Sony has adjusted its sales forecast for the PlayStation 5 (PS5), now expecting to sell 4 million fewer units in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023. The revision was announced alongside the company’s third-quarter earnings, with the new forecast suggesting Sony will sell 21 million PS5 consoles, down from the initially anticipated 25 million.
Despite an uptick in PS5 sales during the third quarter, reaching 8.2 million units compared to 6.3 million in the same period the previous year, sales fell short of expectations by approximately one million units. This shortfall occurred even with the launch of the anticipated Spider-Man 2 (more than 10 million copies sold after its launch in October 2023), strong performance from third-party titles, and the introduction of a new, slimmer PS5 model in November.
Sony’s gaming division reported a 16% increase in revenue year-over-year for the third quarter, totaling 1.4 trillion yen (about $9.3 billion). However, operating income decreased by 26% to 86.1 billion yen (around $572 million), attributed to promotional activities in the quarter ending December 31.
Looking forward, Sony plans to focus more on profitability rather than unit sales as the PS5 approaches what the company termed the ‘latter stage of its life cycle’. Naomi Matsuoka, Sony’s senior vice president, indicated that the company expects a decrease in the annual sales pace of the PS5 starting from the next fiscal year.
The console market is set to become increasingly competitive in 2024. Microsoft is expected to launch updated versions of its Xbox Series S and a disc-less Xbox Series X, with increased storage. Meanwhile, Nintendo is expected to unveil a successor to its seven-year-old Switch console. Sony is also rumored to be preparing a PS5 Pro for release in late 2024.
News of the sales miss hit Sony’s stock in the Tokyo stock exchange with the stock taking a 6.5 percent dive.
