TOKYO: Sony shipped 3.3 million PlayStation 4 consoles over the last three months, due to the company’s Game & Network Services current revenues jumped by 84 per cent consequently.
Overall the division made the equivalent of £.17 billion in sales during the last three months and ended up making a £122 million profit – despite being £23 million in the red at the same time last year.
Sony also shipped 800,000 PlayStation 3 consoles during the same period, plus a combined 700,000 of the PS Vita, PlayStation TV, and PSP. That’s 100,000 less than last year though, despite the launch of the PlayStation TV.
In general though it’s all good news in terms of gaming, which is no surprise as the PlayStation 4 has sold more than twice that of the Xbox One, at over 12 million consoles worldwide, despite both coming out at the same time.
The problem though is that Sony as a whole made a massive £764 million loss over the same period, and is predicted to make a staggering £1.2 billion loss over the whole year.
So while video game-related revenues are exceeding expectations much of the rest of the company is still struggling, particularly the smart phone division, which made a loss of £961 million.
Gaming isn’t Sony’s only profitable business, its image sensor division made even more than games, but the company clearly still has major problems. Although the good news for gamers is that the continued success of the PlayStation brand will ensure games remain a key focus for Sony.