The PlayStation 5 just had the biggest console launch in US history, besting its own record with the PS4

The PlayStation 5 has only been available for a few weeks, but it’s already achieved one major sales milestone: It had “the highest launch month unit and dollar sales” of any video game console ever released in the United States, according to the NPD Group.

• Sony bested itself in setting the record the PlayStation 4 launch back in November 2013 was the last record holder.
• It’s unclear how Sony’s PlayStation 5 sales compared to Microsoft’s Xbox Series S and Series X consoles, but the resale market has demonstrated a disparity of nearly two-to-one .
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The PlayStation 5 is off to a huge start: Its mid-November launch was the biggest in US history, according to market analytics firm the NPD Group.RECOMMENDED ARTICLES

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“PlayStation 5 achieved the highest launch month unit and dollar sales for a video game hardware platform in US history,” NPD video game industry analyst Mat Piscatella said.

The last record holder was the PlayStation 4, back in November 2013.about:blank

It’s unclear how PlayStation 5 sales compared to those of Microsoft’s Xbox Series S and Series X consoles, but the resale market provides a clue: The PS5 has been outselling the Xbox consoles by nearly two-to-one, according to the resale website StockX .

Console wars aside,Piscatella said that both console launches were responsible for a massive spike in consumer hardware sales during November: Americans spent a record $1.4 billion on new video game consoles last month, he said.

In 2020 alone, Americans have spent over $4 billion on video game consoles – a 34% increase over 2019.

Beyond Microsoft and Sony’s new boxes, Nintendo’s Switch enjoyed a huge November: More Switch consoles were sold in November than either the PlayStation 5 or new Xbox consoles. And November makes the Switch’s sales dominance a two-year record – it’s been the best-selling console every month, by units sold, for 24 months straight.

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