PS5 Console

PlayStation 5 console sales have now reached a total of 17.3 million as of 31st December 2021. It means Sony sold a further 3.9 million units during the third quarter of its 2021 fiscal year. However, while the PS5 has been the fastest-selling PlayStation console of all time during its lifespan so far, these latest results mark when that is no longer the case. During the same timeframe last generation, Sony sold 20.2 million PS4 consoles.

Sales are also down compared to the same Q3 period of the previous fiscal year, when Sony moved 4.5 million PS5 systems. The Japanese company has blamed the ongoing semiconductor shortage for this, which has made producing the console at a rapid rate much harder. Sony expects these supply issues to continue, but also reckons the difference will be made up over time with future quarters returning high sales numbers.

As a result, Sony has lowered its overall forecast of PS5 shipments for the fiscal year to 11.5 million units. This is down from 14.8 million. Its projections for the full-year revenue estimates of the company's games and network services division is also lowered to $1.48 billion.

Elsewhere, the PS4 sold through 200,000 units during Q3 2021 to bring its lifetime total up to 116.8 million. Then there were 92.7 million PS5, PS4 games sold during the quarter, of which 11.3 million were published by Sony. 62 per cent of them were for a digital copy. In fact, it was good news all around for the PS Store as it recorded its second-biggest quarterly revenue-earning ever. There were 111 million monthly active users, and on average, they each spent $42.37 during the period.

PS5 Stock has been at a premium for almost 18 months now, and it doesn't look like the situation will improve any time soon. Sony will at least be happy the console sells as soon as it makes contact with a physical store shelf or an online shop advertises stock. If you're from Europe, you can now sign up to buy a PS5 directly through Sony.

[source sony.com, via resetera.com]