PS5 and Switch Sell Over 1M - Worldwide Hardware Estimates for January 2023 - Sales

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The PlayStation 5 was the best-selling console worldwide with 1,257,932 units sold for January 2023, according to VGChartz estimates. The PlayStation 5 has now sold an estimated 31.77 million units lifetime worldwide.

The Nintendo Switch sold an estimated 1,140,489 units to bring its lifetime sales to 121.83 million units. The Xbox Series X|S sold 456,921 units to bring their lifetime sales to 20.68 million units. The PlayStation 4 sold an estimated 14,760 units to bring its lifetime sales to 117.07 million units.

PS5 sales compared to the same month for the PS4 in 2016 are up by nearly 446,000 units, while the Xbox Series X|S compared to the same month for the Xbox One are up by over 170,000 units. PS4 sold 812,262 units for the month of January 2016 and Xbox One sales were at 286,735 units.

PlayStation 5 sales compared to the same month a year ago are up by 549,233 (77.5%). Nintendo Switch sales are down by 187,998 units (-14.2%) and Xbox Series X|S sales are down by 148,629 units (-24.5%). The PlayStation 4 is down 56,474 units (-79.3%) year-over-year.

Looking at sales month-on-month, the PlayStation 5 sales are down by over 1.84 million units, Nintendo Switch sales are down by over 2.95 million units, and Xbox Series X|S sales are down by over 1.22 million units. It should be noted this is comparing January 2023 estimates to December 2022 estimates, the biggest sales month of the year.

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

Monthly Sales:

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

1. PlayStation 5 - 1,257,932 (31,767,146)
2. Switch - 1,140,489 (121,827,708)
3. Xbox Series X|S - 456,921 (20,683,634)
4. PlayStation 4 - 14,760 (117,071,104)

Weekly Sales:

Global January 7, 2023 hardware estimates:

1. Switch - 383,470
2. PlayStation 5 - 329,646
3. Xbox Series X|S - 119,585
4. PlayStation 4 - 4,316

Global January 14, 2023 hardware estimates:

1. PlayStation 5 - 285,404
2. Switch - 263,623
3. Xbox Series X|S - 106,226
4. PlayStation 4 - 3,104

Global January 21, 2023 hardware estimates:

1. PlayStation 5 - 293,543
2. Switch - 236,540
3. Xbox Series X|S - 109,020
4. PlayStation 4 - 4,468

Global January 28, 2023 hardware estimates:

1. PlayStation 5 - 349,339
2. Switch - 256,856
3. Xbox Series X|S - 122,090
4. PlayStation 4 - 2,872

VGChartz Methodology: Hardware estimates are based on retail sampling and trends in individual countries, which are then extrapolated to represent the wider region. This typically allows us to produce figures that end up being within 10% of the actual totals.

This data is regularly compared against official shipment figures released by the console manufacturers and figures estimated by regional trackers with greater market coverage than ourselves. We then update our own estimates to bring them into line with those figures. This can result in frequent changes often within a short space of time, but we feel it's important to prioritise accuracy over consistency.

Note that our estimates are based on sell-through data (units sold to consumers). In almost all cases the figures released by console manufacturers are based on shipment data (sell-in), where as soon as a device has left the factory and entered the supply chain for delivery it is considered a sale. This is why there is always a difference between the companies’ figures (sell-in) and VGChartz estimates (sell-through), even after we’ve made adjustments. The one exception to that is when a console has been discontinued and the remaining stock has finally sold out – at that point the figures will match.

A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.

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