Dan Ackerman/CNET
You might have struggled to get a PS5 since its launch in November, but Sony shipped 4.5 million units of its next-gen console in 2020. The number comes from the company’s latest earnings report, and is similar to sales figures for the PS4 immediately after its 2013 launch, as noted by analyst Daniel Ahmad.
The major difference between the two consoles’ launches was that the PS5 launched during the coronavirus pandemic, meaning it’s been tougher to come by. It’s likely that the PS5 will prove more popular than its predecessor in the long term, even though the PS4 is the second best-selling console of all time.
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It’s aiming to sell more than 14.8 million PS5s in the next fiscal year, chief financial officer Hiroki Totoki said at a news conference, according to Nikkei.
Spider-Man: Miles Morales proved to be one of biggest hits in terms of software, selling 4.1 million copies by the end of December. PlayStation Plus subscriptions, which are required for most online games, hit 47.4 million by the end of December, up from the 45.9 million Sony at the end of September.
This adds up to the PlayStation division’s best quarter ever, with revenue up 40% year-on-year to 883.2 billion yen ($8.4 billion), likely a result of hype for PS5. Sony also acknowledged that the PS5 is being sold for less than it costs to make, but its operating was still 50% to 80.2 billion yen ($763.3 million).
However, Sony sold far fewer PS4s in the final quarter of 2020 than it did in the same period in the previous year — 1.4 million units versus 6 million in 2019.
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