30% Of PlayStation 5 Owners Never Bought A PlayStation 4

Since its start in 2020, the ninth generation of game consoles has been met with one hurdle after another. From a global pandemic disrupting supply chains to an economic downturn restricting spending, this generation has seen it all. 

Recently, however, it has been on a comeback trail, with the PlayStation 5 leading the charge in availability and sales.

Attracting new consumers to the PlayStation brand is one of Sony‘s biggest goals this generation. Now, it seems like it is achieving it as 30% of the users who play the PlayStation 5 didn’t buy the PS4. Hence, almost one-third of the PS5 player base is coming back to the console series after skipping a generation.

30% of monthly active users on PS5 never owned a PS4, Sony claims in its latest financial results pic.twitter.com/l4dxv3q4W6

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Not everyone expected the ninth generation of consoles to make waves immediately with the COVID-19 pandemic in mind. But, the start was much slower than predictions, with the consoles being rarely available on retail. Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and the PlayStation 5 had to face these issues for nearly 2 years.

But, since the start of 2023, a lot of these worries have been alleviated, and the consoles are returning to form. And the console guiding this revival is none other than the PlayStation 5. It is readily available now and is much easier to find at retailers around the world.

Sony has also increased the PS5 sales forecast for the financial year 2022 in its 3rd Quarter report. Better availability and increasing demand is playing a key role in the console’s recent resurgence.

PlayStation 5 has already sold 32.1 million units, according to Sony, which is better than the numbers Xbox Series is putting up.

At this point in PlayStation 4‘s life cycle, 26 months after release, it only sold 5 million units more than the PS5. When you consider all the difficulties the ninth gen console had to face, this isn’t a big gap. In the latest 3rd quarter financial results, Sony revealed another piece of info showcasing PlayStation 5’s success.

Nearly one-third of the PS5 owners are those people who did not purchase the PS4. To be precise, 30% of the PlayStation 5 Monthly Active Users (MAU) never used the 2013 console. Meaning people falling into this statistic skipped the last generation of Sony consoles but came back with the PS5. 

Captivating new players and making them switch to the PlayStation 5 is a key goal of Sony. It’s a big reason why the company releases several AAA first-party games available nowhere else. Attracting consumers who previously did not use your devices is what makes products successful, and the PS5 is doing exactly that.

Having nearly one-third of the PlayStation 5 player base be entirely new users is a big achievement. Games like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and Final Fantasy XVI releasing will only attract more new players. Couple this with the better supply of PS5s around the world, and these numbers are only going to increase.

The financial report also gives us some important info regarding the transition from PlayStation 4 to PlayStation 5. As of December 31, 2022, 30% of PlayStation console users are playing on the PS5. It is an increase from last quarter and is a competent number.

Sony is also imploring players to upgrade to the PlayStation 5 now that stock is available. Most of its upcoming exclusive games are strictly next-gen due to this very reason. The console sold a remarkable 7.1 million units in the 3rd quarter, and with future forecasts increasing, it seems like users are willing to make the switch.

Hopefully, the console will remain in stock for everyone who wants to buy it in 2022. Do you think Sony will achieve its goals for the PlayStation 5 this year? Tell us in the comments below.