2024 - PS5: sales disappoint Sony, the console does not achieve its objectives

During the second quarter of 2022, the PS5 sold 2.4 million copies. That’s slightly more than the same time last year, but well below Sony’s initial predictions. The Japanese firm also saw its profits fall by 16% compared to the previous quarter.

Credit: Unsplash

At least in June, the PS5 passed a symbolic milestone by exceeding 20 million sales. It was then an opportunity for Sony to be optimistic for the future: the manufacturer promises to speed up production and, de facto, to finally increase the availability of its console, which has been in short supply since its release. This prediction also followed another calculation by the manufacturer, which forecast at the end of 2021 sell 18 million copies in the coming year.

Finally, Sony was quickly disillusioned. If these financial results for the second quarter are far from catastrophic, unlike Facebook or Intel, which both posted losses for the first time, the Japanese manufacturer manages to record growth. Problem: this one is much more moderate than expected. In effect, 2.4 million PS5 “only” have passed during the second trimester.

On the same subject – PS5: 1440p definition, customizable games list, Sony is preparing a massive update

Sony is lowering its targets for the PS5

For comparison, this figure was 2.3 million last year. In total, Sony sold 21.4 million consoles. In other words, the manufacturer must still deliver 5 million by next May to achieve its objectives, which has never happened in the history of the company. Especially since in Europe, the market does not seem favorable for the PS5which saw its sales collapse against the Xbox Series X and the Nintendo Switch.

However, Sony can still count on the releases of a few big games by the end of the year, notably God of War: Ragnarök and The Last of Us: Part 1, to boost its results. But, even on this side, things are not looking good: 47.1 million games were sold during the second quarter, a big drop compared to 63.1 million units last year. In addition, Sony’s profits fell 16% globally since 2021.