In the first quarter of Sony’s fiscal year 2024, which ended June 30, the Japanese company sold 2.4 million PlayStation 5 consoles, which is significantly less than the 3.3 million units sold in the same period last year. The total number of PS5s sold to date has reached 61.7 million.
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For Sony’s gaming division, quarterly results were generally positive, with sales in the Games & Network Services segment up 12% year-on-year and operating profit up 33% from 49.2 billion yen ($335). million) to 65.2 billion yen ($443 million). The company attributed the annual growth to a combination of the impact of exchange rates, growth in sales of games of its own development and “network services, mainly PlayStation Plus.” The company acknowledged “a decline in equipment sales due to lower unit sales.”
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Despite the overall increase in software revenue, Sony also reported that unit sales in the segment also declined, with the company selling 53.6 million units last quarter versus 56.5 million in the same period last year. The share of digital game downloads at the end of the quarter was 80% versus 20% of sales on physical media – for 2023, the average share of digital downloads was 70%.
Taking into account the first quarter results, Sony revised its forecast for the gaming division for the entire 2024 fiscal year (ending in March 2025 calendar year), increasing sales and operating profit expectations by 3%.