Sony reportedly shipped five times more PS5 consoles last quarter than Microsoft did with Xbox

Sony shipped five times more PlayStation 5 consoles than Microsoft managed with Xbox Series X/S in the last quarter.

That’s according to Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad, who’s done some digging after Sony’s latest financial report released yesterday.

The PS5 shipped 4.5m units in the last quarter, meaning Sony has now sold over 59m PS5 consoles in total. This is roughly equivalent to PS4 at the same point in its lifecycle.

Microsoft, meanwhile, has seen a 31 percent year-on-year drop in Xbox console sales, although specific figures have not been released.

Interestingly, PS5 sales dropped by 29 percent year-on-year, although console sales are up for the year as a whole.

Together it’s a sign of slowing console sales across the industry, although overall sales for PlayStation consoles are significantly higher than Xbox Series X/S sales. That’s matched by Sony’s seeming inability to sell more consoles than the previous generation.

Again, diversifying income is proving integral. It’s why Sony is pushing PC sales, with Helldivers 2 now the fastest-selling PlayStation game of all time. The company hasn’t, however, disclosed the latest PlayStation Plus subscription numbers.

It’s also why Sony is using the metric of play time on PlayStation as an indicator of success. That’s increased 15 percent year-on-year, reaching its second highest level ever (the highest since the pandemic).

Also announced yesterday were the replacements for former PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan. PlayStation Studios boss Hermen Hulst will be in charge of game development, while Hideaki Nishino will oversee hardware.

Sales in Sony’s games segment increased by 17 percent year-on-year, while operating income increased by 40.2bn yen year-on-year to a 290.2bn yen total.

Still, earlier this year Sony laid off 900 staff, including the closure of its London Studio.