PS5, PS4 Attracted the Most Players in PlayStation History in December

Zero competition is a beautiful thing 😌

Player numbers has no limits

playstation - for the many many players.

I'll never understand the "why should I care?" naysayers. You should care because a healthy platform and ecosystem attracts more developers, which gives you more games, which gives the console a longer shelf-life, which keeps the platform holder more likely to succeed, which gives you a better return on your investment (eg. I know at least two people who are rather miffed right now that they chose to build their digital libraries on Xbox).

As a former Dreamcast owner, let me tell you that having your system of choice dropped like a hot potato is no fun.

@MrPeanutbutterz I'm with you there, no regrets though

Though they dropfed players of 1st party titles and yes I forgot no competition….

Sony just go from strength to strength in business terms right now and surely this is only set to continue with the reduction in competition from Xbox.

@MrPeanutbutterz Exactly! I like the platform so I want it to succeed so 1) games continue to come to it, and 2) I can then play those games on my preferred platform.

What am I supposed to feel bad about, and why?

Perhaps some of the more ridiculous narratives I see tossed around these comment sections can now fade away into the night.

I honestly think they surpassed expectations because they gained some if not many Xbox customers, not necessarily caused of their multiplatform push (maybe it had to do a bit), but mostly because there’s just no Xbox consoles available in many markets outside the US plus I didn’t see one single deal or sale for the consoles.
PX and other media reported a big scarcity in the UK during the holiday months, plus you can find comments from pretty much everywhere saying the same thing, I’ve seen it personally here, I could even get a PS5 Slim with disc for much, much cheaper than a digital Series X.

Casual customers, or parents looking for a gift who have no loyalty to any brand will see that one option is unavailable or more pricey and they’ll just buy the other one, plus it’s now clear that PS5 is the most attractive console for both casuals and more dedicated fans, the platform is rock solid right now even with all the turmoil around live-service failures.

@ButterySmooth30FPS Yeah it's such a strange mindset. Like I don't have a picture of Ken Kutaragi in a frame on my bedside table or anything, but I'm glad to know that my console of choice will continue to get lots of first and third party support (and that it's also the main target platform for third party stuff due to the size of its install base).

I know a fella who's kinda salty that his favourite band (Blood Incantation, one of my own favourite bands) have achieved something resembling "success" and critical acclaim. Meanwhile he's oblivious to the fact that this success that he's salty about is what lets him go see them play a gig in his own country, he's not paying a fortune to get merch from the US as they have an EU distro now, and the success has afforded them the ability to continue putting out the records he loves.

@nomither6 competition still exists. It’s just not strong enough

It would be far more interesting to know the split between PS5 and PS4 logins. Throwing them together in one stat feels like an easy win

@Skynet04

Xbox doesn't have the remasters of remasters, no wonder ps5 attracted the most sheep I mean players

The last Xbox showcase shadow dropped Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, a remaster of Ninja Gaiden 2 Sigma, which was an enhanced remastered version of Ninja Gaiden 2. So get back in your clown car and go play Skyrim the Enhanced Anniversary edition remaster.

BUt there ARE nO GAmEs

It's a great console. Nuff said.

@MrPeanutbutterz I've seen this exact sentiment for Blood Incantation on reddit! Some people just get so hung up on what they want things to be instead of what things actually are.

@ButterySmooth30FPS It's a bizarre-o mindset! I had a conversation with the dude along the lines of "so you reckon they sold out by releasing an album that embraces krautrock and got the dude from Tangerine Dream on board?"

Cream rises to the top, and then there's these people basically saying "I liked cream before it was cool".

@ChrisDeku Fair answer to a dumb statement but there’s really no comparison, Ninja Gaiden 2 is from 2008 and not even a first-party, Days Gone is from 2019 and it’s just the latest in a dozen of unnecessary remasters.

They have the whole catalogue of PS3 games to remaster as most games never got released elsewhere but yet they’re remastering games already playable on PS5 and even already enhanced with some patch, after such many of them is laughable now.

@MrPeanutbutterz Completely agreed with you 🤝

It's neither here nor there. PlayStation is doing just fine, but the increase could easily be explained by the shrink in players numbers over at Xbox. Overall, consoles do seem to be on a very slow decline, driven by two major factors:

1) Gamers are flocking to PC, which is growing at a faster pace than PlayStation.

2) The younger generation isn't as interested in consoles as the previous one.

If these trends continue, the traditional console business model will be at risk in a few years. PlayStation has a lot of momentum, and this has been driving its good numbers. All is well in the rearview mirror, but the mid to long-term future is uncertain indeed.

I certainly didn't participate in the majority on their consoles in December. I mean family life, good life. Gaming as a whole is least on my list. If ppl are not drowning themselves in entertainment then it's gaming. Can anyone say they'd rather go to church.

@DonkeyFantasy Nintendo aren't direct competition. Xbox may as well not exist and Sony literally help PC

@Skynet04 odd that as Xbox literally do the same. Full show yesterday and you focus on the ONE PS5 remaster 🙃😂

@Art_Vandelay "Gamers are flocking to PC, which is growing at a faster pace than PlayStation"

You got official data to backup this claim?

