According to a top gaming executive, Sony (6758.T) is witnessing significant momentum for its PlayStation 5 platform. The business has sold over 50 million gadget units, and its Black Friday weekend sales were the most ever.
To meet its sales target of a record 25 million units in the current financial year ending March 31, the entertainment behemoth is counting on the fourth-generation PS5 to have a robust Christmas shopping season.
“We’re feeling very good about sales overall, given the momentum we had in November and a lot of what we’re seeing in December,” stated Eric Lempel, senior vice president of worldwide marketing, sales, and business operations at Sony Interactive Entertainment.
In the previous fiscal year, Sony’s games division was its largest sales unit and the second-largest contributor to operational profit after music.
Investors became uneasy when management revealed in August that PS5 sales had fallen short of expectations. As part of its efforts to find a healthy balance between sales volumes and profitability, Sony has stated that its aim of 25 million units is a “high target and not within easy reach.”.
This year, we’ve made several excellent promos. In an interview, Lempel stated, “I will say that at this point in the lifecycle, we’ve done fewer promotions than we ever have in the history of the company.”
Early in the PS5’s lifetime, supply chain bottlenecks hurt sales. After lessening, those are becoming stronger, especially with the release of the highly anticipated video game “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2” on October 20.
The Japanese firm, well-known for its single-player games, is attempting to enter the live-service market by producing games that allow continuous online play.
Last week, Sony’s Naughty Dog announced the cancellation of an online game from its “The Last of Us” franchise, citing the risk of developing single-player games if it had been released.
The company’s sales effort coincides with industry discussions over consoles’ future as cloud computing advancements offer gaming without needing large, cumbersome hardware.
Consoles are still popular with gamers for now, with Nintendo’s (7974.T) aging Switch receiving a lift this year with the release of titles like its most recent “Zelda” title.
The limited-edition PlayStation exclusive “Final Fantasy VII Rebirth” will be released in February, and “The Last of Us Part II Remastered” will debut in January. “We are still pushing hard and I think we will have a record-breaking year no matter where we end up,” Lempel stated.
