Ever since the first PlayStation’s introduction in 1994, Sony Interactive Entertainment has come to dominate the console market in almost every console generation. In fact, for many, it has become synonymous with gaming consoles.
In this article, we’ll go over some interesting PlayStation statistics and facts tied to the brand, the consoles, the games, and how they all performed over the years. So, without further ado, let’s dive in.
Amazing PlayStation Stats and Facts – Editor’s Pick
- The PlayStation 2 is Sony’s best-selling console of all time, having sold over 157 million units.
- Priced at US$599 (about US$885 today), the 60 GB version of the PlayStation 3 was the most expensive PlayStation console at launch.
- The PlayStation 4 sold 116 million units, making it Sony’s second-best-selling console and the fourth-best-selling console of all time.
- The PlayStation 5 is the fastest-selling console released by Sony, reaching the ten million-unit milestone in only 249 days.
- Game and network services is Sony’s most profitable segment, having earned over US$24 billion in 2021.
- Sony currently holds 43% of the global video game console market share.
PlayStation Console Stats and Facts
Where to begin but with the consoles themselves? From the recognizable original PlayStation to the unorthodox design and powerful hardware of the PlayStation 5, Sony’s consoles always had something unique to offer. So, here are some interesting PlayStation facts you’ll want to know!
1. The PlayStation 2 is the highest-selling console of all time, with over 157 million units sold.
(Statista)
To this day, Sony’s second and most famous gaming console remains the most popular console of all time, as indicated by Sony PlayStation sales statistics. With well over 157 million units sold since its introduction, it remains the undisputed king of video game consoles, even in 2022.
This is unlikely to change soon since the two runners-up are the Nintendo DS and the Nintendo Game Boy, at 155 million and 118 million units sold, and both of these consoles have also been discontinued.
In fact, many feel that the sales record of the PlayStation 2 is unlikely ever to be beaten, as no other console to date has even come close to matching its sales numbers before being discontinued.
2. The PlayStation 4 is Sony’s second-best and the fourth-best-selling console overall, with 117.2 million units sold.
(IGN)
Having sold over 117 million units, the PlayStation 4 is the Japanese giant’s second-best-selling console and the fourth-best-selling console of all time. However, it’s nowhere close to the PlayStation 2 sales numbers, and it’s unlikely to climb significantly higher now that the ninth console generation has taken off.
Still, the console was an incredible success for Sony. After all, the PlayStation 4 outperformed the Nintendo Switch and greatly outdid the Xbox One in terms of sales, so it’s safe to say that Sony won the previous round of the “console war.”
(Wcfftech, DFC Intelligence)
The first consoles of the ninth generation rolled out in late 2020, and now, PlayStation statistics for 2022 indicate that it’s a very close race. According to 2021 data from DFC Intelligence, Sony currently has the lead with a 43% market share. Nintendo is a close runner-up with 37%, and Microsoft is still the underdog for the time being, with only 20%.
Forecasts for 2026 suggest that the Xbox will gain more ground in the coming years, thanks to the unbeatable value of Microsoft’s Game Pass subscription. However, the supply issues that have been plaguing the PlayStation 5 since its launch are also a significant factor here, as Sony has been unable to meet the high demand for the new console.
4. The PlayStation 4 was the first mainstream console to support VR.
(Forbes)
There are several reasons why the PlayStation 4 was so successful, including excellent exclusive titles, an approachable price, and some critical missteps from its main competitors. However, it was also the first mainstream console to offer VR support, which was a notable, if sometimes overlooked, contributing factor.
Originally announced as Project Morpheus in 2014 and released in 2016, PlayStation VR brought virtual reality into the living room at a time when this technology was reserved for high-end PCs, with expensive headsets such as the HTC Vive.
5. The first PlayStation console sold over 102 million units and is the sixth-best-selling console in the world.
(VGChartz)
Looking at PlayStation sales statistics, with the nigh-unbeatable record set by the PlayStation 2 and the more recent success of the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, it’s easy to forget about the original console that started it all. However, 102.49 million sold units is a fantastic record in itself, and one made all the more impressive when considering the context.
Namely, when Sony entered the fray in 1994, the console market was dominated by Nintendo and Sega. Its closest competitor, the Nintendo 64, only sold about 32 million units, whereas the Sega Saturn sold just 9.2 million units, marking the beginning of the end for Sega’s console days.
