-Secured the necessary chips to hit PS5 shipment targets (22.6M sold by March 2022)-First party games from April-June exceeded expectations-On acquisitions: Accelerating investments to strengthen production capabilities More: https://t.co/AhOrYRoeFw pic.twitter.com/PghOSqMeMe — Shinobi602 (@shinobi602) August 4, 2021
14.8 million PS5 units sold by the end of the fiscal year
One of the more notable bits of information stated during the conference call was Sony’s sales target for the PlayStation 5 by the end of the fiscal year. In the transcript, Sony’s sales target was mentioned at 14.8 million, which the company felt confident in hitting. An earlier report stated that the PlayStation 5 has already shipped 10.1 million units worldwide, and if the trend continues Sony will not have any trouble hitting their target sometime in the near future. Just for the three months ending on June 30, PlayStation 5 units hit 2.3 million sold, a significant number for the company.
Sales of first-party titles ‘exceeded expectations’
The conference call transcript also made mention of the PlayStation 5’s first-party game sales within Q1 of the 2021 fiscal year, which included notable titles like Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and MLB The Show 21. While overall, first-party sales were lower compared to last year’s, the sales still exceeded Sony’s expectations. It’s worth noting that during the same fiscal quarter last year, Sony released The Last of Us Part 2 for the PlayStation 4, one of their most notable titles in their flagship series. Strong add-on and DLC sales for MLB The Show 21 also contributed to their sales and profit during Q1, Sony notes. There was also a brief mention of Sony’s continued plans to widen their reach outside of PlayStation consoles and cross over to the PC space; the PC versions of Horizon: Zero Dawn and Days Gone were met with success on PC, while MLB The Show 21 was the latest to garner such success.
Strengthening their first-party arm
The last topic on Sony’s PS5 agendas within the conference call was pertaining to their software development plans in the future. Currently, Sony Interactive Worldwide has 17 studios under their banner, all working on developing the first-party titles for PlayStation. The transcript mentioned that PlayStation Studios is accelerating investment to increase that number and produce more first-party titles for the brand. Earlier this June, Housemarque was acquired by Sony. Housemarque is a Finnish studio, and they are best known for developing Returnal, a PlayStation exclusive. This July also saw Sony’s acquisition of Nixxes, a Dutch development studio. Nixxes is Sony’s go-to for all things port-related, and the studio has helped bring some PlayStation titles to PC. Sony ends their discussion on the gaming division with a promise to develop more IP in the future for the PlayStation 5 and further generation of consoles.
