Sony’s first quarter of FY2020 (April-June 2020) has been PlayStation’s best ever in terms of revenue, at $5.63 billion. During the quarter, PS4 shipped 1.9 million units, bringing total lifetime shipments to 112.3 million. The figure is certainly up over last quarter’s 1.4M, but significantly down compared to the same period last fiscal year (3.2 million). This downturn in hardware sales is expected, as the console approaches its final days ahead of the launch of PS5. That said, PS4 is still trending ahead of the PS2 in lifetime sales, so there’s a chance it could overtake it by the end of its life.
On the subject of PS5, Sony didn’t talk too much about the upcoming console in today’s earnings report, but reiterated yet again that it remains on track for launch this holiday season. Likewise, software sales were the highest ever for PlayStation, at 91 million units (up 83% YoY), 74% of which were made digitally. Of that, first-party games amounted to 18.5 million, a figure that includes The Last of Us Part 2, but not Ghost of Tsushima as it falls outside the first quarter. PlayStation Plus continues to be a key revenue generator for Sony, with the number of members now at 44.9 million - a new record for the service. All in all, these have been very profitable three months for Sony, as PlayStation inches closer and closer to making up 50% of its entire business.
