The PlayStation 5 dominated Black Friday sales in the US, according to new data shared by Circana, which tracks gaming sales in the US.
Circana’s Mat Piscatella said Sony’s console made up 47% of total Black Friday week hardware unit sales, outpacing the Switch 2 (24%) and Nex Playground (14%). He didn’t share any data about how Xbox performed.
“So, yeah, Black Friday week is extremely promotional for video games. Stuff that does not price promote (generally speaking, here) does not see much of a seasonal lift at all from the prior week (usually none). BF Week performance can correlate closely to what’s being promoted and by how much,” Piscatella said.
He added: “On the hardware side, PS5 saw the most extensive discounting. So, it got a big sales lift. Wouldn’t take much more away from the week than that, tbh.”
Indeed, the PS5 was discounted substantially for Black Friday, with Sony selling the consoles for about $100 off. Retailers offered discounts on Xbox consoles and the Nex Playground as well. For anyone unaware, the Nex Playground is an AI-powered console similar to Kinect, featuring a camera to track bodies for interacting with games. The Nex Playground outsold every PS5 and Xbox model the previous week in the US.
In the UK, the PS5 dominated as well, making up 62% of all console sales. By comparison, Switch 2 made up 23% of sales, with Xbox following with 10%. The PS5 Pro in particular was a big hit in the UK for Black Friday, recording its best week for sales since launch in November 2024.