PS5 celebrates its first Birthday today and Jim Ryan claims: ‘we’re just getting started’

PlayStation 5 celebrates its first Birthday today, and Sony Interactive Entertainment president Jim Ryan says the platform is “just getting started”.

Sony’s new-gen console launched on November 12, 2020 in the US, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea, with most of the rest of the world getting it a week later.

The PS5 launch was eventually confirmed to have broken hardware sales records in the US, having enjoyed the highest launch month of any gaming hardware platform in terms of both unit and dollar sales, records which were previously held by PS4.

Globally, sales have since slowed behind PS4’s pace due to supply issues, but PS5 has still enjoyed a strong first year with exclusives such as Deathloop, Returnal and Ratch & Clank: Rift Apart going down well with critics and fans.

“A year seems to have flown by rather quickly since the first day that gamers were able to get their hands on PS5 — and I am deeply honored and humbled to celebrate this amazing first year with all of you,” PlayStation boss Ryan wrote on Friday.

“So much has happened in just one year from the day we lit up landmarks and other iconic places all over the world to mark the arrival of PS5.

“Incredible games such as Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Returnal, and Deathloop launched. SIE acquired the talented development studios Bluepoint Games, Firesprite, Housemarque, and Nixxes. We revealed our next-generation VR system for PS5.

“And most recently, we’ve unveiled new footage and exciting updates for upcoming titles such as God of War Ragnarok, Gran Turismo 7, and Horizon Forbidden West all from PlayStation Studios, and announced Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic – Remake during our September showcase.”

The exec continued: “A busy year indeed, and we are just getting started with PS5. The imaginative game creators and publishing partners we work with have launched more than 360 games on PS5. Additionally, there are currently more than 25 games in development for PS5 at PlayStation Studios.”

Ryan went on to reveal that PS5 users have collectively played more than 4.6 billion hours of gameplay, with the platform’s most played games being Fortnite, CoD: Black Ops Cold War, FIFA 21, NBA 2K21 and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.

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PS5 supply will reportedly be even tighter than expected in coming months

Sony is set to produce one million fewer consoles than previously planned, it's claimed

Finally, the exec thanked the community for its “patience” around PS5 stock issues. PS5 has been difficult to buy ever since its November 2020 launch as Sony has struggled to produce and distribute enough units to meet demand.

“We continue to see historic demand for PS5 and we understand the inventory constraints remain a source of frustration for many of our customers,” Ryan wrote.

“Rest assured that we are laser-focused on doing everything in our power to ship as many units as possible, it’s something we work on every day across the company and remains my top priority. Again, we appreciate your patience as we navigate through these unprecedented global challenges.”