Did anyone expect a close race? Over Black Friday week in the UK the PlayStation 5 gobbled up roughly three out of every five consoles sold — a staggering 62% market share — and helped drag overall hardware revenue 14% higher versus last year.
Sony’s discounting played a major role. The average selling price of PS5 fell to about £340 during the week (one of the rare times it’s been below £400 since launch), with the PS5 Slim models seeing double-digit markdowns and the Pro hitting an all‑time low of roughly £586 while enjoying its best week outside launch. For shoppers who still haven’t upgraded, that kind of pricing looks tempting; for rivals it was an uphill climb.
Console market: PS5 leads, Switch 2 respectable in debut Black Friday
Nintendo’s Switch 2 wasn’t left at the station — it claimed about 23% of the UK console market during the week. That’s a solid share for a platform still ramping up and explains why Nintendo recently raised Switch 2 forecasts as sales surged. Xbox hardware lagged behind with roughly 10% share, while the original Switch accounted for the remaining 5%.
PS5 was the only platform to outsell its Black Friday 2024 numbers in units, up roughly 16% year‑on‑year; that single‑platform momentum was enough to lift the whole category.
Games: EA Sports FC 26 rules Europe, Hogwarts gets a second wind
Across Europe the Black Friday bump showed up in software charts too, but there wasn’t a flood of new releases — mostly discounts and heavier buying of recent hits. GSD tracking of physical and digital sales placed EA Sports FC 26 at No.1 for unit sales and revenue in many markets. Hogwarts Legacy surged back into the top ranks, jumping to No.2 in unit sales after discounts and promotions, nudging Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 down a spot.
A few notable patterns:
- EA Sports FC 26 held strong at the top of unit charts across multiple countries.
- Hogwarts Legacy received a pronounced sales boost from discounts, particularly in the UK and wider Europe.
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 showed the only meaningful week‑over‑week decline in the Top 20 — not surprising for a title that released just weeks earlier.
- If you were waiting for a big PS5 deal, Black Friday showed Sony will slash prices and move hardware in volume — bargains can be real, especially on Slim models and occasional Pro markdowns (the PS5 Pro saw heavy discounting in some retailers).
- VR shoppers had options: the Meta Quest 3S hit low pricing and strong sales, making it a reasonable entry point for budget‑minded VR newcomers.
- On software, discounts may revitalize older releases — Hogwarts and Cyberpunk reappeared in charts after promotional pushes — so hunting sales still pays off for library building.
European Top Ten (by unit sales, week ending Nov 30) included EA Sports FC 26, Hogwarts Legacy, Black Ops 7, Battlefield 6, and legacy sellers like Red Dead Redemption 2 and GTA V still clinging to strong positions.
Accessories and VR: quieter for controllers, loud for headsets
Accessory revenue cooled off sharply — down about 17% versus Black Friday 2024 — driven by big drops in gamepad (‑27%) and headset (‑28%) sales. That said, VR headsets remained a bright spot in absolute terms: units were slightly down overall, but the Meta Quest 3S hit a fresh low price (£229 in the UK) and posted its best-ever week since launch, while PlayStation’s VR headset enjoyed its strongest week of the year so far. If you’re watching the VR market, this feels like a price‑led inflection — more people buy when the barrier to entry drops. You can read more about some of the recent PS VR2 highlights and releases in our coverage of the PS VR2 November lineup, which helped drive interest over the promotion period (/news/flat2vr-psvr2-november-lineup).
Why these numbers matter (beyond holiday shopping)
A dominant Black Friday is more than a short‑term spike. For Sony, stronger PS5 sales help widen the install base ahead of major third‑party releases (studios clearly note platform share when negotiating timed content and marketing). With the PS5 now closer to the 100 million‑unit milestone Sony has been nudging toward, a cheap Black Friday week is also a long game — more consoles in homes means more future sales for first‑ and third‑party games and subscriptions.
For Nintendo, Switch 2 holding 23% in its first major discounting holiday shows demand remains healthy even in markets traditionally less Nintendo‑friendly. For Microsoft, the 10% figure is a reminder that Xbox’s hardware story still leans heavily on services and software rather than outright console volume in the UK.
A few practical takeaways for buyers
Black Friday’s story this year was not subtle: aggressive pricing can move millions of hardware decisions and reshape short‑term market share. Whether that turns into long‑term loyalty is up to the next year of exclusive games, services, and follow‑up discounts — a race that’s only just restarting as the holiday lights dim.