Sony reduced its projected sales of PS5 to 21 million devices by the end of March from a previous estimate of 25 million units.
As it focuses on entertainment and image sensors, Sony of Japan cut its full-year sales projection for the PlayStation 5 system on Wednesday and announced plans to list its financial division the next year.
Sony revised down its 25 million PS5 sales projection for the year that ends in March to 21 million units due to lower-than-expected sales during the year-end shopping season.
The firm stated that it does not intend to release any significant franchise titles in the upcoming fiscal year and that it anticipates a gradual fall in unit sales starting in the following financial year.
Sony said in 2023 that it was looking into partially spinning off its financial division. In October 2025, Sony Financial Group will go public and the company will keep a little less than 20 percent share.
Operating profit for the company in the October–December quarter increased by 10% to JPY 463.3 billion ($3.08 billion, or approximately Rs. 25,568 crore), exceeding the average estimate of JPY 428 billion (roughly Rs. 23,663 crore) from 11 analysts surveyed by LSEG. This was due to the gaming industry’s weakness being countered by the financial, film, and music sectors’ robust performance.
Having invented the Walkman, Sony has grown from a little electronics company to a massive entertainment and technology conglomerate that produces chips, games, music, and movies.
During the year-end shopping season, Sony sold 8.2 million PlayStation 5 consoles in the third quarter, up from 7.1 million units in the previous year.
The games company saw a quarter-over-quarter decline in operating profit, mostly from decreased sales of first-party titles and increased hardware losses from promotions.
“Sony tried hard with promotions, bundles and discount but the sales target was too ambitious from the get-go,” said Serkan Toto, founder of consultancy Kantan Games.
“In the end they will probably land closer to 22-23 million units,” Toto added.
As a gauge of platform engagement, the number of monthly active users on the PlayStation network increased from 107 million to 123 million units at the end of the quarter.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, which was released on October 20, has reportedly sold 10 million copies, according to Sony. To increase sales, the company also plans to release a small version of the console in November.
Nintendo increased its projection for the entire year for the Switch last week from 15 million sales to 15.5 million units as the Kyoto-based corporation continues to extend the life of the aging system.
In light of rumors that it could release its games on other platforms, Xbox manufacturer Microsoft is scheduled to provide updates on its gaming business on Thursday.
“If big third-party titles grow that will be a positive factor and we hope to utilise that momentum,” Sony President Hiroki Totoki told a news briefing.
Leading manufacturer of image sensors for smartphones, Sony, reported an 18% increase in profit at its chips sector due to greater sales.
The nation’s top contract chipmaker, TSMC, expressed trust in the company last week when it announced plans to establish a second fabrication plant in Japan in collaboration with businesses like Sony.
Sony abandoned plans last month to merge its Indian company with Zee Entertainment for $10 billion, or around Rs. 83,000 crore. The deal would have established a TV powerhouse.
According to Totoki, there is a lot of room for long-term growth in the Indian market.
“If we can find another opportunity that would replace this type of plan we will actively look at that and we also need to reformulate our organic growth strategy,” Totoki said.
The stock of Sony ended the day lower by 0.5 percent before earnings. They’ve increased by 9% so far this year.
