PlayStation 5 is going strong in sales while Xbox Sales keep dropping

Even when compared to its already enormously successful predecessor, the PlayStation 4, Sony's PS5 console is still doing well in retail sales. According to the most recent report from Circana…

By Pavan Gunagi

August 30, 2023

2 min read

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Even when compared to its already enormously successful predecessor, the PlayStation 4, Sony’s PS5 console is still doing well in retail sales. According to the most recent report from Circana (previously NPD), PS5 sales grew in the United States in July 2022, making Sony’s most recent console the market leader. According to Circana, PlayStation 5 will hold that rank through at least 2025.

In terms of time-aligned sales, which compare sales with the PS4 at the same stage of its life cycle, the analytics firm also disclosed statistics showing that the PS5 is 5% ahead of the PS4. Even more astonishing is the comparison with the PlayStation 3, which, while being well-known as Sony’s least popular home platform, is behind the PS5 by an astounding 87% in time-aligned sales.

The Xbox Series S and X consoles are lagging behind their predecessor (the Xbox One) in time-aligned sales by 10%, making them the PlayStation 5 main rival. The Xbox Series pair still outperforms the Xbox 360 in the same metric by 6%, though.

This year, the Nintendo Switch has also had excellent sales in the US, particularly after the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom in early May. The hybrid Nintendo console’s lifetime sales in the US ultimately eclipsed those of the Wii last month. It is now reportedly less than a million units away from PlayStation 2 lifetime sales and less than five million units away from Xbox 360 lifetime sales.

Circana predicts that overall, the US games market will expand by about 3% in 2023, generating $58.3 billion in revenue by the end of the year. The PS5’s great performance has mostly been responsible for hardware sales’ 19% year-over-year increase in comparison to the same period.