By The Biz Team (Nicholas)
The global pandemic has significantly restructured what most people deem entertainment, considering several outdoor activities are no longer viable. Video games are one of the pass times that have flourished during this period. In its latest financing report, Sony claimed that 91 million PS4 games were sold during the three months leading to June 30th, 2020. That means an 83 percent increase in the sales that were made during the same quarter in 2019. Several PS4 owners are stuck inside their homes, so it is not a surprise to hear that above 70 percent of games were bought digitally in the last quarter. Similarly, the PS Plus subscription service, which allows players to engage PS4 games online, recorded 44.9 million members at the end of the previous quarter. Interestingly, the sale of hardware is reducing. There is a 1.3 million reduction in the sales of consoles in the last quarter compared to the same period in 2019.
Sony indicated The Last of Us Part II and Ghost of Tsushima were strong performers. However, the last game was not released during the previous quarter, meaning it was not a contributor to the overall figures. Sony said they had addressed some setbacks related to COVID-19 in their PS4 supply chain, and they are still preparing for the launch of the PlayStation 5. The company was careful to reassure that no problems have happened with first-party or third-party game development. During this financial year, though, Sony may witness a 30 percent rise in its game-related revenue because of the PS5 launch, even though the operating profit is only going to increase slightly. The reason is that Sony’s expenditure may also rise significantly with the introduction of the new console as the company claims the cost of sales ratio may be much higher with the PlayStation 5. That is normal when selling new hardware at a lower than usual margin. Sony then increased gals of production for the PlayStation 5 by 50%, aiming to manufacture upwards of 10 million consoles through to the end of 2020.
It is worth mentioning that PlayStation 4 was able to outsell the Xbox One to dominate the market. However, it owes a large percentage of its success to exclusive titles. These games boosted sales level, though the same trend may not be adopted with the PS5. The covid-19 pandemic has hindered most in-person events, so Sony could not hold any press conferences. The ones which were streamed online were not as exciting, though. The brand did take time with the PS5 design reveal at the end of a games focused presentation. Sony also did not say anything about the pricing or release date details though instead, they stuck to a predetermined script. There are rumors that it will be released sometime in November, and it may go for about $499. Insiders have been mostly wrong about the rumors, so these claims should be taken with a grain of salt. However, both Sony and Microsoft are running out of time. The world is getting closer to the PS5 and Xbox Series X launch window, so they will have no choice but to tell the public sooner than later when the consoles will be released and how much they will retail.
One of the leaks suggests that Sony may host an event during the coming weeks, but that is not confirmed. Similarly, the Covid-19 pandemic is still ravaging most parts of the country, causing a death toll that is well on its way to 200,000. The brand may not be able to hold an in-person conference, so it does not have to announce interested parties in advance of the event to deal with the travel and accommodation logistics. That is the reason Sony can afford to be flexible concerning the date of the PS5 reveal. When everything is considered, the picture of what is available on the PS5 console family is mostly there.
For example, there is a current understanding concerning the design of the PS5 and what several accessories would look like. There is a near complete list as well of PS5 specs as the system architecture of the console has been revealed in numerous reveals courtesy of the lead architect of the console, Mark Cherry. There is information as well on the backward compatibility as well as, the DualSense Controller. There is an official trailer as well of the upcoming device meaning prospective clients can view the system. T3 also assorted a PS5 pre-order guide that had in-depth information about which retailers are taking pre-orders of the console and when customers would be able to sign up to make sure they can lock in the orders.
Though Sony is pushing for more console sales, it would seem that Microsoft is focusing on the Game Pass strategy. Sony has plans for the PS4 though the Xbox One is out of commission. That shows the two rivals are headed in two different directions. The console launch toward the end of the year will be exciting to see the two firms battle it out, albeit through different approaches. Sony’s exclusive actions with the titles will be matched against Microsoft’s all-new subscription service.