PS5 Dominates, Sales Drop for All Consoles - Europe Hardware Estimates for May 2024 - Sales
by William D'Angelo , posted on 01 July 2024 / 10,587 Views
The PlayStation 5 was the best-selling console in Europe with 300,126 units sold for May 2024, according to VGChartz estimates. The PlayStation 5 has now sold an estimated 19.34 million units lifetime in Europe.
The Nintendo Switch sold an estimated 158,473 units to bring its lifetime sales to 36.06 million units. The Xbox Series X|S sold 68,592 units to bring their lifetime sales to 7.71 million units. The PlayStation 4 sold an estimated 2,618 units to bring its lifetime sales to 45.85 million units.
PS5 sales compared to the same month for the PS4 in 2017 are down by nearly 194,000 units, while the Xbox Series X|S compared to the same month for the Xbox One are down by over 35,000 units. PS4 sold 494,061 units for the month of May 2017 and Xbox One sales were at 103,940 units.
PlayStation 5 sales compared to the same month a year ago are down by 32,049 (-9.7%). Xbox Series X|S sales are down by 49,961 units (-42.1%) and Nintendo Switch sales are down by 215,885 units (-57.7%). The PlayStation 4 is down by 2,154 units (-45.1%) year-over-year.
Looking at sales month-on-month, PlayStation 5 sales are up by over 38,000 units, Xbox Series X|S sales are up by over 15,000 units, and Nintendo Switch sales are up by over 19,000 units.
2024 year-to-date, the PlayStation 5 has sold an estimated 1.87 million units, the Nintendo Switch has sold 0.86 million units, and the Xbox Series X|S has sold 0.36 million units.
Monthly Sales:
Europe hardware estimates for May 2024 (Followed by lifetime sales):
- PlayStation 5 - 300,126 (19,337,718)
- Switch - 158,473 (36,064,811)
- Xbox Series X|S - 68,592 (7,709,986)
- PlayStation 4 - 2,618 (45,853,782)
Weekly Sales:
Europe May 11, 2024 hardware estimates:
- PlayStation 5 - 72,187
- Switch - 39,015
- Xbox Series X|S - 15,610
- PlayStation 4 - 883
Europe May 18, 2024 hardware estimates:
- PlayStation 5 - 73,112
- Switch - 38,362
- Xbox Series X|S - 15,666
- PlayStation 4 - 490
Europe May 25, 2024 hardware estimates:
- PlayStation 5 - 77,299
- Switch - 40,263
- Xbox Series X|S - 17,324
- PlayStation 4 - 447
Europe June 1, 2024 hardware estimates:
- PlayStation 5 - 77,528
- Switch - 40,833
- Xbox Series X|S - 19,992
- PlayStation 4 - 798
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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Imagine if they cut the price of the PS5, they could drive software so much higher.
PS5 continues the trend of growing sales ratio in Europe since the beginning of 2024, reaching a 4.4:1 now for May compared to X|S.
Now, after recent adjustments, with a 5.2:1 in total already year-to-date.
This is going to be insane for the summary of Europe total hardware sales in 2024.
I can't imagine what must be running through MS' heads not just looking at these ratios, but falling way under 100K in a whole month in Europe.
Me thinks Microsoft is looking at profitability before market share.
Let's hope they can be profitable on the market share they've got.
But with Zenimax and ABK and each their now owned software catalogue, I think they will be able to catch other losses in revenue.
But first there must be revenue. Profitability can't exist without.
Correction: Microsoft is looking at short-term profitability. If they focused on building up the Xbox brand, that’s more people purchasing consoles, accessories, subscription services, etc. Maybe they should hold off sending all their exclusives to PS5 until they’ve got Xbox competing again?
Xbox will never successfully compete with Playstation again. That ship has sailed.
i wouldn't say that. Who would’ve thought Nintendo would go from selling less than 4mil Wii Us every year to selling nearly 30min NSwitches in 2020? (never count out your competition.)
The thing is though, even the Wii U had games that sold over a million. Hellblade 2 didn't even chart in the top 100 in Europe. What I'm saying is that the game sales are cratering so badly that they cannot come back from this. It's way worse than Wii U
The Switch is a handheld also and no Nintendo handheld has ever failed. Even the 3DS which is considered a relative disappointment sold 75m units.
Edit: If you don’t count the virtual boy as a handheld
You are correct with it being a handheld but no-one else on this website has ever agreed with me that it is just a handheld
depends on what you mean. If we're placing the Switch on a dichotomy (handheld or home), then it is very clearly much more of the latter: The experience you receive on Nintendo Switch -- alongside pricing -- is far more similar to that of a home console than of a Nintendo handheld. There is nothing to debate here. (Though the more honest answer is to label the NSwitch as a hybrid system (i.e. both handheld and home console).)
But if you really mean that the Switch could fit into the category of a handheld, then I would agree: The Nintendo Switch is a handheld (and home) console.
tldr: maybe a better way to phrase my initial comment would be that Nintendo went from struggling in the home console market to dominating it within a few years.
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You are correct that no Nintendo handheld has ever failed, though it would be dishonest to not recognize a contributing factor behind Nintendo's success in the handheld industry: Pricing.
Whereas Nintendo handhelds of the past were the far more economical alternative to receiving a Nintendo (or gaming) experience, the Switch is anything but this. Handheld titles of the past would price with MSRP around $40 from launch, whereas Switch sells consistently at $60. Furthermore, Nintendo handhelds of the past would rarely cost more than $200. (We remember what happened to the 3DS upon being cut from $250 to $170 during late 2011.) The Switch has been a consistent $300, with the most popular model -- the OLED -- selling for $350.
If the Wii U had been (marketed significantly better and) launched with a price tag of $170, there is no question it could've gone on to sell >40mil units.
Nintendo also has a strong video game brand. The closest Microsoft ever got to having anything like that was the Xbox 360, which was largely buoyed by Kinect. And they lost big when they bet all their chips on that horse. Microsoft simply didn't build an in-house stable of strong brands or studios. They've always thought that throwing money at the problem would make it go away.
Just 68K from Xbox? That seems incredibly low...
That's normal for Xbox. Last month they barely cracked 200k globally.
It is incredibly low. It's also become pretty standard for Xbox.
The PS5 needs to grow a lot in Europe in the coming years if it wants to keep up with the PS4.
Yeah Sony don't need PS5 to beat PS4 in Europe for PS5 to be a success. MS on the other hand DO need Xbox Series to beat Xbone in Europe for it to be considered a success there
Nearly 500k in May. PS4 was a freaking monster.
The PS5 is significantly more expensive than the PS4 was at the same point. Here in Sweden it is twice the price. It’s also a unique situation where the most popular games are all still perfectly playable on last gen consoles.
Doesn’t sound like a price drop will be possible for a while yet though.
I'm expecting a price drop later this year to go with the launch of the Pro. I do worry though that Microsoft is sabotaging that by releasing their $600 Series S. Before I think we could assume that it was gonna sell for $500 but now that Microsoft has obliterated any sense of competition, Sony can price the Pro at $600 and come out looking like roses.
I'm glad they're launching the 2TB XBSX at 600$ because now no-one can shout "anti consumer" practices from Sony when they launch the Pro at a minimum of 600$
Essay Pro