Strong Revenue and Operating Profit Growth in Sony's PlayStation Business
– 2 min read
The PlayStation business performed very well in the quarter, with double-digit growth in both revenues and operating income. Nearly 75 million PS5 consoles have been shipped worldwide. The outlook for the full year has also been raised.
From October to December 2024 (Q3/FY2024), 9.5 million PlayStation 5 consoles were shipped, 1.3 million more than in the same period last year. In the current fiscal year, 15.7 million PS5 consoles have been shipped. This means that there are now 74.9 million PS5 consoles in circulation worldwide. No information was provided on the proportion of PlayStation 5 Pro sales, nor was PlayStation VR2 mentioned. According to the webcast, Sony counted 42% of new users as part of PS5 sales, based on newly created PlayStation Network accounts in the quarter.
95.9 million full game software titles (PS4/PS5) were sold, compared with 89.7 million in the previous year. First-party titles accounted for around 12% of sales (11.9 million). The digital download ratio for full games is 74%. Monthly active users of PlayStation Network were 129 million at 31 December 2024, an increase of six million from the same period last fiscal year.
Revenue for the quarter increased 16% year-on-year to ¥1,682 billion, or approximately €10.4 billion. This growth was driven by increased sales of PS5 consoles and increased sales of non-first-party game software titles including add-on content. Operating income and adjusted OIBDA increased 37% (¥118.1 billion; €732 million) and 31% (¥148 billion; €918 million), respectively. The company attributes this to higher revenues from PlayStation Network, a decrease in hardware losses and the impact of an increase in sales of non-first-party game software titles offset by a decrease in sales of first-party game software titles.
Sony has raised its full year outlook for the Game & Network Services division on the back of strong sales. Revenue is expected to increase by three per cent, operating income by seven per cent and adjusted OIBDA by five per cent, due in part to foreign exchange effects and an increase in network services revenue. Sony plans to expand remote streaming in the future, broaden its games line-up with family and live services, and still plans to release Ghost of Yotei and Death Stranding 2: On The Beach in 2025.
38.15% of Sony's total revenue comes from the PlayStation division called Game & Network Services. The figure for operating profit is 25.17%. No other division of the company generated more revenue and operating income in Q3 FY2024.
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