The battle between PC gamers and console gamers has been going on for a very long time now. Both of these platforms have their own sets of pros and cons but PC gamers might have finally won this age-old battle. In the latest financial report, Sony has revealed that PlayStation 5 sales dropped 29% Year-over-year, which is less than their estimations. Even Microsoft reported in April 2024 that it witnessed a drop of 31% in its hardware sales.
It is to be noted that Sony announced earlier this year that the PS5 has now entered the “latter stage” of its lifecycle. Hence, this announcement could possibly be the reason why gamers are avoiding consoles for now. The decline is indeed very sharp but the next generation of consoles still has the potential to keep the spirit of console gaming alive.
The drop in PS5 sales hints at the slow death of this generation of consoles
Sony has revealed that in FY23, roughly 20.8 million units of PlayStation 5 were sold. As per Insider Gaming, Sony’s projected number was 21 million, and now, the company is expecting a sharp decline in PS5’s popularity as they expect to sell 18 million units in FY24.
As for Microsoft, they revealed in April 2024 that Xbox hardware sales are down 31%. However, Xbox gaming revenue is up 51%, the majority of which came from Activision. In June 2022, it was revealed that the PlayStation 4 sold 117 million units since its release, while the PlayStation 5 crossed the 50 million mark in late 2023. 2024 is expected to be a flop year for console markets, giving PC players an edge over the consoles that are having a hard time keeping up with modern PCs and laptops.
Is this the end of console gaming?
There are several reasons why consoles are slowly dying in the market but the most obvious reason is the next generation of consoles. Naomi Matsuouka, Sony’s senior vice president, told Bloomberg earlier this year that PS5 has entered “the latter stage of its life cycle.” Since its release, PS5 has failed to meet Sony’s expectations in terms of sold units.
This doesn’t mean that the console market is completely finished as the next generation of consoles will hopefully take things to the next level. With games like Grand Theft Auto 6 coming to consoles first, gamers will have no other option but to acquire them to experience not just GTA 6, but other PlayStation and Xbox exclusives as well.
