Sony Interactive Entertainment hosted its Game and Network Services Segment last night where the company shared a range of new details on its current sales and future plans across the board. CEO Jim Ryan opened the segment with an update on PS5 console sales in the United States. Ryan revealed that PlayStation 5 consoles sold almost 1,000 units every minute at the end of the Sony fiscal year in 2021. PS4 consoles sold six units per minute during the same duration of its lifecycle back in the day.
Ryan says that this equals to 80,000 PS5 console sales in 82 minutes whereas PS4 console sales only hit 80,000 within nine days. Jim Ryan touched on the console supply issues facing the PS5. He claims that supply issues are Sony’s top priority at this stage. The PS5 undersold the PS4 in its second year due to supply issues as Sony cannot produce the console fast enough to meet the demand of consumers.
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Ryan says that the projected sales for the PS5 are expected to overtake the PS4 once again in its fourth year. This means the PS5 stock constraints won’t end this year. However, Sony expects more console stock issues to ease starting in 2023.
When chatting about the PS VR2, Jim Ryan confirmed that Sony will launch the hardware with 20-plus major first-party and third-party titles. One of which is the Horizon: Call of the Mountain. The VR device is expected to launch this year but Sony has yet to share details on the hardware’s rollout plan.
Sony then went on to chat about its current live service, merger and acquisitions. Sony says the purchase of Bungie helps bring live service expertise to the PlayStation Studios family. Bungie will help build new live service experiences for PlayStation fans as Sony looks to develop a range of titles and operate out of a separate division.
Sony also says that Bungie is going to benefit from the sale too. The studio will be able to leverage the Sony Interactive Entertainment publishing platform and use the PlayStation Studios brand. Sony also provides Bungie with a range of support through administrative tools such as legal, finance, HR and more.
As for PC sales, Sony says releasing its games on PC has done very well. Horizon Zero Dawn surpassed 2.3 million copies sold on PC. God of War is shy of 1 million at 970k and Days Gone is sitting high up there too at 852k.
Lastly, Sony is still investing heavily in its mobile gaming division. The company plans to partner with “respected, established, and successful” mobile developers to extend its franchises to more players. The company also plans on investing in its own mobile studios in the coming months.
Sony did not comment on the ongoing PlayStation Plus rollout at all during its meeting. The company didn’t touch on anything regarding online gaming or the new service which is expected to release in June. You can read the full presentation here.
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