Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) announced the PlayStation 5 console (PS5) has surpassed 50 million units sold to consumers. The PS5 was launched three years ago by the Japanese technology giant and has been the leading choice for console gamers, despite initial shortages of stock.
Milestone for a generational console
Jim Ryan, President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment said “Achieving this PS5 sales milestone is a testament to the unwavering support of the global PlayStation community and their passion for the incredible experiences created by the talented developers from PlayStation Studios and our partners.”
The PS5 has achieved 2,500 games in its life-cycle, including fastest selling Sony Studio original Spider-Man 2. The5 Marvel character’s digital adventures were designed by Insomniac Games, a Sony Studio.
Coincidentally, according to IGN, sales of the PlayStation 5 passed the 50 million mark on December 9, 161 weeks after launch. The PlayStation 4 reached the same number of sales a week earlier at the 160 week point.
Insomniac Games was recently the focus of a targeted blackmail attack. This sparked rousing support from fellow developers in light of personal information being leaked to the public. This information contained sensitive documents relating to rival Microsoft.
Microsoft to overtake Sony
Microsoft, the biggest console competitor for Sony may overtake them in the months to come with the formal acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The deal set at a reported $68.7m would mean the combined gaming assets and sales would beat Sony.
The Insomniac leak contained a series of presentation slides that analyzed the takeover of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft. Citing that games such as Call of Duty and mobile king Candy Crush are being pushed to the forefront to, “disrupt and threaten console gaming and game subscription markets.”
The future of Sony consoles
Sony recently placed a patent for multi-modular virtual buttons, that would communicate hand gestures into prompts for the console. The Japanese company also unveiled the Playstation 5 slim console and the PlayStation Portal, a rival to Nintendo’s hand-held Switch console.
PlayStation posted its ‘Year in Review’ for gamers via their social media channels. Allowing users to look back at the achievements and the digital milestones they have reached across 2023.
