Worldwide Hardware Estimates for August 2023

Link to VGChartz article here.

PS5 Sells Nearly 1.4M, NS Tops 129M Lifetime - Worldwide Hardware Estimates for August 2023

The PlayStation 5 was the best-selling console worldwide with 1,395,388 units sold for August 2023, according to VGChartz estimates. The PlayStation 5 has now sold an estimated 42.23 million units lifetime worldwide.

The Nintendo Switch sold an estimated 944,354 units to bring its lifetime sales to 129.42 million units. The Xbox Series X|S sold 431,629 units to bring their lifetime sales to 23.23 million units. The PlayStation 4 sold an estimated 19,500 units to bring its lifetime sales to 117.11 million units.

PS5 sales compared to the same month for the PS4 in 2016 are up by nearly 641,000 units, while the Xbox Series X|S compared to the same month for the Xbox One are down by over 86,000 units. PS4 sold 754,762 units for the month of August 2016 and Xbox One sales were at 518,071 units.

PlayStation 5 sales compared to the same month a year ago are up by 470,289 (50.8%). Nintendo Switch sales are down by 92,368 units (-8.9%) and Xbox Series X|S sales are down by 101,056 units (-19.0%). The PlayStation 4 is up 8,832 units (82.8%) year-over-year.

Looking at sales month-on-month, PlayStation 5 sales are up by oner 192,000 units, Xbox Series X|S sales are up by nearly 61,000 units, and Nintendo Switch sales are down by less than 1,000 units.

2023 year-to-date, the PlayStation 5 has sold an estimated 11.23 million units, the Nintendo Switch has sold 9.03 million units, and the Xbox Series X|S has sold 3.53 million units.

Check out the breakdown of the Americas sales here, the Europe sales here, and the Japan sales here.

Monthly Sales:

Global hardware estimates for August 2023 (Followed by lifetime sales):

1. PlayStation 5 - 1,395,388 (42,225,876)
2. Switch - 944,354 (129,421,648)
3. Xbox Series X|S - 431,629 (23,232,126)
4. PlayStation 4 - 19,500 (117,111,342)

Weekly Sales:

Global August 5, 2023 hardware estimates:

1. PlayStation 5 - 344,176
2. Switch - 256,587
3. Xbox Series X|S - 100,754
4. PlayStation 4 - 4,707

Global August 12, 2023 hardware estimates:

1. PlayStation 5 - 360,602
2. Switch - 242,664
3. Xbox Series X|S - 102,460
4. PlayStation 4 - 5,876

Global August 19, 2023 hardware estimates:

1. PlayStation 5 - 350,280
2. Switch - 222,567
3. Xbox Series X|S - 105,838
4. PlayStation 4 - 4,335

Global August 26, 2023 hardware estimates:

1. PlayStation 5 - 340,330
2. Switch - 222,536
3. Xbox Series X|S - 122,577
4. PlayStation 4 - 4,582

Thanks alot, @trunkswd!

Switch's worldwide estimates, considering the time of its life cycle, continue to be nothing less but impressive. Nearly 1m for the month of August, damn. 140mil - 145mil lifetime seem very likely here.

PS5's worldwide estimates are great, as well. 640k more units sold than PS4 in the same month in 2016. That's a pretty big statement.

If the PS5 continues to provide estimates like this or even higher, which is very likely for the months of September, October, November and December, it will reach the milestone of having doubled Xbox Series' total sales by December '23, at the latest.

I don't love companies, but I love pure data.

When I cautiously combine data and recent leaks about the Xbox Series brand, I start considering possible outcomes of this console generation already. We all do, I guess.

Although I won't form any conclusions just yet, it's, by pure data, safe to say that Microsoft needs much effort to catch up in 2024. I don't see anything that has already been announced by them for 2024 that is able to pull that off.

Unless they come up with a raw change of strategy and IPs (either Thirds or Firsts) receiving great reviews, 2024 could be quite disastrous for them in terms of hardware sales.

PS5 continuing to sell super well and Switch is keeping the YoY decline in the single digits which is impressive. The next few months are kinda make or break for the Xbox Series though, if the last third of the year doesn't show much improvement with the first huge release in 1.5 years then it's just gonna be another Xbox One though even if that happens a better more consistent software pipeline going forward thanks to stuff like Zenimax will give it better software during the 2nd half of the generation compared to the Xbox One which should build the brand back up for another attempt at improvement for gen 10.

That's actually pretty much impossible at this point. Considering it'll be at least 135m by the end of this year it'll be at about 145m or at least close to that by the end of 2024 so it's almost guaranteed to get to the 150's.

It seems that the EA sports FC24 PS5 bundles will be €489-499 in Europe.

Europe is the only region where the PS5 is behind PS4, it’ll catch up this year.

Let's see how PS5 performs in a non supply constrained Q4. 25 million units shipped for the calendar year is doable, but the same number for fiscal year is much harder.

If the proportion % of past PS years is any indicate, and the big boost in sales this year is any indicator, thеn I think PS5 should sell around at least the same number of units it sold, till now (for the year), for just the remaining 4 months. Which will put it at close to 25M for the year. Many of the PS4 years had reached the half of their calendar year's sales at around august or even september, So 25M is a pretty accurate target.

Link to VGChartz article here.

PS5 vs Xbox Series X|S vs Switch 2023 Worldwide Sales Comparison Charts Through August

Here we see data representing the sales through to consumers and change in sales performance of the three current platforms (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch) and two legacy platforms (PlayStation 4 and Xbox One) over comparable periods for 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. Also shown is the market share for each of the consoles over the same periods.

