Sony’s PlayStation 5 boasts solid opening quarter sales, phone sales wane
Recognition: C. Scott Brown / Android Authority
- Sony announced the shipments for the PS5 console for the first quarter.
- The PlayStation 5 shipped 4.5 million units in the third quarter of 2020.
- This number dwarfed the sales of the PlayStation 4 despite supply and demand problems.
Sony started its PlayStation 5 sales run with a more than respectable number, according to the company’s latest quarterly report.
The gaming company shipped 4.5 million PS5 units in the third quarter of 2020 (fiscal year) – the console’s first full quarter of sales. This is despite the difficulty that users around the world face in purchasing one. PS5 sales should continue to grow this year as the console goes on sale in India this week.
It’s almost a copy of the PlayStation 4’s performance in the first quarter eight years ago, which also saw 4.5 million shipments. However, it is clear that the legacy console is rapidly declining in popularity. The PS4 shipped just 1.4 million units, down 100,000 from the previous quarter and nearly 80% fewer than in the third quarter of 2019.
That is also largely understandable. The PlayStation 5 offers a number of improvements in graphics fidelity and storage speed. The backward compatibility also entices users to invest a little more in the newer system to play older classics and upcoming titles.
Load surveyOverall, the PlayStation division saw revenue grow 40% compared to the previous quarter, suggesting that the gaming business continues to lead Sony’s other segments. This is also true even though Sony sold the consoles at a loss in order to achieve “strategic prices for PS5 hardware”.
By comparison, Sony improved its smartphone shipments to one million units in the third quarter of 2020 – a 67% increase over the previous quarter. However, 2020 is likely to end overall with lower numbers than a year earlier. The company shipped 3.2 million units in 2019 – it needs to ship 800,000 units in the next quarter to match that number. However, it is unlikely that 2020 will hit the high heights of 2018. Sony shipped a total of 6.5 million phones two years ago.
PlayStation 5 sales against the competition
Recognition: C. Scott Brown / Android Authority
At Sony’s competitors, the Nintendo Switch broke lifelong 3DS sales of over 20 million units between April and December 2020. The console has shipped just under 80 million units in its three years.
Microsoft didn’t provide hard sales numbers for the Xbox Series S and Series X in its latest report, but noted that Xbox content and services saw a significant drop in sales in the previous quarter.
