Sony has been forced to revise its forecasts for PS5 console sales in the current fiscal year due to the company selling 4 million fewer units than expected.
The company now expects to sell 21 million units in the 2023 fiscal year, rather than the 25 million PS consoles that had previously been forecast. This is despite the fact that company launched fresh hardware in November in the form of the PS5 Slim.
Sony also revealed that operating income had dropped by a considerable 26 percent, thanks to lower first party game sales and a number of aggressive hardware promotions.
It’s not all doom and gloom for the Japanese giant’s gaming arm, however. It posted record quarterly revenue, with revenue up 16 percent year on year thanks to a boost in third party game sales.
Even in first party terms, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has sold and impressive 10 million copies already, having only launched in October.
Sony also sold an impressive 8.2 million PS5 consoles over the holiday period, while selling 50 million PS5 consoles over the three years leading up to the end of 2023 isn’t bad going. Especially given that the console launched in the midst of a global pandemic, with all the attendant supply chain issues that came along with it.
These signs would appear to signal one thing: the PS5 is entering “the latter stage of its life cycle”, as Sony senior vice president Naomi Matsuoka stated (via Bloomberg). The company “will put more emphasis on the balance between profitability and sales” in future as a result.
With no new major franchise games set to launch any time soon, we can expect the PS5 to keep selling at a slower rate over the coming fiscal year. Might the oft-rumoured PS5 Pro give the console one late shot in the arm?
