Sony has warned of a weak PlayStation business as game sales continue to decline

Sony cut its annual profit outlook, warning of weak PlayStation game sales. The forecast said Sony shipped 2.4 million PlayStation 5 consoles in the latest quarter, up just 4 percent from 2.3 million shipped in the same period last year. PS5 lifetime shipments have now reached 21.7 million.

Hardware sales are up slightly year-over-year, while software sales are down 26 percent. On an investor call, Sony attributed the gaming decline to a lack of big PlayStation titles this year compared to 2021 and less time spent playing games overall — supported by monthly active PlayStation Network users down 3 percent to 102 million. Sony released the difference The Grand Tour 7 And Horizon forbidden west Topics at the beginning of this year, But Elden ring It hit multiple platforms simultaneously and stole the limelight.

Reuters Sony has now cut its annual profit forecast for its games business by 16 percent, as it expects another drop in game sales next quarter.

Image: Bungie

Sony’s PlayStation game sales are the latest signs that the gaming industry is slowing after a big surge in the early stages of the pandemic. Microsoft doesn’t report its own Xbox hardware shipments, but the company reported an 11 percent decline in Xbox hardware revenue in the most recent quarter, a 6 percent decline in Xbox content and services revenue, and a 7 percent decline in overall game revenue. While Microsoft had a strong fiscal year for Xbox revenue, the company is warning that game revenue and Xbox content and services revenue will both decline next quarter.

Sony previously predicted 18 million PlayStation 5 shipments for the 2022 financial year, and the company has yet to revise its estimate. “The supply was not enough…the demand did not decrease. We have to meet the demand properly, it’s an important thing we have to do,” Sony CFO Hiroki Totoki said in an investor call today.

Photo example by Grayson Blackmon/The Verge

Sony now hopes that hardware shipments will improve by the end of this year, because it believes it is mostly due to supply chain disruptions rather than a lack of PS5 shipments. Sony will need to significantly improve its PS5 shipments to meet its 18 million annual forecast. It should hit an average of more than 5 million PS5 shipments per quarter for the rest of the financial year, a target that more than doubles this quarter’s shipments.

New game releases should help software sales significantly God of War Ragnarok On November 9 and ready to start Our last part one Repeat on September 2nd.

While PlayStation game sales have been declining overall, 79 percent of PlayStation game sales in the most recent quarter were digital, up 11 percent year-over-year. PlayStation game sales have been trending towards digital in recent years, boosted by the pandemic and digital-only version of the PS5. Still, nearly 80 percent will be digital by 2022 if the rest remains unchanged.

Sony’s new PlayStation Plus add-ons and premium tiers launched in the US last month, but we won’t know their full impact until next quarter. PlayStation Plus subscribers are currently at 47.3 million, down from 46.3 million at the same point last year, but down from 48 million in fiscal Q3 2021. Monthly active PlayStation Network users reached 102 million in the most recent quarter, down from 105 million last year. More than a year.