US PS5 Sales Down Almost 20% Year-Over-Year, Rounds Out Tough Month for Industry

I'm just happy Star Fox made it. Looks like it's doing pretty well everywhere besides Japan.

Huh… 19% down vs. Last year seems much stronger than expected…

The PS5 is pretty old at this point. I'm more curious to see how the PS6 does in this economy when it comes out. Component prices aren't coming down in price any time soon.

Wonder when we'll ever get to the see the receipts of Mat Piscatella from Circana!

I guess blindly taking this one company's projections as truth is the only way forward

Forza Horizon 6.

Nobody is buying the PS5!
Physical consoles are dying!
PS6 consoles won't be sold physically, but only downloadable on the ps store. That would explain how the PS6 could be portable: it will be an app on your phone.

I do think console gaming has hit its ceiling. Which means with rising costs games need to sell more copies and Sony will need to get more money out of existing fans. Next gen is so exciting to think about all ready. I can't wait to see what both Microsoft and Sony do.

Getting to the point where it's so late in the generation and so much PS6 talk about already, that people are reluctant to buy.

At this point the young kids will be getting a used console or waiting for the flood of them from those upgrading to a PS6.

Everyone else who wanted a PS5 already has one.

No point Sony lowering the price. As I've said before, no point taking a loss just to attract price-sensitive customers who won't buy new games and will just act like leaches playing Fortnite and other free stuff. Not even paying for season passes and skins.

Not worth selling consoles to them at a loss. Best to just limit sales to those who can afford to spend money once in your ecosystem.

Shift fewer units, but greater profits on each one sold.

NS2 390.1k
PS5 182.7k
XS 138.9k
NS 43.0k

Wow they are down at Xbox levels almost.
And switch 2 just over 2:1

Let’s hope the God GT6 gets them out s@@t Sony have put them in.

I did just buy a Switch 2 and then plan on getting one for my partner, haven’t played anything Nintendo wise (other than around friends and family) since GameCube/early Wii days.

So to be fair if anyone has ducked out like we did and then now ducking back in, Nintendo will be on to a winner.

I’m currently in the process of buying all the physical Switch and Switch 2 exclusives that interest us, then once fully caught up I’ll feel more ready to tackle PS5 backlog again.

Who am I kidding, that backlog ain’t going down only up!

If I hadn’t bought a PS5 by now though, I would likely also be someone waiting to see where the console market goes next generation, as forgetting the physical element of the games for a moment, the price is going to hit hard to a lot.

The Steam Machine (V2) is a different value proposition, but similar power to a PS5 and around twice the price.

So I expect Microsoft and Sony to try all they can to keep the cost low through swallowing costs prior to RRP. But a low price may still likely mean a mighty high one for many.

Next generation will be fascinating, sales numbers for games in June not so much. Much like TV ratings during summer.

Selling less units but maintaining profitability...

19% down at this point in the generation seems pretty expected, if not good going. I seem to remember Sony going all out to sell units last year.

@Northern_munkey Yeah but that's a risky road to take. Hardware sales also mean overpriced peripheral sales.

@AI-Generation Clearly ignoring the fact that the PS5 will still outsell the Series X/S by 4:1 worldwide. And the Xbox sales increased because they announced a price rise coming next month.

@ButteredCrumpet Ooh, always very excited for people out of the Nintendo loop for a while just getting into the Switch 2.

What's on your wishlist?

Higher prices translating into fewer sales makes sense to me. I really hope the AI driven component pricing spike gets flattened sooner rather than later.

@Zuljaras PS3 launch was a disaster... back then, because PS6 launch (if +$1000 w/o diskdrive) will be way worst, mark my words.

Only 20% is actually decent.

That's what happens when you're at the tail end of the gen, even more so when there's price increases.

Bet Sony are happy with MLB beating those other heavy hitters.

@RoomWithaMoose Seriously, I was wanting to post on the Nintendo Life forums for help, as I literally know next to nothing. But they seem to be quite a tough crowd to crack from the exterior, I asked people if I needed previous experience with Splatoon, to enjoy the latest one coming out … nothing, no reply!

Anyway, list!

Mix of Switch and Switch 2 (but instead of listing assume all first party from Switch 2) stuff of course, sorry to anyone who sees my wall of text and gets angry, take a Prozac or something;

• Animal Crossing New Horizons
• Daemon X Machina
• DC Super Hero Girls: Teen Power
• Detective Pikachu 2
• Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze
• Kirby And The Forgotten Land
• Kirby Return To DreamLand
• Kirby Star Allies
• Legend of zelda: Breath of the Wild
• Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom
• Legend of Zelda Link’s Awakening
• Legend of Zelda: Skywards Sword HD
• Luigi’s Mansion 3
• Mario Golf: Super Rush
• Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
• Mario Party Superstars
• Mario RPG
• Mario Tennis Aces (Fever supposed to be better?!)
• Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battles
• Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of hope
• Metroid Dread
• Metroid Prime Remastered
• Metroid Prime 4
• New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
• Paper Mario The Origami King
• Pikmin 1 + 2
• Pikmin 3 Deluxe
• Pikmin 4
• Super Mario Bros. Wonder
• Super Mario Maker 2
• Super Mario Odyssey
• Super Mario Party
• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
• Super Mario 3D All-Stars
• Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury
• Yoshi’s Crafted World

Really excited for Starfox and Donkey Kong on Switch 2 though, really excited! Haven’t played anything to do with either since N64!

