PS5 is Sony's most profitable console gen ever after just 3 years, beating PS4 by over $36 billion in sales

The PS5 is Sony's most profitable PlayStation console generation ever.

Sony just held its Business Segment Meeting for 2024, in which the company presented the slide below (via Automaton Media). The slide reveals that between when the PS5 launched in late 2020 and now, it's generated $106 billion in sales, and a total operating profit of $10 billion, making it the most successful PlayStation console ever.

The only PlayStation console that comes close to the PS5's total sales and profits is, pretty unsurprisingly, the PS4. Up until the PS5's launch, the PS4 was Sony's most successful console by a country mile, totalling $107 billion in sales and $9 billion in operating profit, far outstripping the PlayStation, PS2, and PS3 consoles by at least $36 billion in sales.

The PS4's console generation lasted roughly seven years, so it's surprising that the PS5 has already overtaken it in sales and profits when it hasn't even been on the market for four years. This is even more surprising when you consider PS5 consoles were really hard to find for more than two years after it originally launched, mainly due to part shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nonetheless, the PS5 was still a faster-selling console than the PS4, even with the global pandemic raging in the background and scalpers increasing prices. Last we heard in April 2023, the PS5 had sold 38.5 million units around the world, which is still a far cry from Sony's original goal of 100 million lifetime sales units for the console.

Take a look at our upcoming PS5 games guide for an overview of all the new exclusives Sony has in the pipeline.