Lifetime sales of the PS5 have outpaced those of the PS4 by 7%, while Xbox Series consoles have fallen 18% behind Xbox One in the US.
Mat Piscatella, Executive Director and Video Game Industry Analyst at Circana (NPD), took to Blue Sky to share that video game hardware had a rough month in December, 2024, in the US. However, he added that it was expected, with the Nintendo Switch being in market for so long as well as PS5 and Xbox Series X|S being past their selling peaks.
Despite that, the total 2024 hardware spending of 4.9 billion US Dollar is still significantly higher than the 3.9 billion US Dollar seen in 2019. Piscatella further said that, through each console’s first 50 months in the US market (life to date ending December, 2024 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S), PS5 lifetime unit sales are 7% ahead of PS4’s pace, while Xbox Series consoles trail Xbox One by 18%. Through 38 months in the US (through December, 2023), PS5 led PS4 by 6% while Xbox Series consoles trailed Xbox One by 13%.
Piscatella revealed that PS5 finished as December’s best-selling hardware platform in both units and dollars, with Switch ranking second across both measures. For the year 2024, Xbox Series ranked second in hardware spending, while Switch placed second in unit sales. Meanwhile, PS5 led 2024 across both measures. Furthermore, 49% of PlayStation 5 and 43% of Xbox Series hardware units sold in December did not include a physical disc drive. For the 2024 year, all-digital editions comprised 45% of all PlayStation 5 units sold during the year, and 44% of Xbox Series.
According to the Executive Director and Video Game Industry Analyst at Circana, Sony’s current-gen console now ranks third in lifetime hardware dollar sales in U.S. history, trailing only Switch and Xbox 360. The platform currently ranks 11th in lifetime unit sales.
Going by the above sales stats, the PS5 is on track to surpass the PS4’s lifetime sales towards the end of the generation.