"2) The younger generation isn't as interested in consoles as the previous one"

You sure about that because Switch sold 150 million units and many of them own by young generation.

I'm sorry to say this but this "console is dying" narrative sounds like a big fud spread by IGN.

All playing backlog games no doubt.

@IOI Pretty sure Ninja Gaiden 2 is playable on Xbox Series consoles

It's something sure. Backlogs, whatever Christmas presents, sure.

If imports I do wonder though too hmm.

I see the comments about console to PC, but the casual audience aren't doing that, those numbers don't make it clear enough. I myself don't care about performance/platform I care about console gimmicks and gameplay design. Things that are very different then older gens that's for sure it's why I collect old gens more then current or 8th gen games even if they are my cut off even if family have PS5/Series X I'm not using them but they still get used.

Developers haven't made a compelling gameplay first game in years for me to want to upgrade. FPS, RT, 4K and bland worlds/movesets, stories and more is not entertaining to me. Ride 4 had a region system like FM1&2, hard to play, Ride 5 will be like 4 and MotoGP games, hard to play, not worth my time. WRC23 no idea.

Forspoken was ok, family bought it I'll play it eventually. Immortals same thing. GT7 I'll get on PS4 when it's cheap like GT Sport, wait enough till the offline restructure Sport had I did the wiki work on it for a reason. It's playable.

I can wait. Nothing needs a current gen for me. So it's not oh PS4/Xbox One is cheaper it's there is nothing gameplay wise making use of the consoles, or appealing only on current gen even if not pushing them, it doesn't have to but nothing has impressed me. Old gen games have and their ideas, their priorities of design and quality, not nostalgia for games or eras I didn't play. Quality. IPs never again then new IPs that are bland or existing I didn't care about anyway.

I've bought a handful of Vita IPs on Switch let alone a mix of modern/old ones. PS4/Xbox One it varies.

If they want sales make a compelling game for us wanting more compelling games not a boring one on a newer platform. Same with PSVR2, make something for it not go 'oh the audience isn't there yet' make something to make them come over idiots. XD

Will they care about the enhancements maybe, still play Fornite or other MP games they were playing on it and not care what options they opened up, maybe..... XD

I'm good on PS4, Xbox One and Switch, even then Switch I found more 2024 releases or some older releases then PS4 new (or even backlog older PS4 releases) in 2024.

Switch works for families, to replace each one, get colours or whatever else. Besides for multiple people a Switch Lite or whatever other games that happen and bundles I guess.

Saw an article Nintendo put in the news app and went yep this is the family/popular games Aussies/New Zealand's played and I was like I mean I get why for Cars 3 or Fornite or others...... It makes sense.

Us Vita to Switch owners aren't much even besides hardcore gamers, the casual audience are just larger in size.

I used to see people buy a PS4 with Fortnite, I haven't in an EB games since it's location change in the same shopping center but it's just when I'm there I guess.

2024 was a retro year for me, barely anything of worth and even those I don't play but appreciate, very few to even respect that year.

Now that we know USAID was buying boatloads of PS5s for migrants in the US, this isn't hard to believe.

@PuppetMaster Mate, I love these conversations, but I'm a little short on time here. I could search for the data, but so could you. Or you can take my word for it. Or better: observe how Sony and Microsoft are behaving. Why the sudden interest in PC gamers?

Now, regarding the Switch: yes, it's obviously a major success, but its 150 million mark just does not compare to PS2's. It's way more common for households to have multiple Switches than it was to have more than one PS2. The Switch is primarily a handheld, so it's not a fair comparison.

Anyway, you're confining your analysis to the short-term. Demographic shifts take decades to consolidate. Consoles have been gradually becoming specialized PCs, which frankly saddens me. But I won't pretend I don't see the trend because I don't like it.

@Art_Vandelay The duty to provide official data is on you, not me. If you could spent enough time to wrote this long then why not just give me the data that backup your claim? But i guess you doesn't have one huh.

And there's only 10 million gaps between Switch and PS2. I'm not surprise in a year or two that gaps will be gone.

Bye and have a good day 👋

@PuppetMaster You know what? You're right:

https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/new-report-says-pc-games-are-outselling-console-games-calling-pc-gaming-a-bright-spot-in-a-troubled-industry/

I'll make it easier for you: title reads "New report says PC games are outselling console games, calling PC gaming a 'bright spot' in a troubled industry".

Further down: "Compared to the previous console generation, the current Microsoft and Sony console lines had, after 49 months, sold nearly 7 million fewer systems.
PC gaming, meanwhile, has only continued to grow. 'While console has stagnated since 2021,' Epyllion says, PC gaming revenue 'has grown 20%.'"

Have a good day yourself too, sir.

@Art_Vandelay careful, people get real p****d when you call the switch a handheld

@nomither6 Lol, sorry. *Hybrid (cough)