The first console was the giant on whose shoulders the PlayStation 2 stood, marking the start of a new era for gaming consoles.
PlayStation Game Statistics
One of the reasons why Sony managed to become such a force in the video game market is that it established the PlayStation as a platform that offers superb first-party exclusive games, several of which went down in video game history. So, let’s take a look at some stats and facts tied to PlayStation’s impressive game library.
6. Gran Turismo is the best-selling game on the original PlayStation, with over 10.8 million copies sold.
(Giant Bomb)
At almost 11 million copies sold worldwide, the original Gran Turismo is the best-selling game on the first PlayStation and one of the key reasons for its massive success.
This exclusive racing sim franchise has been one of Sony’s crown jewels for a very long time and the favourite of many PlayStation gamers. In fact, Gran Turismo 2 is the third-best-selling PlayStation game, with almost 9.4 million units sold.
These PlayStation game statistics are even more impressive if we consider how much smaller the gaming industry was in the 1990s.
7. NBA 2K23 was the most-downloaded PlayStation 5 game in September 2022.
(PlayStation.Blog)
According to the official PlayStation blog, NBA 2K23 was the most-downloaded PlayStation 5 game in September 2022 for the US and Canadian markets. It was followed by FIFA 23, and third place went to The Last of Us Part I, the remake of the original game from 2013 that came out that same month.
8. God of War: Ragnarok is currently the highest-rated PlayStation 5 exclusive, with a Metascore of 94.
(Metacritic)
The PlayStation has long been known for high-quality exclusive titles, and the PlayStation 5 lived up to this reputation with several releases already, most notably the sequel to the beloved God of War (2018). God of War: Ragnarok is currently the highest-rated exclusive release for the new console, with a Metacritic score of 94, aggregated from 136 positive critic reviews.
9. Marvel’s Spider-Man became the best-selling PlayStation exclusive of all time in 2020, with 20 million copies sold.
(VG247)
Though it was released in 2018, late into the eighth console generation, PlayStation 4 statistics show that Marvel’s Spider-Man still managed to sell a whopping 20 million copies by 2020. Moreover, this figure only accounts for the PlayStation 4 sales, not the PlayStation 5 remaster released in 2020.
Other currently or formerly exclusive PS4 titles with impressive sales figures include God of War (2018), with 19.5 million copies sold, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, which sold 16 million copies, along with The Last of Us Remastered, The Last of Us Part II, and Horizon Zero Dawn, all of which boast sales of about 10 million copies.
Some other notable non-exclusive releases that sold well include The Witcher III: Wild Hunt (10.8 million), Cyberpunk 2077 (3.8 million), Star Wars Battlefront (8.42 million), and Grand Theft Auto V (2 million).
PlayStation Sales Statistics
The PlayStation series has set many records throughout the years, many of which have to do with its performance in the market. So, here are some numbers, stats, and facts that show just how dominant Sony’s console series has been over the years.
10. As of July 2022, the PlayStation 4 sold 38.15 million units in North America.
(Statista)
The PlayStation 4 is Sony’s second-best-selling console and the fourth-best-selling console of all time, with over 116 million units sold in total. The North American market alone accounted for 38.15 million PlayStation 4 unit sales.
However, Sony PlayStation sales statistics from Statista show Europe as the leading market for the PlayStation 4, with a whopping 46 million units sold. It’s also worth noting that 9.57 million units were sold in Japan alone.
11. PlayStation 4 sales peaked in Q3 2016, with 9.7 million devices sold.
(Statista)
Usually, the third quarter is the most profitable one for console sales as the holiday season nears, and Q3 of 2016 was when PlayStation 4 sales hit an all-time high. Sony sold a record 9.7 million consoles, the highest of any individual quarter of the decade.
It was second only to Q3 2011, when the combined sales of the PlayStation 2, the PlayStation 3, the PlayStation TV, the PlayStation Portable, and the PlayStation Vita reached 9.8 million units.
12. In 2021, the Game & Network Services segment was Sony’s primary source of income, earning US$24.4 billion.
(Statista)
With its dominance in the console market, it’s no surprise that the Game & Network Services became Sony’s most profitable segment, earning the company US$24.4 billion in 2021 alone. This is slightly lower than the US$25.04 billion it made in 2020 but is still about US$4 billion ahead of the corporation’s second-most profitable segment, Electronics Products & Solutions.
