PS5 Players Are Spending Way More Than Last Generation

Sony seems very pleased with how much money PlayStation 5 owners are dropping on video games, add-ons, subscriptions, and accessories for the console. The company boasted that so far--November 2020 through March 2023--people are spending an average of $622.

That's a considerable increase over what PS4 owners were shelling out over a similar time window (November 2013 through March 2016), according to a Sony business update. The "average life-to-date spend per active console" on PS4 was $479, meaning there's a $143 difference. To be clear, these numbers don't involve the purchase of the system.

Another intriguing aspect of this average spend, per Sony, is add-ons are the segment that's seen the largest percentage increase--210%--from PS4 to PS5. A large chunk of this presumably comes from free-to-play games with battle passes and cosmetics, such as Fortnite and Call of Duty: Warzone 2.

Meanwhile, there's been a 10% decrease from PS4 to PS5 on full game purchases as part of the average spend. On top of showing the rise in popularity of free-to-play and live-services games, it's important to keep in mind how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected game development and resulted in fewer current-gen exclusives so far.

During this business update, Sony also revealed that PSVR 2 has sold better than the original PSVR at launch. Also, don't forget that the PlayStation Showcase begins later today at 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET.