PS5 Outsells PS3’s 10-Year U.S. Run in Just 5 Years, Despite No New Valkyria Chronicles, MotorStorm, or LittleBigPlanet
It sounded like a shrug — then it rewrote the day. A low-key move just sparked high-impact change, with ripple effects set to hit your wallet, your feed, and your commute.
PS5 just crossed a very specific, very satisfying milestone in the US: it has now overtaken the PS3 in lifetime installed base, and it got there much faster. Yes, the big, pricey console beat the other big, pricey console.
Who said it, and how sure are we?
Mat Piscatella from Circana (the go-to group for US game market tracking) dropped the nugget in a Bluesky post. Circana is trusted, but they don't publicly hand out exact unit counts, which makes comparing this to other milestones a little squishy.
"September 2025 US video game data fun fact - The PlayStation 5 has now surpassed the PlayStation 3 in lifetime installed base." He added: "So that's cool."
Zooming out: global numbers vs the US reality
For the worldwide picture, Sony's official sell-in totals put PS5 at "more than 80.2 million" as of June 30, 2025. PS3 wrapped its run at "more than 87.4 million" as of March 31, 2017. That PS3 figure was reported a year after the console was discontinued, so we're not waiting on a surprise stash of uncounted units.
Those are global totals. In the US specifically, it's not shocking PS5 would pass PS3 relatively quickly. Back in the day, PS3 and Xbox 360 ended up in the same ballpark worldwide, but the 360 was far more dominant in the US. So PS3's stateside base had a ceiling PS5 was always going to bust through sooner if it kept pace.
Why this is still impressive
This milestone hits before PS5 even reaches the five-year mark. PS3 had a decade to build its audience and, frankly, a heavier flow of first-party experiments. PS5's library is strong, no question, but Sony's modern output has slowed way down. We're not getting the MotorStorms, the LittleBigPlanets, or the Folklore-style oddities that defined chunks of the PS3 era. Different times, different strategy.
- US: PS5 has surpassed PS3's lifetime installed base, per Circana's September 2025 data.
- Global: PS5 sell-in is "more than 80.2 million" as of June 30, 2025.
- Global: PS3 sell-in finished at "more than 87.4 million" as of March 31, 2017 (a year post-discontinuation).
- Context: Circana tracks the US market closely but doesn't release exact unit counts publicly.
- Market nuance: PS3 vs 360 was roughly even worldwide, but 360 trounced PS3 in the US, making PS5's quicker climb here less surprising.
Anyway, hats off to PS5 for clearing the PS3 bar this fast. And yes, I'm absolutely tempted to set up a completely unnecessary PS3-vs-PS5 best-games showdown. Don't make me do it. Or do.