The PlayStation 5 was the best-selling console in Europe with 268,745 units sold for May 2025, according to VGChartz estimates. The PlayStation 5 has now sold an estimated 26.13 million units lifetime in Europe.
The Nintendo Switch sold an estimated 81,662 units to bring its lifetime sales to 38.88 million units. The Xbox Series X|S sold 36,007 units to bring their lifetime sales to 8.46 million units.
May 2025 was the worst month in the Americas for the Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series X|S. The previous worst month was April 2025 for both consoles with the Switch selling 86,461 units and the Xbox Series X|S selling 44,187 units.
PS5 sales compared to the same month for the PS4 in 2018 are down by nearly 104,000 units, while the Xbox Series X|S compared to the same month for the Xbox One are down by nearly 46,000 units. PS4 sold 372,732 units for the month of May 2018 and Xbox One sales were at 81,704 units.
PlayStation 5 sales compared to the same month a year ago are down by 23,381 (-8.00%). Xbox Series X|S sales are down by 22,785 units (-38.8%) and Nintendo Switch sales are down by 99,811 units (-55.0%).
Looking at sales month-on-month, PlayStation 5 sales are up by over 61,000 units, Xbox Series X|S sales are down by over 8,000 units, and Nintendo Switch sales are down by nearly 5,000.
2025 year-to-date, the PlayStation 5 has sold an estimated 1.39 million units, the Nintendo Switch has sold 0.45 million units, and the Xbox Series X|S has sold 0.23 million units.
Monthly Sales:
Europe hardware estimates for May 2025 (Followed by lifetime sales):
PlayStation 5 – 268,745 (26,125,290)
Switch – 81,662 (38,875,760)
Xbox Series X|S – 36,007 (8,457,631)
Weekly Sales:
Europe May 10, 2025 hardware estimates:
PlayStation 5 – 59,648
Switch – 19,189
Xbox Series X|S – 9,926
Europe May 17, 2025 hardware estimates:
PlayStation 5 – 65,057
Switch – 20,544
Xbox Series X|S – 8,972
Europe May 24, 2025 hardware estimates:
PlayStation 5 – 69,790
Switch – 20,891
Xbox Series X|S – 8,593
Europe May 31, 2025 hardware estimates:
PlayStation 5 – 74,250
Switch – 21,038
Xbox Series X|S – 8,516
VGChartz Methodology: Hardware estimates are based on retail sampling and trends in individual countries, which are then extrapolated to represent the wider region. This typically allows us to produce figures that end up being within 10% of the actual totals.
This data is regularly compared against official shipment figures released by the console manufacturers and figures estimated by regional trackers with greater market coverage than ourselves. We then update our own estimates to bring them into line with those figures. This can result in frequent changes often within a short space of time, but we feel it’s important to prioritise accuracy over consistency.
Note that our estimates are based on sell-through data (units sold to consumers). In almost all cases the figures released by console manufacturers are based on shipment data (sell-in), where as soon as a device has left the factory and entered the supply chain for delivery it is considered a sale. This is why there is always a difference between the companies’ figures (sell-in) and VGChartz estimates (sell-through), even after we’ve made adjustments. The one exception to that is when a console has been discontinued and the remaining stock has finally sold out – at that point the figures will match.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D’Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can follow the author on Bluesky.
Full Article – https://www.vgchartz.com/article/465176/ps5-best-seller-ns-and-xs-sales-plummet-europe-hardware-estimates-for-may-2025/
