PS5 sales rise in September despite price increase as console's installed base passes PS3
Many gamers wondered how the August PS5 price increases would affect console sales. Early signs are that Sony’s gaming systems haven’t suffered because of higher costs. New Circana U.S. retail data for September shows that PS5 sales actually rose 10% compared to the previous month. In another milestone for PlayStation, the PS5 installed base has now eclipsed the PS3.
Matt Piscatella updated audiences with a series of Bluesky posts. He notes that relative to August, the “average selling price for PS5 was up by a high single-digit percentage”. Despite the higher MSRPs, unit sales jumped by more than 10% in September.
Citing challenging economic conditions, Sony hiked PS5 prices, adjusting the Digital Edition from $449.99 to $499.99 in August. The version with disc drive and the PS5 Pro also saw $50 price increases to $549.99 and $749.99, respectively. Even so, there is no evidence that buyers have reconsidered purchasing PlayStation consoles.
September saw a flood of new PS5 games
One explanation may be that the gaming industry as a whole thrived in September. Even with inflation challenging budgets, buyers spent 10% more on hardware, accessories, and content compared to the same period in 2024. Several popular new PS5 games also encouraged gamers to purchase systems.
Borderlands 4 led the way in physical and digital sales on all platforms. However, NBA 2K26 ranked first for the PS5, with Gearbox’s looter shooter finishing third behind Ghost of Yotei. The anticipated open-world action RPG didn’t debut until October 2nd. Reliable third-party sports releases like EA Sports FC 26 and Madden NFL 26 also aided hardware sales.
Surprisingly, the more expensive Xbox Series X and S also saw slightly higher sales in September. Still, with the Microsoft systems struggling, Sony may be more interested in topping its own records. In August, Sony highlighted over 80 million PS5 sales since 2020. It’s believed that more than 87 million units of the PS3 moved during its lifecycle. Yet, in the U.S., the PS5 already has more owners using the system.
