The PlayStation 5 is set to release globally in a few short weeks, and Sony already has some major aspirations for its upcoming console. In a recent financial call, company CFO Hiroki Totoki claims that Sony is planning to ship 7.6 million PS5 units worldwide by March 2021. That would be very ambitious, putting it ahead of the 6 million units that the PS4 sold through by March 2014. The PS4 has sold more than 100 million units worldwide since, but it remains to be seen whether or not Sony will be able to top that figure with the PS5.
Thus far, it seems that analysts are a bit torn on PS5’s chances in the next console generation. Japanese analyst Rakuten Securities believes that Sony will double lifetime sales of the PS4, selling 200 millions units worldwide. Totoki and Sony would be incredibly pleased with that figure, but it seems a bit too good to be true. On the other hand, Piers Harding-Rolls of Ampere Analysis believes that overall console sales will be a bit more conservative. In June, the analyst predicted that the PS5 will reach 66 million units by 2024. It’s worth noting that Harding-Rolls also sees the Xbox Series X underselling the Xbox One, as well.
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It’s interesting to look at the long-term possibilities, but there are a number of factors that could have an impact on PS5 sales in the short term. While there seems to be a lot of hype surrounding the PS5, some of the system’s biggest games will also see release on PS4. The system will still have major exclusives in the long-term, but this could lead to some gamers holding off on purchasing the system until more of the console’s biggest exclusives have been released. The coronavirus pandemic has also had a devastating impact on the global economy, and some gamers might not be eager to spend $400-500 on a new system, just yet.
The PlayStation brand has performed incredibly well for Sony, and it seems likely that trend will continue with the PS5. However, whether or not Sony and Totoki’s aspirations of outselling the PS5 are plausible remains to be seen.
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