Entertainment
Sales of Sony’s Playstation are increasing – games are weakening
The logo of the Japanese electronics group Sony: How is business? photo
© Andrei Sokolow/dpa
More than two years after its launch, Sony’s Playstation 5 is now available without bottlenecks. Sales pick up. But the business with game titles and online services can’t keep up.
During the pandemic, the sale of Sony’s Playstation 5 was still slowed down by chip bottlenecks – now the knot has burst. In the past quarter, the Japanese electronics group sold 6.3 million games console devices. In the fiscal year that ended in March, there were a total of 19.1 million. But at the same time fewer games were sold for the console – and the number of subscription customers for the Playstation Plus payment service was only at the previous year’s level, as can be seen from the figures presented on Friday.
This development could be an alarm signal for Sony’s largest division – and an explanation for the Japanese group’s fierce resistance to the planned purchase of the games company Activision Blizzard by Xbox rival Microsoft. Online services where games are played over the Internet are becoming more popular in the industry. Microsoft is particularly strong in the business.
Since the launch of the Playstation 5 in autumn 2020, Sony has sold a good 38 million devices. Virtual reality glasses for consoles were released last quarter. However, Sony did not comment on sales of the Playstation VR on Friday.
Only stagnant sales expected
At the same time, the Sony group is benefiting greatly from the streaming boom in the music industry, and its Hollywood studio is also making more money with films and TV shows. For the new financial year, Sony expects more sales from games and other entertainment areas. The business with camera sensors, which are used in many smartphones, is also expected to grow. Sony, on the other hand, expects lower revenues for entertainment electronics and the division.
Overall, the Group is cautious about the current financial year, partly in view of the high level of inflation. After a double-digit increase in sales in 2022/23, only stagnating sales are expected for the twelve months to the end of March 2024. In terms of operating profit, Sony even expects a slight decline to around 1.17 trillion yen (7.9 billion euros). Experts had previously expected a slight increase in operating profit.
In the fiscal year ended March, revenue increased 16 percent to 11.6 trillion yen, driven in part by the weak yen. Operating income remained at the prior-year level of just over 1.2 trillion yen.