Year to Date Sales Comparison (Same Periods Covered)

Market Share (Same Periods Covered)

2020 – (January 2020 to August 2020)

2021 – (January 2021 to August 2021)

2022 – (January 2022 to August 2022)

2023 – (January 2023 to August 2023)

"Year to date" sales for 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 sales are shown in series at the top of the table and then just below a comparison of 2023 versus 2022 and 2023 versus 2021 is displayed.  This provides an easy-to-view summary of all the data.

Total Sales and Market Share for Each Year

Microsoft

• Xbox Series X|S
• 3.53 million units sold year-to-date
• Down year-on-year 1,075,669 units (-23.4%)

Nintendo

• Nintendo Switch
• 9.03 million units sold year-to-date
• Down year-on-year 729,746 units (-7.5%)

Sony

• PlayStation 5
• 11.23 million units sold year-to-date
• Up year-on-year 5,146,777 units (84.7%)
• PlayStation 4
• 0.18 million units sold year-to-date
• Up year-on-year 20,290 (12.5%)

Link to VGChartz article here.

PS5 vs Xbox Series X|S vs Switch Launch Sales Comparison Through Month 34

This monthly series compares the aligned launch sales of the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch.

It should be noted the Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series X|S had a worldwide launch, while the PlayStation 5 launch was split over the course of two weeks. Also, the Nintendo Switch launched in March 2017, while the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S launched during the holidays in November 2020.

PS5 Vs. Xbox Series X|S Vs. Switch Global:

1. Switch: 48,820,670
2. PS5: 42,225,876
3. XSX|S: 23,232,126

Through the first 34 months available worldwide the Nintendo Switch is ahead of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. The Switch is ahead of the PS5 by 6.59 million units and is 25.59 million units ahead of the Xbox Series X|S. The PS5 is ahead of the Xbox Series X|S by 18.99 million units.

The Switch has sold 48.82 million in 34 months worldwide, while the PS5 sold 42.23 million units and the Xbox Series X|S 23.23 million units.

Looking at the marketshare through 34 months, the Switch is in the lead. The Switch has a 42.7 percent marketshare, the PS5 sits at 37.0 percent, and the Xbox Series X|S at 20.3 percent.

PS5 Vs. Xbox Series X|S Vs. Switch US:

1. Switch: 16,968,661
2. PS5: 15,195,311
3. XSX|S: 11,371,939

Through the first 34 months available in the US the Nintendo Switch is ahead of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. The Switch is ahead of the PS5 by 1.77 million units and is 5.60 million units ahead of the Xbox Series X|S. The PS5 is ahead of the Xbox Series X|S by 3.82 million units.

The Switch has sold 16.97 million in 34 months in the US, while the Switch sold 15.20 million units and the Xbox Series X|S 11.37 million units.

Looking at the marketshare through 34 months, the Switch currently leads. The Switch has a 39.0 percent marketshare, the PS5 sits at 34.9 percent, and the Xbox Series X|S at 26.1 percent.

PS5 Vs. Xbox Series X|S Vs. Switch Europe:

1. PS5: 13,174,762
2. Switch: 12,758,440
3. XSX|S: 6,432,194

Through the first 34 months available in Europe the PlayStation 5 is ahead of the Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series X|S. The PS5 is ahead of the Switch by 0.42 million units and is 6.74 million units ahead of the Xbox Series X|S. The Switch is ahead of the Xbox Series X|S by 6.33 million units.

The PS5 has sold 13.17 million in 34 months in Europe, while the Switch sold 12.76 million units and the Xbox Series X|S 6.43 million units.

Looking at the marketshare through 34 months, the PlayStation 5 currently leads. The PS5 has a 40.7 percent marketshare, the Switch sits at 39.4 percent, and the Xbox Series X|S at 19.9 percent.

PS5 Vs. Xbox Series X|S Vs. Switch Japan:

1. Switch: 11,330,506
2. PS5: 4,229,280
3. XSX|S: 489,176

Through the first 34 months available in Japan the Switch is ahead of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S by a wide margin. The Switch is ahead of the PS5 by 7.10 million units and is 10.84 million units ahead of the Xbox Series X|S. The PS5 is ahead of the Xbox Series X|S by 3.74 million units.

The Switch has sold 11.33 million units in 34 months in Japan, while the PS5 has sold 4.23 million units, and the Xbox Series X|S 0.49 million units.

Looking at the marketshare through 34 months, the Switch currently leads. The Switch has a 70.6 percent marketshare, the PS5 sits at 26.3 percent, and the Xbox Series X|S at 3.1 percent.

I'd say that September is the last chance saloon for Xbox.

If Starfield fails to move the sales needle then Microsoft management are going to start asking Phil Spencer some very awkward questions about how viable Xbox is as a business venture.

We already know thanks to the recent leak that Microsoft will likely bailout of the gaming business in 2027 if game pass numbers haven't risen to around 110 million users (Source: wccftech news story ), and if Starfield can't get people to buy into the eco-system then Xbox has a serious problem.

If Starfield doesn't pull users in, what on earth will?  Microsoft agreeing to keep making COD on PlayStation was a giant mistake, because 2027 is only four years away and Bethesda will need more than that to finish the next Elder Scrolls game.

At least they should have Activision Blizzard very soon and after a move that huge I don't think they'll wanna move away from gaming anytime soon.