PlayStation 5 hits the 2 million sales milestone in the UK

Becomes the fourth fastest-selling games console and the highest revenue ever

By GfK Games Specialist Dorian Bloch

 

According to GfK’s point of sale data, PlayStation 5 (PS5) has achieved a significant sales milestone, selling 2 million units in the UK. This puts it level with PS3 in terms of the time taken to achieve the landmark. The only consoles to arrive at the 2 million point faster were Nintendo’s Wii and Sony’s PS2 and PS4.

PS5’s sales value reached £919 million, making it the most profitable performance of any home console to date. At two million units sold by comparison, Xbox One generated £726 million, PS4 £700 million and Nintendo Wii £358 million.

There had been some speculation that the gamers would be unwilling to pay the £105 price premium for PS5 but the higher cost failed to hinder sales. Rather, it was stock problems and supply chain challenges that caused delays.

Time to two million:

1. Nintendo Wii comes in first at just over one year (57 weeks =1.1 years).
2. PS2 takes the second spot at 60 weeks (1.16 years)
3. PS4 is third at 75 weeks (1.44 years). 
4. PS5/PS3 take fourth with 98 weeks (1.88 years). 
5. Xbox One took 104 weeks to reach 2 million (exactly two years)
6. Xbox 360 took 110 weeks (2.12 years). 
7. PS1 took 114 weeks (2.19 years).
8. Nintendo Switch took the longest (2.69 years) but continues to sell steadily. It has benefitted from new versions (Switch Lite portable) and from a huge sales uplift from the first pandemic lockdown.