PlayStation 5 surpassed PlayStation 3 in America • DigiCala Mag

The PlayStation 3 console, which some have jokingly likened to “George Foreman’s grill”, is now behind the PlayStation 5 in the US. Sony’s new console was able to reach this record in less than five years after its launch (November 12, 2020).

Mat Piscatella, a well-known analyst at Circana Institute, published this interesting news on Bluesky and said that it happened during the September sales period. Piscatella did not release exact figures, as the company charges for access to the full statistics, but in response to some questions, he explained that sales of the PlayStation 5 are ahead of the PlayStation 4 in terms of launch time, and that this situation “has been going on for a long time.” He added: “Playstation 5 is about 4.6 percent ahead of PlayStation 4.”

For reference, Sony Interactive’s official website has announced lifetime sales of the PlayStation 4 at over 113.5 million units (as of September 2020), the PlayStation 3 at over 87.4 million units (as of March 2017), and the PlayStation 2, which is Sony’s best-selling console ever, at over 160 million units (as of March 2012). Due to the date of these statistics, the actual figures may have changed since then.

Sony announced in its latest financial report in August that the global sales of PlayStation 5 reached 80.3 million units; The rate is almost the same as the sales trend of PlayStation 4 in the same period. The next financial report is scheduled to be published on November 11. However, Sony expects sales of the PlayStation 5 to slow in the coming months as it believes the console is past its peak. Also, tough economic conditions and new tariffs have affected the market and the price of current generation consoles has reached its highest level.

In such a situation, it seems a little strange to think about the next generation of consoles. But as it has recently become clear, maybe the role of consoles will change significantly in the near future.

Source: Eurogamer