Sony’s holiday PS5 sales dropped 16 percent compared to last year
Sony has now shipped a total of 92.2 million PlayStation 5 consoles worldwide, but sales were down sharply during the holiday season compared to last year. In its latest earnings report, the company said it shipped eight million PS5s during its key third quarter, 1.5 million (16%) fewer than during the same period last year. The games division nevertheless made more profits, thanks to increased software sales and a weak yen.
Sony’s first two quarters of this fiscal year saw an increase in PS5 sales, so the holiday drop is a bit surprising. That said, sales during the same period last year were an outlier with 9.5 million units sold, easily its best period since the console went on sale in November 2020.
Software sales, however, were exceptional in the third quarter of this year. Sony sold 97.2 million games, up from 95.9 million the previous year, and increased its digital sales to 76%, up 2% year-over-year. Sony said it also achieved a record 132 million monthly active users on PlayStation Network. New games on the horizon for PS5 include Resident Evil Requiem (February 27), Declared (February 17) and Bungie’s Marathon (March 5).
With PS5 sales down a bit, it raises the question of when the company’s next console will arrive. The PS4 took seven years to be replaced, but given continued strong sales, high RAM prices and recent hardware updates, analysts believe the PS5 will likely have a longer life cycle. However, when the PS6 arrives, it could offer triple the performance of the PS5.
