PS5 Passes 20 Million Sold As Sony Promises "Significant Ramp-Up" In Production

The PlayStation 5 has reached a big new sales milestone, as Sony has confirmed that the system has now surpassed 20 million units sold since launch in November 2020. Not only that, but Sony also promised a "significant ramp-up" in PS5 production for 2022 to help meet demand.

PlayStation executive Veronica Rogers revealed the new sales stat to GI.biz. Rogers went on to thank fans for their support and to promise that more stock should be available relatively soon.

"To those fans who have yet to get their hands on a console, please know that we are planning on a significant ramp-up in PS5 production this year and we are working endlessly to make sure that PlayStation 5 is available for everyone who wants one," Rogers said.

The PS5 is selling well, but chip shortages and other supply chain issues have impacted sales, which are tracking lower than the PS4 over a similar period of time after launch. However, Sony is projecting a huge upswing in PS5 sales in the time ahead.

According to analyst Daniel Ahmad, the PS4 sold 20 million units in its first 471 days, while the PS5 needed 568 days to reach 20 million sold. The PS5 reached 10 million unit sales faster than the PS4, however, Ahmad said, but the newer console is now selling slower due to the supply issues.

The PS5 had sold 19.3 million units as of March 31, so the company has shifted another 700,000+ units since then. Sony projects to sell 18 million PS5 consoles during the fiscal year that began April 1 and runs through March 31, 2023. This number is based on the company's "current visibility into parts procurement," Sony said.

18 million+ for the current fiscal year works out to an average of 4.5 million per quarter for the current fiscal year. This would be on par with the PS5's best quarter ever in Q3 of FY20 (October through December of 2020), during which Sony sold 4.5 million consoles at the system's launch.

While Sony seems somewhat optimistic about supply looking better, the wider consensus on general supply issues is less positive, as some in the wider technology world believe shortages could stretch into 2024. Looking to the video game space specifically, Nintendo said during its own earnings briefing recently that there is "no end in sight" for the ongoing chip shortage, according to The Wall Street Journal.

In other Sony news, the company held its latest PlayStation State of Play briefing, and it had lots of big and exciting news. Check out GameSpot's State of Play news recap to learn more.