When the PS4 launched back in Nov. 2013, it sold 4.2 million units by the end of the year, Sony just beat that with the PS5 launch, which over the same period sold 4.5 million units.
As The Verge reports, Sony shared the sales figure as part of its latest earnings report, which also confirmed an expected drop in PS4 console sales (77 percent down on the year before). The PS5 sales figure is more impressive than it looks when you consider we are in a pandemic, manufacturing and shipping is difficult, and demand is so high many potential owners simply can't get the console.
As Reuters reports, Sony admits it's struggling to keep up with demand due mainly to a shortage of components. "It is difficult for us to increase production of the PS5 amid the shortage of semiconductors and other components," explained Sony's Chief Financial Officer Hiroki Totoki in a press briefing.
Even so, Sony believes it will sell over 7.6 million PS5 consoles by the end of March. Unfortunately, we won't be able to compare these results to Xbox Series X|S sales because Microsoft decided during the last hardware generation to no longer share that information publicly.