ANNOUNCED back in 2019, Sony’s PlayStation 5 was set to take the console gaming world by storm as a next generation console.

Set to replace the aging PlayStation 4, the new console was planned to launch at the end of 2020, during the year end holiday season. But months before, the pandemic occurred.

Faced with unprecedented challenges, especially in production, the console was somehow released in time. However, the world was still neck-deep in the pandemic and there were varying “lockdowns” across the planet, which caused other problems.

Due to safety issues, in most places, sales were mostly done online, instead of the traditional way in retail stores.

This opened the flood gates for scalpers, figuratively robbing the existing inventory for the console, which itself was bottlenecked due to the global chip shortage at the time.

It led to most people not having a PS5 in the first year of release, and for those that wanted to, it was impossible for them to get a console through legitimate means.

Now, almost three years later, it’s maybe each owner’s first or second year with the console.

Despite its once lacklustre quantity, Sony revealed on July 27 that 40 million PS5 consoles have been sold since its launch, marking a new milestone.

For a more impressive comparison, factoring in the unit shortage, the PS4 sold an equal amount of units in three years, from 2013 to 2016. That means if there had been no global pandemic during the PS5’s launch, it would have sold far more in a shorter period of time.

The console sales were also bolstered by the impressive array of console exclusives such as Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut, God of War: Ragnarok, Horizon: Forbidden West, Final Fantasy VII Remake: Intergrade, Final Fantasy XVI, Returnal, Marvel’s Spider-Man, and The Last of Us Part 1.

Going by how strong the exclusives have been, along with the contribution of the games to the console sales, Sony’s plan to sell a record number of consoles during its current fiscal year (12-month period until March 31 next year) will see a greater bump with Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 releasing in October and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth arriving early next year.