Sony has reported a profit growth of $1.9 billion (KES 24.5 billion) for Q1 2024, up 10 percent year-over-year. This profit growth is attributed to the good performance of its gaming and music sections.
The gaming section sales growth is boosted by improved PlayStation Plus subscriptions. The Japanese company also sold more first-party games in the first quarter of the year compared to same period last year. Despite the overall strong sales numbers from PlayStation division, the PS5 console seems to be struggling.
The Sony console sold just 2.4 million units against a target of 3 million consoles. PS5 console sale numbers for Q1 2024 were down 27% year-on-year. In addition, it was a big drop from the 4.5 million units sold in Q4 of 2023 and even a bigger drop compared to Q3 numbers (8.2 million).
PS5 has been in the market for just about four years. However, it appears that its predecessor PS4 is still popular among gamers. Data from Sony shows that both the PS4 and PS5 currently have about 49 million monthly active users. That could be in part because the PS4 is still seeing plenty of software support well after the PS5’s release.
Since it was released 11 years ago, 117 million PS4 units have been sold to date. Data shows that about 42 percent of those sold units are still in active use. For comparison, about 56 million PS5 units have been sold so far, with 86 percent in active use.
In terms of active game play hours, the newer PS5 console takes a significant lead. PS5 owners have also spent more. On average, they have spent $731 each across games, services, peripherals, and add-on content. That’s up significantly from $580 in nominal spending from the average PS4 owner.
