Sony is already making money on the PlayStation 5
Sony has released its quarterly financial report, confirming in the process that the company is no longer selling PlayStation 5 hardware at a loss. That last bit of news came from Sony CFO Hiroki Totoki during the recent earnings call, per a Bloomberg report.
If the fact that Sony had actually been losing money on each PS5 surprises you, it’s not actually uncommon for hardware manufacturers to sell consoles for less than they cost to manufacture, and then make up the difference with games and services. In fact, Microsoft recently confirmed as part of the Apple-Epic lawsuit that it’s never made a profit on hardware sales for any Xbox generation. For the PS5 to reach profitability so early into its life cycle is certainly a strong sign for Sony.
Sales of the console also continue to move swiftly. From April 1st through June 30th of this year, the company shipped 2.3 million PlayStation 5s, bringing total worldwide sales to 10.1 million. Those strong sales make the PS5 the fastest-selling console in Sony’s history, and (at least check from tracking group NPD) the fastest-selling console in U.S. history from any manufacture—this in spite of the heavily constrained supply.
On that note, Sony says it’s already secured enough components to manufacture 12 million additional consoles during the current fiscal year. That figure means the console will be a bit easier to come by, but we’ll probably still see shortages into 2022.
Still, if you’re having a hard time finding a console, you can take solace in the fact that it still doesn’t have that many big exclusives you’re missing out on. With Horizon Forbidden West reportedly delayed into next year, picking one up in 2022 may work out fine after all.
