But what’s going on with the PS5? No in-house video games before 2025, consoles at end of cycle, estimated 10 billion loss in stock market. We take stock!

Game news But what’s going on with the PS5? No in-house video games before 2025, consoles at end of cycle, estimated 10 billion loss in stock market. We take stock!

If mid-February was marked by Xbox’s new strategic choices, on the PlayStation side, things are also shaking up – and not necessarily in a good way! As we can learn from the results of the third quarter of FY 2023, The PS5 may not reach the target of 25 million units sold in the current fiscal year (which ends next month). The latest news is that this fiscal year, Sony has “only” sold 16 million copies of its console… so the ambition has been lowered. The Japanese company now plans to deliver 21 million before March 2024.

Check out the PS5 Slim on Amazon

A trend that PlayStation is implementing for the coming months of the PS5… The manufacturer, in fact, plans to “gradually reduce sales” of the machine from the next fiscal year (from April 2024 to March 2025) while still “balancing with profits Emphasis on “. For good reason, as Sony notes: the home console will soon enter its 5th year of marketing and “Another part of its life cycle”, which has also been described as his “final step”. What’s more, the company doesn’t plan to release any major games like Marvel Spider-Man 2 or God of War Ragnarok until at least April 2025. In short, there is nothing to reassure observers. As a result, Sony’s stock price fell by $10 billion (calculated CNBC).

Red Alert on Sony?

So, is it all a disaster on PlayStation? Well, not really. First of all, you should know that 2023 was the biggest year for PS5. From January | Last December, Machine sold 22.7 million copies worldwide… an increase of 53% compared to the same period in 2022. “This is the best year in PlayStation history since 24.2 million PS2s in 2002”, notes Oscar Lemaire – Prominent analyst among industry players. “PS5 helped by catch-up effect after two-year shortage”. On the selling side of the game? This is a “very high level”.

Where the problem lies is that there is no performance in the last quarter of 2023 (Christmas, always very important). “Only” 8.2 million PS5 found buyers there while at the same stage, PS4 earned 9.7 million – reports Oscar Lemer… Overall, moreover, although the new PlayStation achieved the biggest console of all time (albeit hampered by shortages) is and continues to show strong sales today, Compared to the PS4, we’re a bit behind. If the PS5 shows about 55 million units sold at the end of 2023, that is to say a little more than three years of its marketing, its older sister has exceeded 57 million in the same period.

When it comes to nothing

In short, no one died, but failure to achieve its objectives was never welcomed with open arms (hence the stock market decline). Overall, Sony seems to have looked a bit too broad for its home consoles in 2023-2024, inspired by the previous fiscal year (2022-2023) ending up with 19 million PS5s instead of the 19 million initially planned! This time, we’ll go back for 25 million, which doesn’t mean the 21 million from the previous month will fall out of nowhere. We’re still talking a little less than 5 million copies in three months… Overall: There is a form of urgency, forcing Sony to deploy discounts to stay on track. At the end of February, for example, the PS5 Slim Standard Edition – with disc reader – is 10% off (-€75) on Amazon.

A discount doesn’t necessarily send the right message. If PlayStation reaches 21 million PS5s in March with a lot of declines, ultimately margins and profits will inevitably be lower! Later, thank you for collecting the money hardwareit is Peanuts Dealing with the real problem of the matter: selling services and games. This is clearly “where the money is”. And this last model (the console as a flagship product to sell exclusives) is still very much present on the PlayStation, even if it is bound to evolve… except that this strategy also has its limits.

The pinnacle of a model

Because of the missed objectives at the end of its life and beyond all this story of the PS5 (which by the way does not exclude the arrival of the Pro model), Analysts surveyed by CNBC are worried about something else: Sony’s gaming margins, i.e. the difference between production cost and purchase price. According to American media, this margin was 6% last December (compared to 9% in December 2022 and 12-13% at the beginning of the same year). If CNBC sources are to be believed, this index will be at its lowest level in “a decade”. You’ll see the reason coming: the production costs of games, which have exploded in recent years. According to KotakuSpider-Man 2 is $300 million.

Sony’s financial director Hiroki Totoki | PlayStation’s interim president (following the departure of Jim Ryan), is considering… In a question-and-answer session held after the company’s results announcement, the man says he wants to be “aggressive” to improve margins. PS5 games. “If you have first party content (not only on our consoles but also on other media, such as PC) It can be developed on multiple platformsand this can help improve profits,” he says. A route taken by Helldivers 2, a new service game published by PlayStation and simultaneously released on PS5-Steam. It recorded a peak of 400,000 simultaneous players on the Valve Store. , which is a record for a Sony title on PC.

Even if the long-term success of Helldivers 2 is not yet certain, the popularity of PC gaming is heading in the right direction for the Japanese company! As a reminder, PlayStation plans to release six service games by 2025-2026. A way to increase production costs – with experiments designed to bring in money in the long run (Fortnite). We are undoubtedly starting a new strategy for SonyThose who have to move away from the exclusionary model at all costs.