The PS5 has been nothing short of a smash hit this fall. The console has already been dubbed Sony’s biggest console launch ever, but it isn’t even finished launching yet as new details from Spain’s first week of sales reveal the level of success the PS5 had there as well.
The PS5 launched in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North America, Singapore, and South Korea on November 12, before releasing to the rest of the world on November 19. Despite a global economic downturn on account of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the PS5 is already outpacing how the PS4 performed at this point in its release life. Given the global economic circumstances and its effect on console manufacturing, the success of the PS5 is all the more impressive.
The success has continued in Spain, as industry analyst Daniel Ahmad reports that the PS5 sold 43,000 units in its first week in the country. That is 3,000 more units than the next most-successful PlayStation in the country, the PS2. Even more impressive is that the PS5 sold more than three times that of the Xbox Series S and X’s 14,100 units. According to the Spanish report Ahmad cites, the Xbox consoles had their stock “exhausted,” and the Xbox followed the sales numbers of its predecessors.
While based on a translation of the report, it seems there were enough PS5s to meet initial demand in Spain, but that has not been the case elsewhere. President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment Jim Ryan says that “absolutely everything is sold,” and the company is striving to manufacture as many as possible to meet demand.
The PS5 is incredibly scarce in countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, where the console is being resold on sites like eBay for thousands of dollars. Making matters worse is that some sellers are tricking people into buying photos of a PS5 for the same price or more than the console itself.
Stock for the PS5 will continue to be hard to come by through the Christmas season, though Sony affirms that, “More PS5 inventory will be coming to retailers before the end of the year.” In an effort to keep track of some stores that may randomly put more PS5s up for pre-order, Twitch streamer Cam Ritz created a bot that is constantly refreshing the stock pages of all major retailers.
The PS5 is available now.