But what does that even mean, Sony?
Another time of the year where Sony announces their quarterly financial results. Considering their earnings for the PlayStation 4, they’ve delivered a report on the number of consoles shipped. As of today, the company has delivered 67.5 million units. Furthermore, they expect that number to increase by 19 million in the next year.
For the quarter that ended on September 30th, 2017, Sony reported 4.2 million PS4 units shipped—up 0.3 million from this time last year. In other words, the company is doing well, which would explain why they’re moving their projection of 18 to 19 million consoles shipped by fiscal 2017. This time period ends on March 31st, 2018 and would see a total of 79 million consoles shipped.
Sony’s earnings call also revealed a number of other important things. First off, Finance and Corporate Development Executive Atsuko Murakami talked the importance of PlayStation Plus in raking in profits. The company wants to retain as many members as possible and is, therefore, looking into making the service more appealing.
Additionally, Chief Financial Officer Kenichiro Yoshida said that software sales are becoming more important. While hardware sales are always relevant, PlayStation Plus subscribers are vital, especially now that more sales are coming directly from the network. It’s no longer Sony dealing with other businesses; it’s more about members making purchases. Recent data indicates that more in-game content is purchased after the initial game sale. In other words, microtransactions are becoming more relevant.
Yoshida mentioned the recent replacement of Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Andrew House’s by John Kodera. Kodera’s background in building the network will lead to the expansion of this segment, a direction meant to increase recurring revenue. But, compared to the competition, Sony is reporting lower first-party revenue from in-game purchases aka microtransactions. For this reason, Kodera’s leadership will lead to “appropriate exploration and decisions taken in the future.”