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Category:
Business

PS5 reaching 50 million units sold reignites age-old console debate

Another chapter in the console battle story.
Image of Ryan Lemay
Ryan Lemay
|

Published: Dec 20, 2023 01:31 pm

It felt nearly impossible to purchase a PlayStation 5 in 2020, but after three years, the console just reached 50 million units sold—yet not everyone jumped to celebrate the accomplishment.

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With the holiday season rolling around, there will be plenty of PS5s waiting under the tree for lucky people out there—and it’s the perfect year to get into gaming. Blockbusters like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Baldur’s Gate 3, and Alan Wake 2 provide plenty of memorable experiences and worlds for new users to sink their teeth into.

Spider-Man vs. Sandman in NYC.
It was a great year to be a PlayStation fan. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Not only is now an excellent time to get into gaming, but Sony has plenty of gems scheduled in the pipeline, with community members waiting on the edge of their seats for exclusive titles such as Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Marvel’s Wolverine, and Silent Hill 2 Remake.

But before PlayStation fans get too excited, a sales milestone reignited the never-ending console debate.

PlayStation 5 sells 50 million consoles

Sony announced today that the PS5 achieved a milestone of 50 million units sold to consumers as of Dec. 9, 2023. Sony still has a long way to go to match the PS4’s lifetime unit sales of over 117 million, but the newest console generation is well on its way to reaching that mark.

“I bet Xbox didn’t even sell half of that,” a PlayStation fan responded—and comments like that started a heated back-and-forth between PlayStation and Xbox community members.

It also doesn’t help that Insider Gaming added fuel to the fire by claiming that the PS5 outsold the Xbox Series X|S three to one.  

The opposing side shot back by slamming Sony for allowing scalpers to hold PS5 consoles hostage and reselling them for higher than market value. “25 million actual gamers and another 25 million to scalpers,” a frustrated community member added.

Other community members claimed that Xbox Game Pass dominates the subscription market, while some PlayStation-exclusive games have performed below expectations. 

Despite the attempt to knock down PlayStation fans, this is a monumental milestone for the PS5, surpassing a sales goal that didn’t look possible when the console was first released.

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Author
Image of Ryan Lemay
Ryan Lemay
Staff Writer
Ryan graduated from Ithaca College in 2021 with a sports media degree and a journalism minor. He gained experience as a writer with the Morning Times newspaper and then Dexerto as a games writer. He mainly writes about first-person shooters, including Call of Duty and Battlefield, but he is also a big FIFA fan. You can contact him at ryanlemay@dotesports.com.