Xbox doubling console sales seems weird considering I think it’s like on its 3rd price hike. I think even the “cheap model” S isn’t cheap anymore.🤑

Comparing console sales for June seems weird though. Who’s buying consoles in June? And both PS5 and Xbox are getting up there in years, so a decline feels expected, as several others have already pointed out.

I guess these are just articles for the chuds at this point because it doesn't take much to find that while hardware sales might be down, PS revenue hit a record high this year. So what does it matter if Sony sells less PS units if they still rake in cash doing so? I feel like people think Sony are going to look at declining hardware sales, and then just ignore increasing overall profitability, and then go hey our bad, let's drop the price again and also add back the disc drive, lol. You all still aren't winning this war.

@ButteredCrumpet Nice list. I liked how it’s like 98% big Nintendo mascot games and 2% DC Super Hero Girls. 😁

Luigi 3 might be the best couch co-op game I’ve ever played with my wife if you know anyone to game w/ IRL. My kids also played a lot of Pikmin couch co-op, think it was 3.

Splatoon 1-3 are very similar, mostly 4v4 online, Raiders which releases tomorrow is different, mostly single player offline.

If both our posts get deleted later don’t take it personally, it happens. 😆

@Swandivetotheasphalt
Not ignoring anything they are just this month’s results numbers.
Absolutely of course the Xbox sales will drop once the price increases and maybe even the switch 2 as well.

It’s more that Sony have lead the PS5 to these low sales numbers.

@rjejr Who doesn’t love DC Superheroes! Haha.

Yeah I’m a bit unsure of Splatoon as I’m not too sure how it translates from other shooters/action games I’ve played, but figured worst case scenario something to look at on a shelf and admire from a distance.

My wife wants to do a lot of Co-op with me, so Luigi should be excellent, really looking forward to that!

I’m just a bit intimidated by it all to be honest, but super excited!

And to stay on the points raised in the article, the USA sales charts for this year so far surprise me with 007 being near the top, honestly didn’t think many would like it to the extent they have!

Then Lego Fatman I don’t know whether to get on Switch 2 or PS5, as I can use my portal, but then it’s native on Switch, but then also no trophies on Switch, which then means I actually have to play the game not a list of achievements. Hmm. Decisions!

@ButteredCrumpet HELL YEAH. That's a good list. Lemme give a rapid fire impression of some of it and some suggestions (ya really got most of them, though).

• It's hard to say about Splatoon Raiders, since I haven't played it yet. I wouldn't expect Splatoon 4 to take much of its level design ideas, and it really seems like an expanded version of Salmon Run (Splatoon's hoard mode). But it would still give you a good idea of the core action design that makes the series special. So probably not the worst entry to start with, but Splatoon 3 would likely be better. Mostly because it has a solid single-player AND the multiplayer the series is best known for. Splatoon 2's DLC campaign is also considered the best in the series, so that's worth considering. But, otherwise, I'd go with 3. Lore-wise, doesn't really matter. You're a squid-kid — that's all you really need to know. Raiders appears especially disconnected.
• I might just wait to see if another Animal Crossing is coming out soon. I'm not big on the series, but a lot complained NH is lacking in content. So you might be better off seeing how the next one fares.
• Probably skip Detective Pikachu Returns... For Pokemon, I'd do Legends: Arceus or Snap 2. Or wait until they make a legitimately masterful entry. If you want a Nintendo narrative title, look into Famicom Detective Club or Another Code Recollection.
• BUY TROPICAL FREEZE
• The Forgotten Land is a must buy. Unless you really love 2D Kirby, I'd just get Return and skip Star Allies.
• Don't play BotW and TotK back-to-back. Give it some time in-between. TotK will also probably be insanely amazing if you skipped BotW. But probably best not to skip it, since it's still crazy amazing.
• I'd go with Aces above Fever. The main advantage of Fever is prettiness and a less half-assed, but still half-assed campaign. I like the mechanics of Aces a lot more, though.
• You don't really need to play Metroid Prime 4. At least start with Remastered for a better first impression of the series.

(I have more to say than I thought I would... I'll update throughout the day, like the insane man I am).

@ButteredCrumpet Considering the 100s of hours of games on that list I don’t think you have to worry about having or finding time for Splatoon. 😂

I only game on my tv so I’m spared having to make those decisions. Switch 2 is for exclusives, everything else on PS5. Been that way since PS1 and GameCube, every Gen. 😁

Have fun.

Really cool to see Meccha Chameleon selling really well, it's genuinely a fun game to play with friends and it's only $6. Last I checked the game sold about 15 million copies which is crazy.

The global decline of PS4’s sales from 2018 to 2019 were 24% with an estimated decline in the U.S. of 20-24%. With the price increases for the PS5, this is actually not too shabby.

Edit:
Global sales in 2018 were 17.8 million vs. 13.5 million in 2019. Granted, the PS5 was coming, but the decline existed.

@rjejr @RoomWithaMoose Thank you so much for all of that! Much better than my tiny experience on NL so far haha.

I guess I’ll hunt you both down when I have more questions! I’ve only found out how to take it off auto brightness and change the charging to 80-90% today.

Wouldn’t think I work with software all day … 😂

Also, to comment on the article again, I’m also going to be buying the games on S2 that are at sales positions 7 and 8 on the chart.

Thanks again!

@lacerz Look at you bringing out all the statistics, love that! Genuinely thought it would be more than the stated drop off for June, so overall seems better than I at least expected.