Thanks to console shortages, PS5 sales were beaten into third place by both Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch in the US in March 2022. Even PlayStation exclusive Gran Turismo 7 also failed to top the charts, being beaten into second place by an amazing performance from Elden Ring.
Why are PS5 sales so poor right now?
Console shortages are massively affecting sales of all three consoles. The reason Xbox Series X|S did so well during March was that there was supply to meet at least some of the demand. According to NPD data, the Xbox Series X|S had the highest dollar sales for March but Nintendo Switch sold the most units. VGChartz broke the data down further, confirming both Xbox and Nintendo consoles sold over 500,000 units during the month. On the contrary, PS5 console sales were just 259,000 for March 2022. The good news is that PlayStation 5 lifetime sales worldwide are still beating Xbox Series X|S sales. The PS5 has sold around 18.7 million units while the Xbox Series X|S has shifted approximately 13.87 million units.
Meanwhile, Elden Ring continues to dominate game sales. The game topped the charts as its sales saw a “double-digit percentage dollar sales growth” compared to its launch in February. In fact, its US lifetime sales beat every game released in 2021 and 2022 with the exception of Call of Duty: Vanguard. Gran Turismo 7 took a convincing second place, even managing to set a dollar sales launch record for the Gran Turismo franchise.
Elsewhere, the Playstation game sales chart was dominated by new releases. Joining Gran Turismo 7 in the charts were MLB The Show 22, WWE 2K22, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, and Ghostwire: Tokyo. Last month’s new release Dying Light 2: Stay Human managed to drop out of the top 10 altogether, although it did manage to cling onto the 9th spot in the overall charts.
In other news, rumors are claiming the next Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Ghost Recon games are further away from release than Ubisoft had originally planned. Elsewhere, a new Sony Interactive Entertainment job advertisement suggests the company is wanting to expand its titles on PC.
