The PS5 is Sony’s most successful ever console.
That’s according to the company itself, with CEO Hideaki Nishino spreading the word during a Tokyo Game Show 2025 keynote (as reported by the no doubt incredibly busy Geoff Keighley).
So what does “most successful” actually mean in this situation? Well, based on the keynote photograph that’s doing the rounds online, Nishino is mainly talking about profit.
That’s not just hardware sales — that’s the money that the PS Store rakes in, the money made from PS Plus subscriptions, and the money that Sony makes off its many PS5-related accessories. It’s basically an all-in-one figure that eclipses what previous console generations were capable of.
This all follows on from Sony’s most recent financial report, which painted an absolutely glowing picture of the company back in August.
Of course, the gaming landscape has changed dramatically over the last couple of decades or so. We’re now at a point where actual physical sales numbers don’t matter anywhere near as much, provided that your digital storefronts are generating a constant (and in Sony’s case, substantial) revenue stream.
Nishino-san says PlayStation 5 is the most successful generation in PlayStation history. pic.twitter.com/E5feupYHGr— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) September 25, 2025
Still, you have to take various factors into account here when trying to gauge Sony’s measuring stick for success. There’s no getting away from the fact that this has been — and continues to be — an expensive generation.
The hardware is expensive, the accessories are expansive, the games are expensive. And then there’s inflation and all that, but we’re not going to pretend that we’re experts in such financial fields.
The bottom line here, though, is that PlayStation’s riding high right now, and there’s no doubt that the PS5 will be used as the new benchmark for the brand’s future.
What do you make of the PS5’s success? What’s the key here, and what do you expect from the PS6 at this point? Try to comprehend $136 billion in the comments section below.
Robert (or Rob if you’re lazy) is an assistant editor of Push Square, and has been a fan of PlayStation since the 90s, when Tekken 2 introduced him to the incredible world of video games. He still takes his fighting games seriously, but RPGs are his true passion. The Witcher, Persona, Dragon Quest, Mass Effect, Final Fantasy, Trails, Tales — he’s played ’em all. A little too much, some might say.