PS5 Sells Over 1.6M, NS Tops 130M Lifetime - Worldwide Hardware Estimates for September 2023 - Sales

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The PlayStation 5 was the best-selling console worldwide with 1,644,955 units sold for September 2023, according to VGChartz estimates. The PlayStation 5 has now sold an estimated 43.87 million units lifetime worldwide.

The Nintendo Switch sold an estimated 996,622 units to bring its lifetime sales to 130.42 million units. The Xbox Series X|S sold 671,715 units to bring their lifetime sales to 23.90 million units. The PlayStation 4 sold an estimated 21,420 units to bring its lifetime sales to 117.13 million units.

PS5 sales compared to the same month for the PS4 in 2016 are up by over 190,000 units, while the Xbox Series X|S compared to the same month for the Xbox One are down by nearly 60,000 units. PS4 sold 1,454,905 units for the month of September 2016 and Xbox One sales were at 731,697 units.

PlayStation 5 sales compared to the same month a year ago are up by 422,133 (34.5%). Xbox Series X|S sales are down by 21,583 units (-3.1%) and Nintendo Switch sales are down by 428,164 units (-30.1%). The PlayStation 4 is up 7,778 units (57.0%) year-over-year.

Looking at sales month-on-month, PlayStation 5 sales are up by nearly 250,000 units, Xbox Series X|S sales are up by nearly 241,000 units, and Nintendo Switch sales are up by over 52,000 units. It should be noted there are five weeks in September, while there were four in August.

2023 year-to-date, the PlayStation 5 has sold an estimated 12.86 million units, the Nintendo Switch has sold 10.03 million units, and the Xbox Series X|S has sold 4.20 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 September 2023 (Followed by lifetime sales):

1. PlayStation 5 - 1,644,955 (43,869,431)
2. Switch - 996,622 (130,419,670)
3. Xbox Series X|S - 671,715 (23,902,979)
4. PlayStation 4 - 21,420 (117,132,862)

Weekly Sales:

Global September 2, 2023 hardware estimates:

1. PlayStation 5 - 360,851
2. Switch - 216,383
3. Xbox Series X|S - 148,270
4. PlayStation 4 - 4,692

Global September  9, 2023 hardware estimates:

1. PlayStation 5 - 342,667
2. Switch - 208,131
3. Xbox Series X|S - 139,163
4. PlayStation 4 - 4,472

Global September 16, 2023 hardware estimates:

1. PlayStation 5 - 295,332
2. Switch - 194,019
3. Xbox Series X|S - 114,945
4. PlayStation 4 - 3,849

Global September 23, 2023 hardware estimates:

1. PlayStation 5 - 310,017
2. Switch - 197,040
3. Xbox Series X|S - 129,430
4. PlayStation 4 - 4,359

Global September 30, 2023 hardware estimates:

1. PlayStation 5 - 336,088
   
2. Switch - 181,049
   
3. Xbox Series X|S - 139,907
4. PlayStation 4 - 4,048

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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