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Sony Has Now Shipped 43.5 Million PlayStation 4s
Sony continues to lean heavily on the strength of its game and network services division. The unit, which houses PlayStation consoles, first-party software, and PlayStation Network operations was responsible for $425 million of a cumulative $735 million operating income for business segments in the first fiscal quarter of FY17.
Sales for the division increased 14.5 percent during the period, as software sales climbed. The company also says it is realizing cost reductions related to production of PlayStation 4 consoles aiding the operating income growth.
PlayStation Network revenues made up 46 percent of segment sales. This is up 38 percent year-over-year.
The company has revised downward its expectations for the year, as foreign exchange rates are having an impact on revenue. The Yen continues to climb, which is having an impact on the income statement.
Company-wide revenues dipped 10.8 percent to $15.7 billion. Net income remained in the black, but dropped precipitously year-over-year by 74.3 percent to $205 million.
Sony has announced plans for a new console. Details are still fuzzy around the PlayStation Neo, but we understand that it will support existing PlayStation 4 software.
[Source: Sony]
Our Take
It’s too early to suggest what kind of impact the Neo announcement will have on PlayStation 4 sales. The news was only confirmed during the final month of the quarter and we don’t have a month-to-month breakdown of retail traffic.
Given that Sony is touting the success of Uncharted 4 in its earnings report, it’s conceivable that a significant portion of console sales were tied to its early May release. We’ll have a better sense of Neo announcement impact in the next quarter.
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