Sony closed 2020 with 4.5 million PS5 consoles sold and revenue growing 40%

Although profits have also risen by 50%, Sony indicates, however, that the costs associated with the launch of the PS5 have reduced part of the value. The company also confirms that the hardware itself is being sold at a lower price than its manufacturing costs.

Despite all the difficulties related to the lack of stock, Sony reveals in its most recent financial report, for the last three months of 2020, that it sold 4.5 million PlayStation 5 consoles, the same number of PS4 sold in the same period. of 2013.

According to the data provided, revenues from the Japanese manufacturer's gaming business amounted to the US $ 8.43 billion, an increase of 40% over the same period last year. Regarding the profit of Sony's video game division, the figure grew by 50%, now standing at $ 763.3 million.

Credit: Sony

According to Sony, the costs associated with launching the PS5 have reduced part of its profit. The company also confirms that the console hardware itself is being sold at a lower price than its manufacturing costs.

Although the company has managed to sell a large number of units of its next-generation console, the same has not happened with PlayStation 4, whose demand has been declining. In the quarter in question, Sony sold 1.4 million PS4 consoles, a decrease of 77% over the same period last year.

Altogether, the number of active PlayStation Network users has reached 114 million. The number of subscribers to the PS Plus service “jumped” from 38.8 million in the same period to 47.7 million.

Recently, other video game giants have made known how their business went in the last three months of 2020. Although it did not give concrete figures, Microsoft indicated that Xbox revenue increased 40% due to the launch of the new generation of Xbox Series X | S consoles.

Nintendo sold 11.57 million units of the Nintendo Switch system in the same period. In all, during the first nine months of its fiscal year, the manufacturer sold 24.1 million units. In view of the good results, the company increased its forecasts for the fourth quarter, which ends at the end of March 2021. The forecast is now 26.5 million units sold, an increase from the 24 million initially anticipated.