Sony sold 4.5 million PlayStation 5 consoles since November
What's the story
Sony's latest earnings report says the company sold 4.5 million PlayStation 5 (PS5) gaming consoles worldwide in a two-month period since November 13. The console has been virtually unattainable owing to poor silicon yield stemming from complications associated with smaller, complicated process nodes. The 4.5 million-unit figure is on par with the rate at which it sold the PlayStation 4 over the same period.
Losing bargain
Sony admits to losing money selling PS5 consoles
Sony's earnings report confirms PlayStation 5 launch did cause the company to incur losses, besides affecting global availability. It also admits PS5 console hardware is being sold for less than what it costs to manufacture. Meanwhile, the demand for the previous-generation PS4 dipped sharply to 1.4 million units sold in the last quarter. This is a 77 percent drop in sales compared to 2019.
Bot magic
Scalpers account for 10 percent of global PS5 sales
Nearly ten percent of all PS5 consoles were resold by scalpers. DEV Community member Michael Driscoll painstakingly confirmed seven percent resales were on eBay and StockX, while another three percent took place on OfferUp. Most listings were priced $500 over retail price. The other problem plaguing the console's availability is the supply-chain disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and NVIDIA's poor silicon yield.
Bright side
Sony's video games witnessed record-breaking sales last quarter
Notably, Sony's game business performed better than 2019, partly driven by titles for the PS5. Analyst Daniel Ahmad noted that the last quarter was the best in PlayStation history. Revenue soared 40 percent to $8.4 billion and operating profit improved 50 percent to $763.3 million. The main contributors to the improvement were increased margins on PS4 sales, PlayStation Plus subscriptions, and higher game sales.
Twitter Post
Daniel Ahmad on Twitter
Worth noting that this was Sony's best quarter ever for its games division.
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) February 3, 2021
This fiscal year will also be Sony's best ever for gaming in terms of revenue and profit.
Their forecast was also increased for the full fiscal year, mostly due to strong software / network sales. https://t.co/yaRRqhiww1
Unrelenting gamers
PlayStation Plus sees 9.1 million new subscribers since 2019
PlayStation Plus now has 47.4 million members. The service gained 1.5 million subscribers in the last quarter and 9.1 million new members since the third quarter of fiscal year 2019. The console manufacturer intends to sell another three million units of PS5 before the end of this fiscal year, albeit at a loss.