The PS5 is still selling better than the PS4, despite shortages


Andrew Hoyle/CNET

You’ve spent every week since November trying to get a PlayStation 5 and you’ve failed. Semiconductor shortages and an intense demand for next-gen gaming has made the new console almost impossible to find — but that doesn’t mean it isn’t selling. According to Sony’s latest earnings call, the new console has sold 7.8 million units since launch.

That’s a full 200,000 more than the PlayStation 4 at this point in its life cycle, but the company isn’t completely satisfied. “Supply has not been able to keep up with the extremely strong demand for PS5,” Sony Executive Deputy President Totoki Hiroki stated for the earnings presentation. Despite semiconductor shortages, the company still hopes to outpace the performance of its previous console. “Our current target is to exceed the 14.8 million units we sold in the second year after the launch of the PlayStation 4.”

That momentum carried over to software, with more than 338.9 million PS4 and PS5 games sold over the past year — most of which were digital game sales. Combined with the 6 million additional PlayStation Plus subscribers added last year, it seems like Sony’s bet on a discless PS5 could pay off.

If you’re interested in diving into the numbers for yourself, Sony has made the full financial report available online. If you’re just trying to figure out how you can get your hands on a PlayStation 5 of your own, well, we have a guide for that.

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