Sony’s financial report for Q1 2014 is in, and there are some impressive numbers coming out of the beleaguered tech giant. The company posted a net income of 26.8 billion yen ($261 million), with “Amazing Spiderman” and the PS4 emerging as big drivers. The company sold 3.5 million combined PS4 and PS3 consoles — up from 1.1 million in Q1 2013. Microsoft recently revealed that the Xbox platform sold 1.1 million units over the same time period, meaning that PS4+PS3 are outselling Xbox One + Xbox 360 at a 3:1 ratio. Sales for Vita, PSP and Vita TV are counted separately, riding a modest increase from last year’s 600,000 units to 750,000 this year.
Overall, the games division shifted from a $164 m operating loss in Q1 last year to a profit of $43 m this year. While we don’t have a specific PS4 vs. PS3 breakdown, the company does say that there was a slight decrease in PS3 sales year over year, meaning that we can estimate PS4 sales at somewhere around the 2.4 million year over year increase, as well as a bit more to account for the decrease in PS3 sales. The company also notes a major increase in revenue from network services, probably as a result of the high attach rate for PS+ subscriptions with new PS4s.
It’s a good day for Playstation and Kazuo Hirai’s Sony overall, which is looking much more robust after some fairly bleak times in recent years. The Playstation platform shows a lot of promise for the future, both from the recent strong sales of the PS4 and the eventual prospects of streaming service Playstation Now and virtual reality prototype Project Morpheus. Sony wants to use the PS4 as a jumping off point for a broader Playstation ecosystem, and judging by these recent numbers, the company us going to have a strong base to work from.
The Xbox One is still selling well from a historical perspective, but only when you compare it, essentially, with every console beside the PS4. It’s too early to call things by farm but these sort of ratios suggest that this generation might end up something like the complete dominance of the PS2 in its day.
This holiday season will still be a key indicator for the current generation of consoles, however. Microsoft’s will be selling the Xbox One at the same $399 price point as the PS4, which is bound to increase sales at least somewhat. But I’m more interested in console sales overall — with so many of the most anticipated current gen titles pushed back to 2015, I wonder whether or not the non-core customer will be convinced to make the leap.
Overall, the games division shifted from a $164 m operating loss in Q1 last year to a profit of $43 m this year. While we don’t have a specific PS4 vs. PS3 breakdown, the company does say that there was a slight decrease in PS3 sales year over year, meaning that we can estimate PS4 sales at somewhere around the 2.4 million year over year increase, as well as a bit more to account for the decrease in PS3 sales. The company also notes a major increase in revenue from network services, probably as a result of the high attach rate for PS+ subscriptions with new PS4s.
It’s a good day for Playstation and Kazuo Hirai’s Sony overall, which is looking much more robust after some fairly bleak times in recent years. The Playstation platform shows a lot of promise for the future, both from the recent strong sales of the PS4 and the eventual prospects of streaming service Playstation Now and virtual reality prototype Project Morpheus. Sony wants to use the PS4 as a jumping off point for a broader Playstation ecosystem, and judging by these recent numbers, the company us going to have a strong base to work from.
The Xbox One is still selling well from a historical perspective, but only when you compare it, essentially, with every console beside the PS4. It’s too early to call things by farm but these sort of ratios suggest that this generation might end up something like the complete dominance of the PS2 in its day.
This holiday season will still be a key indicator for the current generation of consoles, however. Microsoft’s will be selling the Xbox One at the same $399 price point as the PS4, which is bound to increase sales at least somewhat. But I’m more interested in console sales overall — with so many of the most anticipated current gen titles pushed back to 2015, I wonder whether or not the non-core customer will be convinced to make the leap.
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