PS5 Dominates, NS and XS Sales Fall to Record Lows – Worldwide Hardware Estimates for May 2025

The PlayStation 5 was the best-selling console worldwide with 731,994 units sold for May 2025, according to VGChartz estimates. The PlayStation 5 has now sold an estimated 76.31 million units lifetime worldwide.

The Nintendo Switch sold an estimated 335,946 units to bring its lifetime sales to 150.69 million units. The Xbox Series X|S sold 137,320 units to bring their lifetime sales to 33.12 million units.

May 2025 was the worst month for the Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series X|S. The previous worst month was April 2025 for both consoles with the Switch selling 350,417 units during that month and the Xbox Series X|S selling 205,866 units.

PS5 sales compared to the same month for the PS4 in 2018 are down by over 174,000 units, while the Xbox Series X|S compared to the same month for the Xbox One are down by over 195,000 units. PS4 sold 906,073 units for the month of May 2018 and Xbox One sales were at 332,401 units.

PlayStation 5 sales compared to the same month a year ago are down by 116,313 (-13.7%). Xbox Series X|S sales are down by 87,629 units (-39.0%) and Nintendo Switch sales are down by 319,486 units (-48.7%).

Looking at sales month-on-month, PlayStation 5 sales are up by over 60,000 units, Xbox Series X|S sales are down by nearly 69,000 units, and Nintendo Switch sales are down by over 14,000 units.

2025 year-to-date, the PlayStation 5 has sold an estimated 4.27 million units, the Nintendo Switch has sold 2.07 million units, and the Xbox Series X|S has sold 1.13 million units.

Monthly Sales:

Global hardware estimates for May 2025 (Followed by lifetime sales):

PlayStation 5 – 731,994 (76,307,090)
Switch – 335,946 (150,693,454)
Xbox Series X|S – 137,320 (33,116,683)

Weekly Sales:

Global May 10, 2025 hardware estimates:

PlayStation 5 – 177,798
Switch – 91,810

Xbox Series X|S – 38,372

Global May 17, 2025 hardware estimates:

PlayStation 5 – 175,274
Switch – 85,018

Xbox Series X|S – 35,851

Global May 24, 2025 hardware estimates:

PlayStation 5 – 176,458
Switch – 82,084

Xbox Series X|S – 31,980

Global May 31, 2025 hardware estimates:

PlayStation 5 – 202,464
Switch – 77,034

Xbox Series X|S – 31,117

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/465178/ps5-dominates-ns-and-xs-sales-fall-to-record-lows-worldwide-hardware-estimates-for-may-2025/