Sony has sold more than 4.5 million PlayStation 5s since the console’s launch on November 12 through the end of the year, but has suffered losses from these sales because the PS5’s “strategic price” is less than the cost of manufacture.
The disclosure was part of Sony’s quarterly investor report, delivered in Japan earlier today. Losses on PS5 sales were not specifically divided – and were part of a general segment of gaming and network services that saw a 26.7 billion yen ($ 2.5 billion) increase in operating revenue over the same quarter. 2019.
Sony’s PlayStation revenue from game sales (PS4 and PS5, including additional content) and higher profit margins on the outgoing PlayStation 4 more than offset any drop, the company said.
In comparison, the PlayStation 4 sold more than 4.2 million units since its launch in November 2013 until the end of that year. The company said in November that the new PlayStation 5 is facing “unprecedented” demand, making its availability scarce, although more PS5s are available, in whole numbers, than its predecessor. Microsoft’s Xbox Series X faced the same problem, with the company’s chief financial officer telling investors in November that the lack of consoles could last until April.
Bloomberg reported as early as February 2020 that scarce components brought the cost of making the PlayStation 5 to $ 450. Analyst Michael Pachter, in an interview in October, speculated that Sony would tie with the $ 499 PlayStation 5, but it would lose money on the $ 399 Digital Edition, which has no optical disc drive.
In another part of Sony’s financial report, the company increased its sales and operating revenue forecasts for the PlayStation division during the fiscal year ending in March. Sony now expects another 30 billion yen ($ 285 million) in sales from its gaming and network services segment, and an additional 40 billion yen ($ 380 million) in operating revenue for the year.
Sony also reported a PlayStation Plus subscriber base of 47.4 million users, with 114 million active monthly service users at the end of the year.