No PlayStation games from existing major franchises will be released until March 2025 on Xbox
Sony has just released its financial results for the third fiscal quarter of 2023, which is an opportunity to learn more about PlayStation 5s sales numbers or Sony’s sales projections. The manufacturer also revealed that it expects a “gradual decline in unit sales from the next financial year”.
Sony expects PlayStation 5 sales to decline
During the quarter ending December 31, 2023, Sony set a new quarterly record for revenue, particularly as it sold a total of 54.7 million PlayStation 5s so far in 2020. However, the group admitted to having revised down its sales forecasts. current financial year, especially due to delays in relation to its initial objective.
Sony actually expected to sell a total of 25 million PlayStation 5s during the fiscal year ending in March 2024, but it only sold 8.2 million units during the last quarter, compared to a total of 16.4 million consoles sold during the current fiscal year. So Sony expects to fall short of its initial sales target of 4 million units, meaning the group now expects to sell 21 million consoles this fiscal year, up from 25 million initially.
Thus, Sony expects to reach a turnover of 210 billion yen for the Game and Network Services segment, in other words a decrease of 5% due to lower than initially expected PlayStation 5 sales.
In comments reported by VGC, Sony’s chief operating officer and financial director, Hiroki Totoki, provided some details.
Regarding the PS5 hardware, which will enter its fifth year after launch, especially as we enter the second half of the console cycle, we aim to optimize sales with a greater emphasis on balance with profit. So we expect a gradual decline in unit sales starting from the next financial year.
No PlayStation games from existing major franchises will be released until March 2025
The start of this second half of the console cycle is likely to be quiet in terms of first-party blockbusters on the PlayStation side, as Hiroki Totoki has also confirmed that no new titles from the current flagship franchise will see the light of day. Next financial year, in other words from April 2024 to March 2025.
When it comes to first-party software, we want to continue to focus on high-quality productions and live gaming. However, despite major projects currently in development, we do not expect new titles from major existing franchises such as God of War: Ragnarok and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 to be released in the next fiscal year.
However, be careful not to misinterpret his words, as this does not mean that Sony will not release games by March 2025. PlayStation has actually established a number of partnerships and notably Pacific Drive, Final Fantasy 7 will be released in the week following Rebirth. Rise of the Ronin or Blade of the Stars. Helldivers 2 has also just been released and is already enjoying definite success, as evidenced by the over one million sales milestone!
Concord, the first party game developed by Firewalk, is also planned for 2024, and Fairgame$ was announced by Haven, but we don’t yet know when it will be available.
It’s also funny to see that 2024 will be a slower year than others for PlayStation, while Xbox is preparing to drop big titles like Indiana Jones and the Ancient Circle, Avowed, or even Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2.
