PS5 Becomes Fastest-Selling Console in History

Sony’s PlayStation 5 is the fastest-selling video game console in U.S. history based on total dollar sales after four months in the market, according to The NPD Group.

Nintendo’s Switch still sold more units in February, the PS5 DualSense controller was the best-selling video game accessory of the month, and Nintendo’s “Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury” was the best-selling game.

The entire video game industry is off to a flying start in 2021.

• February spending across all gaming categories reached a record $4.6 billion, up 35% year-over-year, per NPD.
• Year-to-date video game spending hit $9.3 billion, 39% higher than it was at the same point last year.
• Roblox went public on March 10 and immediately saw its valuation jump to $45 billion from $29.4 billion in January.

Sony CFO Hiroki Totoki said in February that the company aims to triple its PS5 sales to 14.8 million units in the coming fiscal year. Tech analysts Omdia project the console to sell 63.9 million units by 2024.

Beyond Sony and Nintendo, the new Xbox helped Microsoft record its first-ever $5 billion quarter in video game revenue. Earlier this month, PC gaming leader NVidia reported that its gaming unit brought in $2.5 billion in revenue in Q4 2020, up 67% from the year before.

The PS5, which retails for $500, or $400 for the version without a disk drive, has been notoriously difficult to acquire due to supply chain issues, which contributes to a thriving resale market on platforms like StockX.