13. PlayStation sales statistics showed that the PlayStation 5 is Sony’s fastest-selling console to date, having sold 10 million units in 249 days.
(Polygon)
Though it hasn’t been around for long, the PlayStation 5 already set a record as Sony’s fastest-selling console in 2021, when it sold a whopping 10 million units in only 249 days after launch. In comparison, the PlayStation 4 reached this milestone in 271 days.
14. The total number of PlayStation consoles sold reached over 588 million units as of 2022.
(VGChartz)
Considering all the PlayStation consoles released to date – PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PlayStation Portable, and PlayStation Vita – the combined PlayStation console sales come up to a whopping 588.23 million units.
As impressive as this is, it’s worth noting that Nintendo has the lead in this respect, with over 800 million consoles sold in total. This is only understandable, considering that Nintendo has been in the market longer and given that its handheld video game consoles were far more successful than Sony’s.
15. PlayStation 3 statistics show it was the least popular mainline PlayStation console, with 87.4 million units sold.
(Wired)
Sony’s third flagship console was highly anticipated, and it had big shoes to fill as the successor to the PlayStation 2. However, the PlayStation 3 was off to a rocky start, mainly due to its overblown starting price: US$499 for the 20 GB version and US$599 for the 60 GB version, which is about US$737 and US$885 in today’s US dollars, respectively.
This allowed Microsoft to break into the market with the Xbox 360, offering most of what the PlayStation 3 had to offer at a much more approachable price. Still, the PlayStation 3 recovered in the coming years and ultimately came out on top, if only by a hair.
16. With only 15.82 million units sold, the PlayStation Vita was the only Sony console to fail.
(VGChartz)
Though Sony often went unrivalled when it came to its mainstream PlayStation consoles, one area where it never managed to establish the same kind of dominance was the handheld market. Though the PlayStation Portable, released in 2005, performed quite well and sold over 80 million units, its main competitor – the Nintendo DS – sold almost twice as many.
Unfortunately, its successor, the PlayStation Vita, didn’t fare quite as well. Compared to the Nintendo 3DS’s better feature set and broader game selection, along with the rising popularity of mobile gaming, the PS Vita only sold 15.82 million units before it was discontinued in 2019, as indicated by PlayStation sales statistics.
17. The cheapest PlayStation 4 cost only €9 (about $12.5).
(Daily Mail)
The cheapest PlayStation 4 sold cost only €9, roughly $12.5 today. No, this was not the result of an extremely generous discount or an accidental mixup.
Instead, a French teenager took a PlayStation 4 console and weighed it in the store’s fruit section. He then slapped the price tag on his 3 kg “bag of fruit” and checked out without anyone noticing. He could’ve gotten away with it, too, if only he hadn’t tried to pull the same trick at the same supermarket the very next day.
Try to remember this the next time you’re reading through the millennial spending statistics that suggest the younger generations aren’t good with their money.
18. The PlayStation Network currently has over 100 million active users worldwide.
(Statista)
When talking about the most interesting PlayStation Store statistics, it’s impossible not to mention the sheer number of active users on the PlayStation Network. This number had gone as high as 114 million in 2020.
The most recent data from Statista indicates that the network had 102 million active users in September 2022. However, these are only estimates based on monthly account activity and are in no way an indicator that PlayStation is losing popularity.
19. PlayStation Plus has over 45 million subscribers as of September 2022.
(Statista)
The latest data from Statista shows that Sony’s PlayStation Plus subscription service has 45.4 million active subscribers as of September 2022. PS Plus gained popularity rapidly in the mid-2010s, reaching a milestone of 45 million subscribers in June 2020.
The numbers have plateaued and remained in the 45-48 million range since then, but we expect that PS Plus will attract an even greater number of users in the future, considering that Sony has merged PlayStation Now, its game streaming service, into the subscription.
PlayStation Statistics for Canada
Sony’s flagship consoles have always been popular in Canada, so let’s take a look at some stats and facts specific to the Canadian market.
20. The 2011 PlayStation data breach might have affected over 1 million Canadian accounts.
(CBC)
The 23-day PSN outage that took place in 2011 was one of the top five biggest data breaches in history up until that point. Namely, the breach exposed the sensitive personal information of almost 77 million accounts, which affected over a million PlayStation users in Canada.
