PlayStation reports record Q2 in terms of revenue, as PS5 hits 46m

Sony’s gaming division has reported a record second quarter in terms of revenue, as PlayStation 5 consoles reached 46.5 million shipped.

The company’s Game & Network Services division reported FY23 Q2 revenues of ¥954.1 billion ($6.32 billion), up 32% year-over-year.

However, operating profit was a more modest 48.9 billion yen ($324m), which is up 16% year-over-year, but below FY21, FY20 and FY19.

The 4.9 million PS5 consoles shipped in the three months ended September 30 reportedly represent a record for a PlayStation console during a Q2 window. It also represents a significant 48% increase compared to the same quarter last year.

Sony Interactive Entertainment has a lofty sales target of 25 million PS5s for the year ending March 2024, and it said it intends to do so with offers during the holiday season, and revised PS5 hardware. In the first half of the fiscal year, the company has shipped 8.2 million consoles.

Speaking during a call to discuss its results, Sony president, COO and CFO Hiroki Totoki said the company would keep the target despite it seeming difficult to obtain.

“It’s not something we can attain very easily, but we think that the year-end sales are the most important period and during this season we have a new model and Spider-Man 2. So, we want to keep our target,” he said.

Sony’s Network services revenue – which encompasses PS Plus and advertising revenue – reached its highest level since last year’s service revamp at ¥133.8 billion (up from ¥117 billion last year), likely influenced by more expensive subscription tiers.

PlayStation Network monthly active users (MAU) were up five million year-over-year to 107 million. Sony says its MAU are the estimated total number of unique accounts that played games or used services on the PlayStation Network during the last month of the quarter.

Software sales (PS4 and PS5) increased 5.1 million year-over-year, to 67.6 million units. Digital software accounted for 67% of quarterly game sales, compared to 63% last year.

Tokyo-based industry consultant Dr Serkan Toto told VGC: “Q2 was very good for PlayStation 5, but we all know this was supported by price reductions in certain key markets.

“The company probably was overly ambitious with its 25 million target for PS5 sales and is now under pressure to deliver two more record quarters to get there.”