The PlayStation 5 (PS5) continues to be a sales success for Sony three years into its lifespan. Not only was it the best-selling console in both units sold and dollar sales for October 2023, but it continues to be the second-best-selling console in Sony’s history.
When looking at year-over-year sales through a console’s first 36 months on the market in the United States, the PS5 sits only behind the PS2 in unit sales.
Mat Piscatella, the executive director and video game industry analyst at Circana, formerly NPD, posted the sales rankings on Twitter on Thursday.
“After 36 months in market, US hardware unit sales ranks by ecosystem: PlayStation Platforms ONLY – PlayStation 2 > PlayStation 5 > PlayStation 4 > PlayStation > PlayStation 3,” he said.
Despite the console launching during the Covid-19 pandemic and being extremely hard to find and purchase during the first year or so of its lifecycle, PS5 numbers have risen regularly. Now, with the new PS5 Slim on the market, it’s not out of the realm of possibility to see sales of the PS5 rise even more as more consoles become available on the market for the 2023 holiday shopping season.
In terms of overall sales, the PS5 sits at just under 45 million sold. While it’s still well behind the lifetime numbers of the PS2 — 158.7 million — there’s a good chance the console gets close to what the PS2 was able to do by the time the PS6 comes around.
Are you surprised at all by the sales of the PS5 in the United States? For more Insider Gaming, read about the new details for the upcoming Horizon Zero Dawn board game.
