Sony has recently begun to sell the PlayStation 5 Pro (PS5 Pro) openly, after showcasing the console in mid-September. To put it simply, the PS5 Pro is no longer facing the stock problems that affected the PS5 during its early years. Nevertheless, the rise in availability of consoles like the PS5 Slim (curr. $449.99 on Amazon) has not led to better sales numbers.
Sales Fluctuations
In fact, Sony has announced a notable decline in PS5 hardware sales when compared year-on-year. As per Tom Warren from The Verge, hardware sales reached 4.9 million in the second quarter of Sony's prior financial year. Following that, it managed to sell 8.2 million units in the third quarter before falling back to 4.5 million units in Q4.
Recent Performance
In stark contrast, Sony reported that it sold 2.4 million PS5 units in the first quarter of FY24, indicating a 27% decrease from the previous year. Although the company has shown better performance in Q2, its hardware sales remain 22% below the figures from 2023. Overall, expectations are that Q3 will be a stronger quarter, especially with the addition of PS5 Pro sales.
Game Sales Growth
On the other hand, game sales have surged by 28% during the same timeframe. Additionally, the number of active PlayStation Network users has climbed by over 8%, increasing from 107 million to 116 million. However, it's important to note that this number is still below the 123 million monthly active users that Sony reported in Q3 FY2023.
Sony via Tom Warren, Tamara Bitter (Unsplash) - Image credits
