Even with the unprecedented setbacks caused by the coronavirus pandemic, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, Jim Ryan, believes the company will sell more than 7 million PS5 units in its first fiscal year on the market.
Jim Ryan spoke to Naver and claimed that he and the company "believe the PS5 will sell more in its first fiscal year than it sold in the first fiscal year at the time of PS4 launch."
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The PS4 launched in November 2013, and between that time and April 2014, Sony claimed the console surpassed 7 million units sold worldwide. By August 2014, Sony had sold more than 10 million PS4 units worldwide.
Ryan making such a bold claim about the PS5's launch is rather surprising considering the current state of the world. The PS4 had the benefit of launching when there wasn't an ongoing global pandemic, giving it a clear advantage over the PS5.
However, Sony might be confident about the PS5's launch because the PS4 has given the company a better reputation than it had at the end of the PS3's lifecycle.
Sales for both the PS3 and Xbox 360 are practically even. By March 2017, the PS3 had sold 87.4 million units while the Xbox 360 had sold 84 million units by June 2014.
However, when it comes to the PS4 and Xbox One, the competition isn't as tight. By June 2020, the PS4 had sold 112.1 million units. According to VGChartz, Xbox had sold a little more than 46 million Xbox One units in January 2020.
This could be the source of Sony's confidence when it comes to the PS5. Sony has seen resounding success throughout the current console generation, and with 112.1 million PS4s sold, it clearly has a large fanbase that could be looking to purchase a PS5 within its first fiscal year on the market.
