While the Xbox Series X saw a boost in sales last month, thanks to Forza Horizon 6, PlayStation 5 sales have dropped significantly.
With gaming hardware across the board constantly growing more expensive, companies need to go the extra mile to encourage people to invest in a new console.
That’s easier said than done, though, and Sony is in the awkward position of needing to keep propping up the PlayStation 5 despite it being nearly six years old and the PlayStation 6 being nowhere in sight.
PlayStation 5 sales were up over Christmas thanks to a generous Black Friday discount, and it hit the 90 million lifetime sales mark earlier this year, but it looks like that growth has quickly slowed down, as it barely beat the Xbox Series X in May, in the UK.
This is according to Christopher Dring of The Game Business, who reports that PlayStation 5 sales dropped by 50% last month in the UK, although, as usual, no exact figures were given.
While he doesn’t specify, Dring is presumably comparing sales to the PlayStation 5’s April figures. Normally you wouldn’t expect much difference, as neither are traditionally busy months for sales, but these are unprecedented times.
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The most obvious reason for the PlayStation 5’s decline is the price hike on April 2, which saw both the digital and physical versions of the PlayStation 5 go up by £90 to £519.99 and £569.99, respectively.
Some retailers, though, still sold both versions for the previous prices in early April, which could have encouraged a boost in last-minute sales from those eager to avoid the price hike.
By May, that new price will have been firmly locked in so when combined with the lack of any major exclusives in the near future (Wolverine isn’t until September), there was little incentive to pick up a PlayStation 5 in May.
But while Sony suffered an unusually bad month it was one of the best in a long time for Microsoft, with the Xbox Series X seeing a 12% increase in sales, motivated by the release of Forza Horizon 6.
That game is currently only available on Xbox and PC, but while the PlayStation 5 version will follow later this year, it goes to show that even a temporary console exclusive can move units.
The Nintendo Switch 2, meanwhile, was ‘easily’ the number one console of the month and has now sold over 1 million units in the UK since its launch last year. According to Dring, it hit this target 30 weeks faster than the original Switch.
Compared to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox, the Switch 2 is certainly a more affordable option, although it too is building up to a price hike later this year.
Sony no doubt hopes the recent State of Play will spark a surge in interest, with major new games such as God Of War Laufey and Marvel’s Wolverine, even if both seem more tailored to existing owners than those that haven’t yet bought the console.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Sony’s been selling less games with each passing year since 2020, which is attributed to its increasingly thin release schedules and lack of consistent exclusives.
As a result the company has talked about monetising the current install base, which could suggest Sony’s priority is to wring as much money as possible from PlayStation 5 owners (like it’s doing with the PlayStation Plus price hike) rather than attract new ones.
That said, GTA 6 is out this November and if any game can dramatically shift new units, it’s that, especially if, as rumoured, Sony and Rockstar have signed a deal to release a special console bundle.
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