The latest financial report from Sony had positive numbers that would thrill investors. Sony sold 8.1 million PS5 consoles in the third quarter, which coincides with the holiday season.
The number of PS5 consoles sold was 84.1 million as of September 30, 2025. Added to the recent numbers, the PS5 consoles has sold over 92.2 million as of December 31, 2025, which is almost at par with its predecessor at the same time in its lifecycle.
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The number of PS5 consoles sold is impressive, even though 0.1 million behind its predecessor, considering the initial stock shortages due to the supply chain disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic and the significantly higher price.
Despite the unprecedented sales record, the PS5 sales were down 1.5million year-over-year, compared to the 9.5 million units shipped in the same period in 2024. On a personal record, the PS5 console has now outsold the PS3 lifetime sales (87.4 million) and will likely overtake the 102.49 million shipped units of the original PlayStation.
Another important takeaway from the report is the number of active PlayStation Network (PSN) subscribers, which stood at 132 million as of the end of the third quarter of the 2025 fiscal year. Sony’s PSN subscribers witnessed a bump compared to the 129 million reported in the same time in 2024.
The PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2 sales comparison
The strongest competitor to the PS5 console in terms of sales in Q3 2025 was the Nintendo Switch 2. The latest financial report from Nintendo, which was released hours earlier, shows that the Nintendo Switch 2 sold 7.02 million units in the same period.
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Sony’s PS5 clearly outsold the Switch 2, and the result is more impressive considering the fact that it has been in the market since 2020, while Switch 2 was launched in June 2025. Notwithstanding the stronger-than-expected run that Sony had during the holiday season, the Switch 2 outsold the PS5 in the US market in 2025.
The original Switch has cleared 155.37 million units in its lifetime. Sony’s PS2 retains the record as the best-selling console with 160 million units shipped worldwide. However, the original Switch is closer than ever to toppling that record, although its sales have plunged significantly.
With the launch of the Switch 2, it is unlikely that Nintendo will be investing in making more of the first console. Recent software updates suggest that Nintendo is subtly nudging its fans to upgrade to Switch 2.
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