Resurgent sales of Sony’s latest PlayStation and a strong line-up of blockbuster games led the console market back to growth this year after a post-pandemic slump.
Sony said it had sold 50 million PlayStation 5s almost as quickly as its previous generation of the device, overcoming longstanding supply problems to outsell Microsoft’s Xbox by almost three to one in 2023.
According to data from Ampere Analysis, the console market is set to rebound 7.2% this year to $60.9 billion, after a 7.3% decline in 2022. The growth means the market is almost as large as it was during the pandemic boom year of 2021. The recovery came thanks to improved availability of the PS5 and a strong range of games including Sony’s Spider-Man 2, Microsoft’s Starfield, and Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Eric Lempel, head of global business at Sony Interactive Entertainment, stated that with supply issues solved, its latest console was now on track to outsell the PlayStation 4. Sony said it reached the 50 million sales milestone on December 9, 161 weeks after the PS5 launched. This compares with the 160 weeks it took the PS4 to reach the same point after its release.
While Microsoft stole headlines this year over its battle to complete its $75 billion acquisition of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard, its Xbox hardware has been beaten into a distant third place behind Sony and Nintendo.
PS5 sales grew about 65% to 22.5 million units this year, while sales of the latest Xbox fell about 15% to 7.6 million. Sales of Nintendo’s Switch fell 18% to 16.4 million.
The way we look at the market and when we talk to consumers, a lot of them are waiting for a specific game that’s the catalyst to make them jump into a next-generation console, said Lempel, pointing to exclusive titles such as Spider-Man 2.
However, some of the world’s most popular online multiplayer games are available on every console, presenting a growing challenge to Sony’s strategy.
Fortnite players jumped by 17 million to 52.9 million on Xbox and PlayStation in November, according to Ampere estimates.
Nonetheless, Lempel said the latest Black Friday sales period helped make it the biggest November for PlayStation sales, when measured by both units and revenues, in Sony’s almost 30-year history in gaming.
Accessories such as extra controllers and its new Portal device also sold well. However, its latest virtual reality goggles, PlayStation VR2, have been a slower burn.
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