The PS5‘s $70 price tag for new releases has resulted in far fewer games being sold this console generation, new data provided by Sony and Activision has suggested.
Even though software revenue is up for PlayStation, the cost of games has seemingly contributed to a substantial decrease in sales. This is despite an increase in the number of PS5 consoles sold, which would typically also result in more games being sold.
Why are PS5 game sales down?
PS5 game sales decreased to 264.2 million sold during Fiscal Year 2022, a drop of 39 million compared to the previous year.
This data was outlined by TweakTown, which pointed out the substantial decline in units sold despite Sony’s increased revenue. The report suggests that the $70 RRP for new games has led to fewer games being sold, but the higher price means that Sony is still earning more money.
A good example of this is Modern Warfare 2, which achieved $1 billion in revenue in 10 days but did not increase Sony’s total game sales year-over-year. MW2 released in Q3 2022, a quarter that saw a 6.2 million reduction in total game sales compared to the previous year, and a 15.7 million decline in third-party game sales.
But even though the number of games sold might be down, the increased revenue will mean that Sony likely isn’t sweating over this issue too much. Sure, the most ideal situation would be an increase in both game sales and the number of games sold, but Sony still has plenty to celebrate given the continued record-breaking success of the PS5.
