PlayStation 5 has achieved a historic milestone in sales. Sony reports its best holiday season ever. The PS5 has surpassed 75 million units sold and is now just 1.5 million units away from catching up to the PS4’s 76.5 million sales in the same timeframe.

Since its launch in 2020, the PlayStation 5 has firmly established itself as one of the best-selling gaming consoles and a key player in the industry’s evolution. Despite Sony’s setbacks with its live-service strategy, PlayStation continues to thrive, earning increased investor confidence and outpacing expectations.

Sony’s latest financial report for Q3 of the 2024 fiscal year confirms that PlayStation has had the strongest holiday sales in its history. According to Video Games Chronicle (VGC), the PlayStation 5 has crossed the 75 million sales milestone, now trailing the PS4’s equivalent 76.5 million units by just 1.5 million. In major markets like the United States, PS5 has already surpassed PS4’s sales pace.

For the full fiscal year ending March 31, 2025, Sony aims to sell 18 million PS5 units, a goal that appears well within reach, as 15.7 million have already been shipped across the first three quarters. Operating income has surged 37% year-over-year (+$766 million), a new record for Sony, thanks to strong third-party game sales, PS Plus subscriptions, microtransactions, and increased hardware profitability, likely fueled by the PS5 Pro.

Additionally, the number of active PlayStation users has grown by 43% this generation, reaching 129 million, a significant leap compared to the PS4 era. Revenue from PlayStation Plus has climbed 20% year-over-year, although exact subscriber numbers remain undisclosed. Sony’s financial success is further reinforced by the strong performance of games like Astro Bot and Helldivers 2, reinforcing its strategy of balancing family-friendly games with live-service experiences.

Sony eyes even bigger milestones for 2025

Looking ahead, Sony is gearing up for a massive 2025, with first-party exclusives such as Ghost of Yotei and Death Stranding 2 leading the way. Meanwhile, major third-party titles like Monster Hunter Wilds, Grand Theft Auto VI, and the next Call of Duty are expected to fuel further revenue growth. Hiroki Totoki, Sony’s president and CFO, acknowledged the console’s extraordinary momentum: “PS5 sales have exceeded our expectations.”

“The upcoming fiscal year is expected to see strong releases, both from our own studios and third-party developers, which could generate further momentum for increased sales,” Totoki added (via Genki_JPN). Industry analyst Serkan Toto was similarly surprised by Sony’s strong results: “Many in the gaming industry anticipated a weak third quarter due to the absence of blockbuster first-party releases. However, the latest Call of Duty performed exceptionally well, and strong sales boosted Sony’s numbers. Data suggests the PS5 Pro also sold strongly. One key factor here is the 129 million active PlayStation users—an impressive and stable figure. Q4 (January-April 2025) might be slower, but Sony has every reason to be pleased with its fiscal year so far.”

Sony continues to dominate the gaming industry

Financial data shows Sony generated $11.053 billion in revenue last quarter, surpassing its holiday performance in previous years. According to Derek Strickland, PlayStation has pulled in $30.8 billion in 2024 alone, while Xbox ($22.7 billion) and Nintendo ($8 billion) combined have made $30.7 billion. This means Sony alone accounted for nearly 50% of the total revenue generated by the three major console manufacturers in 2024.

Given these figures, it’s no surprise that investors remain highly confident in Sony’s future. PlayStation’s financial performance continues to be a major driver of Sony’s overall growth, even pushing the company’s stock value to record highs. Moving forward, PlayStation is set to publish and distribute new titles from FromSoftware and other developers after Sony acquired a majority stake in Kadokawa.

Source: 3djuegos