Sony reveals it has sold 76 million PlayStation 4s, but sales are slowing

[midian182]

In its full-year financial results for 2017, Sony revealed that it had sold 76.1 million PlayStation 4 consoles since its launch in 2013. 19 million of these came in the last fiscal year, but sales are beginning to slow.

In the 2016 fiscal year, Sony sold 20 million PS4s. After selling 19 million in 2017, the company expects to shift another 16 million during the current financial year, which ends in March 2019—all of which indicates that sales have peaked and are now declining. What that also means, however, is that the console looks set to overtake the PlayStation 3’s lifetime sales of just over 80 million units sometime this year.

Sony is unlikely to be too concerned by this, as the company’s PlayStation business continues to grow. Its Game & Network Services segment brought in 17.8 percent more revenue compared to the previous year, reaching sales of $17.7 billion, while operating income also increased, up 30.8 percent to $1.6 billion. Sony forecasts a decrease in revenue this year due to falling hardware sales but predicts a 7 percent increase in profit thanks to more people buying games and taking out PlayStation Plus subscriptions.

Even with fewer people buying PlayStation 4s, selling 16 million units this year would still put it above the Nintendo Switch, which saw 15.05 million units sold in 2017.

With the PlayStation 4’s sales on a downward trajectory, the big question now is when we’ll see the PlayStation 5. Dev kits are reportedly already in the hands of developers, and rumored specs have leaked online, but it will likely be a couple more years before the next-gen console arrives.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/74354-sony-reveals-has-sold-76-million-playstation-4s.html

 

[Uncle Al]

I'd love to wring the neck of the ***** that proposed that "slowing sales" equates to a reason to drop a product line. The bottom line is that if the cover all expenses and actually generate a profit, it is a worthy business. Incredible growth cannot be sustained in any industry. Sales can be inspired and increase because of creativity and modifications that improve the product. Have the business schools forgotten this? I often refer to the old Yiddish saying "some money is better than no money" and it still applies today. Ford may be learning that lesson in the next production year when they drop their entire auto line except for the Mustang. The Tarsus is still one of the prefered mid-size cars for fleets, both private and public and they are just tossing it aside ...... foolish, foolish little boys masquerading as Captains of Industry........

 

[ZackL04]

Sales slow as they fill the market, my ps4 has been bulletproof. Why would I keep buying a new one?

 

[davislane1]

I'd love to wring the neck of the ***** that proposed that "slowing sales" equates to a reason to drop a product line. The bottom line is that if the cover all expenses and actually generate a profit, it is a worthy business.

No, it isn't. To be a worthy business a product has to be sufficiently lucrative over the long run compared to alternative options. If you can make 5% margin on A and sales slow, but you can do 3% on B with enthusiastic demand, you drop the A and sell B.

 

[Fobus]

I'd love to wring the neck of the ***** that proposed that "slowing sales" equates to a reason to drop a product line. The bottom line is that if the cover all expenses and actually generate a profit, it is a worthy business. Incredible growth cannot be sustained in any industry. Sales can be inspired and increase because of creativity and modifications that improve the product. Have the business schools forgotten this? I often refer to the old Yiddish saying "some money is better than no money" and it still applies today. Ford may be learning that lesson in the next production year when they drop their entire auto line except for the Mustang. The Tarsus is still one of the prefered mid-size cars for fleets, both private and public and they are just tossing it aside ...... foolish, foolish little boys masquerading as Captains of Industry........

Nonsense. Sales are slowing now. Imagine that they will be a couple of years down the line. So if you are not already developing a successor, you will be caught flatfooted when sales truly fall. And we all know it takes years to develop next gen. Your view is so myopic.

 

[Scshadow]

I am not ready for a PS5. We need better games, not better consoles. Its so sad to see a push for the PS5 already.

 

[davislane1]

I am not ready for a PS5. We need better games, not better consoles. Its so sad to see a push for the PS5 already.

Better games ain't gonna happen. Not on console, anyways.

I'll gladly pick up a PS5 if they can manage 1080p/60. Biggest reason my PS4 has been collecting dust is because going from 100hz to 30hz is painful.

 

[Dimensive]

79 million...

 

[amghwk]

The same story with PC's graphics cards... games are ...meh... but graphics cards keep getting more powerful for no reason...