All console sales figures for the current generation – which console is selling the best?

The current generation of consoles includes the PlayStation 5, the Xbox Series X|S, and the Nintendo Switch. Each of them have been selling well since their release, even though supply chain disruptions meant that sales of some consoles were delayed. Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony would like more players to purchase their hardware, and they would like their customer base to get bigger.

Each of the consoles has been out for a few years, which has made a considerable impact on a company’s sales figures. Now that players have had the chance to purchase these consoles for themselves, which console has the highest sales figures?

PlayStation 5 sales figures

The PlayStation 5 was first released on November 12, 2020 as the successor to the PlayStation 4. According to Statista, the PlayStation 5 has sold 45.1 million units since September 28, 2022. Sales were not high during 2020 since it released towards the end of the year, but it has picked up since then.

Sony has also published their Q2 quarterly supplementary information which included the number of PlayStation 5 units they sold. Q1 had 2.4 million consoles sold, while Q2 had 3.3 million. The year has yet to end, but Sony has already sold a large number of PlayStation 5 consoles.

Nintendo Switch sales figures

The Nintendo Switch was released on March 3, 2017, before any of the other ninth-generation consoles hit the market. As of September 30, 2022, Nintendo has sold a total of 114.33 Nintendo Switch consoles.

These figures cover the sale of the original Nintendo Switch, the Nintendo Switch Lite, and the Nintendo Switch OLED models.

Xbox Series X|S sales figures

Unlike the other companies, Microsoft doesn’t release its sales figures for the Xbox Series X|S consoles, having stopped the practice in 2016. However, their acquisition of Activision required them to submit a report to the UK’s CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) to counter their decision to block said acquisition. The report was submitted on October 11, 2022, referencing recent figures to prove their case.

In the report’s executive summary, under section 1.3 (c), Microsoft notes that they are falling behind Sony’s console base. Sony’s console base is reported to be 150 million, and Microsoft mentions it is more than half of their own console base. Footnote 2 references Sony’s console base at 151.4 million, while Xbox is at 63.7 million.

That 63.7 million isn’t just Xbox Series X|S sales, but also includes the Xbox One. This doesn’t narrow down a number, but it does give us a decent guess that Xbox Series X|S sales aren’t the highest.

Which console has the highest sales?

Given their early head start, the Nintendo Switch has the highest sales out of all the ninth-generation consoles. This lead may start to narrow as PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S sales begin to catch up, but right now Nintendo is at the top when it comes to sales.

This lead should also consider the fact that PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S sales were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which means sales would have fallen behind due to supply chain issues.