Sony today announced its financial results for the fourth period of fiscal 2023, which showed that the network services and gaming division increased its revenue by 623.1 billion yen and profit by 40.2 billion yen in fiscal 2023. In the fourth quarter of FY2023, sales increased by 24.1 billion yen and profit increased by 67.1 billion yen compared to the same period last year.
Here is a summary of the key points:
- In the three months from January 1 to March 31, 2024, Sony shipped 4.5 million PS5 units, a decrease of 1.8 million units from the same period. However, PS5 shipped 20.8 million units for the entire fiscal year, an increase of 1.7 million units compared to the previous fiscal year.
- As of March 31, 2024, PSN had 118 million monthly active users, an increase of 10 million compared to the same period last fiscal year.
- From January 1 to March 31, 2024, PS5 and PS4 games sold together reached 72.6 million copies, an increase of 4.6 million copies over the same period. Of these, 12.3 million were first-party entries, an increase of 2.8 million over the same period. Seventy-seven percent of software sales were complete digital software, up 7 percent from the same period.
- The gaming division saw a significant increase in revenue compared to the previous period, with a 17% increase in revenue. In addition to the impact of add-ons and third-party games, the exchange rate movement also had a positive impact (an increase of 278.9 billion yen due to the impact of foreign exchange). Operating profit increased by 16%, but decreased sales of first-party games due to increased hardware losses due to publicity and other issues.
- Sony's revenue for the new fiscal year is expected to fall by 2% (67.7 billion yen), in part due to lower hardware sales due to lower console sales. Operating profit is expected to increase by 7% due to lower console sales and lower hardware costs, and greater revenue from network services centered on PS Plus.
- In addition, as of May 5, 2024, the PS5/PC game Jedi Diver 2, which was released in February 2024, has sold more than 12 million copies. Not only is it already Sony's biggest PC game to date, but it also breaks the sales record set by God of War Ragnarok during the same period.
Herman Hurst & Hideaki Nishino are the new CEOs of SIE
Sony has announced that Herman Hurst and Hideaki Nishino will succeed Jim Lane as SIE's new CEO.
Helst will serve as CEO of SIE Studios Business Group, where he will be responsible for the multimedia development of PS's first-party studios and related PS IP.
Nishino will serve as the CEO of the SIE Platform Business Group, mainly responsible for the hardware, technology, peripherals, PSN, and third-party cooperation of game consoles.