We are not quite through the holiday season yet, but the PlayStation 5 is already breaking launch month sales records in the US. NPD Group reports that although the Nintendo Switch moved more units in November, the PlayStation 5, which launched two weeks into the month in the US, had the highest dollar sales.
In terms of newly launched hardware, the PS5 also beat the Xbox Series X|S in sales. In fact, it broke the record for the best unit and dollars sales in a console’s launch month in the history of the US—a record previously held by the PlayStation 4. However, launch month sales are not the end of the war.
US NPD HW – PlayStation 5 achieved the highest launch month unit and dollar sales for a video game hardware platform in U.S. history. The records were previously held by the PlayStation 4, which debuted in November 2013.
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) December 11, 2020
“Launch month sales of a new console have no correlation to long-term performance, so I don’t think the strong launch performance says much more than Sony was confident enough to make the units available for sale that would reach the record,” NDP’s lead gaming analyst Mat Piscatella told GameDaily. “I am certainly optimistic for the long-term prospects for both new gen consoles, but I don’t take anything more away from the launch month sales than that’s the number of units that were produced and distributed.”
November also set a new record in consumer spending with over $1.4 billion in video game hardware sales recorded—up 58 percent over November 2019. The 2020 market has also seen a 34 percent increase in gaming gear, with gamers doling out over $4 billion since January 1.
Origen: PlayStation 5 breaks launch record for any console in US history
