving devs more money then start a gofundme for them. There is nothing big or clever about being willing to spend more. You just sound like a mug!

@Loftimus it's perfectly accessible. There are thousands of games available to purchase that play on the PS5/4 and most of them for ~$15 or less. Being accessible doesn't mean having all of the latest and greatest must be in reach of the lowest common denominator. You sound entitled.

@thedevilsjester yeah its easy to say that when you're the one paying the least. America is only now paying what the rest of the world have been paying for 7 years, while the rest of the world are now paying around 100 dollers after tax. I don't care about your opinion on this, as it doesn't effect you. You're the one getting off lightly so please pipe down.

@Loftimus Paying the least right now is irrelevant. I would have no problems with paying more (and I often do when I have to pay $20-$40 extra to import titles from the UK that didn't get US physical releases).

The great thing about this is that you can choose not to pay full price, and get it cheaper later. This is not only a good way to save money but it also let's the developers and publishers know what the demand for their game at that price is. It's a lot more effective than whining in a comments section.

@thedevilsjester says the mug lobbying on a comment section for more expensive games?

@thedevilsjester I really hope you working for sony or take two, because if you're not, you've got a problem!

@Loftimus I am not lobbing, I am just offering a counter opinion. Not everyone that has an opinion that's different than yours has an agenda.

@Loftimus Isn't it nuts that people are defending price hike now? LMAO

@BrainHacker Haha i can't get my head around it.

@2cents
Yep I am making it my new background too.... It's so cool, they just needed to put a Ps5 in his hands with the caption "It prints Money".... Lol

@ShogunRok
That most probably correct what you and Liam are saying.... I live in South Africa we don't have a scalper problem however the Ps5 has been sold out since launce and outsells immediately on availability, unless you check availability of the store online you will not find one by going into a store unless by some chance of being there the right time, this also shows a slight indication that it will be even more in demend once availability is a bit stable, Sony may actually Surpass the Ps2 sales with 2 machines or 3(if Ps5 pro launches whin next 3.5 years, as we are unlikely to see the Ps4 disappear for the next 4.5 years.

@TrueAssassin86x You are a annoying little kid arent you.

@BrainHacker What price hike the complete package has never been €60 and almost all games besides the Firstparty titles are monetized to death.

@Flaming_Kaiser I don't know if you're disagreeing with me or not. The deluxe edition of games before is $70 but now you're paying the same price just for a standard edition. Isn't that a price hike?

Third-party games have microtransactions but its optional. You're not required to purchase those to play the game.

@BrainHacker The seasonal pass isnt and thats not a complete game. AC is the perfect example bigger but not better, buggier and more grindy. A XP booster is something i dont like its changing game design for profit.

Atleast with firstparty ik know i get a finished game and quality. And if i get a expansion its like another good game not some extra fetchquests. My point is i dont mind paying for quality.