PlayStation 5 Dominates The Console Market, Outpacing PlayStation 4 Sales

Recent data shows that Sony Group Corp.'s (NYSE: SONY) PlayStation 5 (PS5) has become more accessible to consumers, with sales increasing by 369% year-over-year in Europe.

According to reports by Games Industry Biz, PS5 sales in March were up five times compared to the same period last year.

See Also: Sony's Next Move: Job Listings Reveal Renewed Focus On Cloud Gaming For PlayStation 5

Meanwhile, Nintendo ADR's (OTC: NTDOY) Nintendo Switch saw an 18% decline in sales year over year, and Microsoft Corp.'s (NASDAQ: MSFT) Xbox Series X|S sales were down by 10%.

Despite this, the overall console sales increased by 41% from the same period in 2022, driven mainly by the surge in PS5 sales.

Reports indicate that 1.5 million gaming systems were sold in the first quarter of 2023, with 570,000 systems sold across Europe in March alone, excluding the U.K.

Mat Piscatella, executive director and video game industry analyst at Circana, reported the PS5 is officially outselling its predecessor, the PlayStation 4 (PS4) from a pacing standpoint.

"PlayStation 5 hardware unit sales have now surpassed those of PlayStation 4 on a time-aligned basis (29 months in the market)," Piscatella tweeted.

PlayStation 5 hardware unit sales have now surpassed those of PlayStation 4 on a time-aligned basis (29 months in market).

— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) April 19, 2023

Although the PS5's sales numbers are yet to reach the PS4's current total of 117.01 million units sold as of April 1, the PS5 is well on track to pass it when considering the amount of time available. In March alone, the PS5 sold 34.47 million units, as per VGChartz.

Read Next: Sony Is Reportedly Developing A New PlayStation Handheld

Photo: Monster Ztudio on Shutterstock and Wfrmsf on Wikimedia Commons