Sony published quarterly results on Thursday, November 9, below analysts’ forecasts. The Japanese giant has, however, raised its annual forecasts, and is counting on video games – in particular on its PS5 – to achieve its objectives. Its operating profit fell 29% in the July-September period, while quarterly profit was 263 billion yen ($1.74 billion), below analysts’ targets of 306 billion yen ). Profits at the chip division fell 37%, due to higher spending and lower sales of image sensors used in smartphones.
Despite these poor performances, Sony has maintained its sales target of 25 million PS5 consoles for the current fiscal year, and is counting on the recently announced Slim version to boost its results.
“It’s not something we can achieve very easily“, acknowledged CEO Hiroki Totoki about the PS5 target. The group sold 4.9 million PS5s in the second quarter, bringing sales to 8.2 million units for the current financial year. In the fiscal year 2022-2023, sales had reached 19.1 million units. The target of 25 million units for the current fiscal year, which ends in March 2024, is therefore rather ambitious. But the group can count on promotional periods such as Black Friday and the end-of-year holidays, with the added bonus of the launch of the PS5 Slim. The latter will first take place in the United States this month this, before expanding to the rest of the world in the following months.
Spiderman, GTA 6PlayStation Portal…
Sony can also rely on the launch of PlayStation Portal, its new portable console, or almost, since this new peripheral portable device of the PS5 is only used to stream games from the console (only via wifi). Its launch is scheduled for next week, reports Reuters.
The group can also count on exclusive titles like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2sold 5 million units since its launch on October 20.
Last but not leastthe upcoming arrival of a game like GTA 6 could do console manufacturers a world of good, as this title is eagerly awaited by gamers around the world.
Nintendo: competitor and partner?
Industry observers were, however, surprised by the recent announcement of the departure of Sony Interactive Entertainment director Jim Ryan next March, while developer Bungie, bought by the group, was reducing its staff amid widespread layoffs in the area.
We will also have to count on Nintendo, which is having a flamboyant end to the year. The Switch sold 6.84 million copies between April and September, up 2% compared to the same period of the previous year, for cumulative sales of 132.46 million units. And the new Switch 2 is just around the corner, competition that Sony will have to take into account.
However, collaborations between the Tokyo and Kyoto groups are mentioned by certain analysts. Sony’s film division will co-finance and distribute an adaptation of the iconic franchise Zelda from Nintendo. “Sony’s strong distribution network and publishing track record could be a strategic move for Nintendo“wrote Atul Goyal, analyst at Jefferies, cited by Reuters. We can always dream.