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Written by Cameron SwanPlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, And Steam Year In Reviews Are Now Live
Written by Charles Harte
Update, 12/18/2023
Over the last week, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo have each released their annual player year-in-reviews, letting users find out exactly how much time they spent engaged with each platform, the games they played most, and more. PC players on Steam can now do the same, as Valve has released its year in review.
You can access the review here (you'll need to sign into your Steam account, of course). You'll find the expected stats, such as the top batch of games you spent the most time playing, your average playtime per month, and even metrics like time spent playing on a mouse/keyboard versus a controller. In a nice bit of convenience, you can export your stats graphic in different sizes to fit whatever social media site you plan on sharing it on. Here's what the tall version looks like.
Have fun, and let us know what your most surprising (or alarming) stat is in the comments below!
Update, 12/13/2023:
Yesterday, PlayStation and Xbox released yearly video game retrospectives for individual players, highlighting how much PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S they played in 2023, which games they played most, and more. Now, a day later, Nintendo has released its 2023 Year In Review feature.
Look back at all the fun you had with #NintendoSwitch games in 2023 with a personalized wrap-up! You can see what you played most, choose your favorite game of the year, and share your stats with friends.
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) December 13, 2023
See your #NintendoSwitch2023 Year in Review here: https://t.co/5VR8vnCX1I pic.twitter.com/yV3TkR11JV
Sign in to your Nintendo account and enjoy the look back at your year of Switch gaming, and let us know what your most-played Switch game was in 2023 in the comments below.
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Update, 12/12/2023:
Following Sony's lead, Microsoft has published its yearly retrospective as well, allowing Xbox and PlayStation fans alike to take a look back at the games they played this year. You can check out the Xbox Year In Review right here. For an idea of what to expect, here are some of my stats:
The original story continues below...
When the year comes to a close, many spend time reflecting on the past 12 months of their lives, the decisions they made, and the places they went. In recent years, companies like Spotify have capitalized on this tradition, turning it into their Wrapped celebration, which has users all over the world sharing their stats, blurring the lines between an internet trend and a viral marketing campaign. It's no surprise that other companies would want to jump on that bandwagon, and one of the main participants is Sony, with their annual PlayStation Wrap-Up. You can check out this year's version right here.
Those who participate will get a quick tour through their 2023 on PlayStation, including their total hours played, their top games, and even which controller they used most often. You can see some of my stats below – including how much time I spent revisiting Ezio's games for an Assassin's Creed retrospective earlier this year.
PlayStation has had a good 2023. Between Spider-Man 2's critical success, the generally well-received launch of Final Fantasy XVI as a console exclusive, and new DLC modes coming to The Last of Us: Part II and God of War: Ragnarök, it's finished the year strongly. This was follows their recent release of the PlayStation Portal – you can read out thoughts on the device here.
What was your most played game of the year? Let us know in the comments!
PlayStation 5 Sales Surpass 50 Million Units
Written by Marcus Stewart
Sony has announced that the PlayStation 5 has hit a sales milestone of over 50 million units. It achieved this milestone just over three years into its life cycle.
Since the console’s launch in November 2020, over 50 million consoles have been purchased as of December 9, 2023, according to a press release. In July, Sony announced the PS5 had sold over 40 million units, meaning that roughly 10 million more consoles were sold in just the last 4 to 5 months.
The holiday season is likely a big contributor to this bump. Additionally, the October release of the much-anticipated PS5 exclusive Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (now the fastest-selling PS Studios game ever) undoubtedly drove players to pick up the console.
The milestone is a nice way to cap off a busy 2023 for Sony. It launched new hardware with PlayStation VR2, the PlayStation Portal, and a smaller redesigned PS5. It also boasted marquee third-party exclusives such as Final Fantasy XVI and, for a few months, was the sole console home of the critically acclaimed Baldur’s Gate 3.
It’ll be interesting to see how the console’s momentum fares going into 2024. So far, Sony’s first-party output consists of The Last of Us Part II Remastered arriving in January. Announced third-party exclusives include Final Fantasy VII Rebirth in February (GI’s latest cover story) and Team Ninja’s Rise of the Rōnin in March. We're curious to see what else Sony has up its sleeve as the next year progresses.