21. After going on sale in 2013, the PlayStation 4 sold out within 24 hours in Canada and the US.
(Vancouver Sun)
The PlayStation 5 wasn’t the first time Sony had to deal with high demand and a lack of supply. One of the most impressive PlayStation stats in Canada is just how quickly the PlayStation 4 flew off the shelves upon release.
Namely, the console sold out only a day after launch, and it wasn’t long before classified ads started showing up, with asking prices going as high as $1,000.
22. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the PlayStation 5 sold between 95,000 and 110,000 units in its first two days on the market in Canada.
(CBR)
When the PlayStation 5 launched, the COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing, which is why it was initially sold exclusively online. This didn’t stop Sony’s new console, as the company sold over 100,000 PlayStation 5 units in only two days after its release in Canada.
Speaking of PlayStation 5 facts, it outsold the Xbox Series X/S, selling almost twice as many units. Specifically, Sony managed to sell between 2.1 million and 2.5 million units worldwide during the first two days of the console’s launch. This is almost twice the estimated 1.1 million to 1.4 million that the Xbox Series X sold.
23. 30% of Canadians buy games on the PlayStation Store.
(Statista)
The latest surveys from Statista indicate that almost a third of Canadians who played video games as a hobby bought their games from the PlayStation Store. However, it’s tied with Amazon for first place, as 30% of respondents also said they purchased digital games on Amazon.
26% of respondents said they used the Google Play Store, 23% used Steam and the Apple App Store, 20% used the Microsoft Store, and 19% used the Nintendo eShop.
The Epic Game Store and EA Origin came in at 16% and 18%, respectively, while other major companies’ launchers, such as Blizzard, Bethesda, and Uplay, all had 10% or less. Only about 5% said they used third-party PC game stores such as GOG and HumbleBundle.
Conclusion
The PlayStation is one of the most popular brands in the world of gaming, and PlayStation statistics in 2022 confirm as much. From the meteoric rise of the first PlayStation and the staggering success of the PlayStation 2 to the many hardware and software innovations that followed, Sony cemented itself as one of the leading names in the video game industry.
We hope you’ve enjoyed learning more about the platform through the PlayStation stats and facts we’ve presented here and that they’ve helped shed some light on why the Japanese tech giant was so successful over the past two-and-a-half decades.
FAQ
How many players does PlayStation have?
Based on the data from Statista on the number of active PlayStation Network users, there are 114 million active PSN accounts worldwide. Moreover, the PlayStation 4 sold over 117 million units during its lifespan, while the PlayStation 5 has already sold over 26 million.
Is PlayStation or Xbox better?
Comparing the Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5, the two consoles are pretty evenly matched, with a slightly faster SSD on the PS5 and a bit better hardware otherwise in the Xbox X, though the differences in everyday use are very small.
Overall, it comes down to the game selection and personal preference, as the PS5 and the Xbox X are fairly evenly matched.
Looking at the latest Xbox vs PlayStation statistics, we can see that Sony still has the upper hand in sales, but projections estimate that the Xbox will gain significant ground within the next five years.
How much is PlayStation Now in Canada?
PlayStation Now has been merged with PlayStation Plus. Currently, the PlayStation Plus prices for Canada start at $11.99 for the Essential plan, $17.99 for the Extra plan, and $21.99 for the Premium plan. These prices are lower if you pick a 3-month or a 12-month subscription.
Which PlayStation has sold the most?
The best-selling PlayStation is none other than the PlayStation 2. With over 158 million units sold, it’s also the best-selling console of all time, and this record is highly unlikely to be matched in the near future, if ever. As PlayStation statistics reveal, the PlayStation 4 hadn’t even come close, and it’s the second-best-selling PlayStation, with 117 million units sold.
Sources:
- CBC
- CBR
- Daily Mail
- DFC Intelligence
- Forbes
- Giant Bomb
- IGN
- Metacritic
- PlayStation.Blog
- Polygon
- Statista
- Vancouver Sun
- VGChartz
- VG247
- Wired
Szabolcs Szecsei
With over a decade of experience in writing and two decades in making music, Szabolcs is all ears when it comes to creating written and audio content. As an active touring/recording musician and creative writer, he focuses on exploring new places, experiences, and topics. He also rediscovered his long lost love for gaming, which only fueled his appetite to research new tech trends. Lastly, his enthusiasm toward powerlifting also means that he's trying to be well-versed in other topics too, such as lifestyle, fitness, resistance training, bodybuilding, and strength sports.
