Sony Interactive Entertainment experienced a significant financial loss of $9.3 billion during the last quarter, due to declining sales of the PlayStation 5, falling short of the company’s expectations, which budgeted that it would sell $25 million in its final year. of more units, but the figure stagnated at 21 million.
The situation caused a drop of up to 8.4% in the value of the shares of the company on the stock market. Added to this is the great impact caused by the announcement of the retirement of Jim Ryan, who for years was CEO of this division, and will now be replaced by Hiroki Totori.
According to a report by the American television network CNBC, one of the underlying causes of this financial setback for Sony is the reduction of operating margin in the video game businesswhich has fallen from 12 or 13% three years ago to 6% today.
Added to the crisis in sales is that for next year The launch of new titles from the most significant franchises is not expected of the Japanese technology company, as is the case of God of War, which could negatively influence future console sales.
In this context, Sony Interactive Entertainment is exploring new strategies to revitalize its marketincluding the ability to release exclusive games on other platforms and PC.
This initiative follows a similar trend announced by Phil Spencer, CEO of Xbox, as part of a strategy to diversify sources of income in the video game sector.
The company has several projects underway and it is anticipated that a more powerful version of the PS5 will be launched during 2024, known as PlayStation 5 Pro, which is expected to compete directly with Microsoft’s Xbox Series
And although it is budgeted to be launched on the market this year, Sony also hopes that it will pair up and generate a rebound in sales with the release of Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA VI) in 2025.
Another notable aspect is the success of Helldiver II on PS5 and PCwhich managed to attract 400,000 players simultaneously on Steam, an achievement that was not even achieved by GTA V in its best moments, a game that was initially released for PlayStation 3.
After an extensive 30-year career at Sony Interactive Entertainment, Jim Ryan said goodbye to his position as CEO of PlayStation, marked by a significant legacy in the video game industry.
During his tenure, Ryan was instrumental in the launch and development of key productsincluding the PlayStation 5. And in recognition of his contribution to the company, he was presented with a personalized PS5 with the design of the original PS1 in an intimate ceremony, although this exclusive model will not be for sale.
Jim Ryan took over as president five years ago, during which time he implemented significant changes. One of the most notable was the modification of the PlayStation Plus servicewhich began to offer three different subscription levels in response to competition from other services such as Xbox Game Pass.
These changes have generated divided opinions among consumers regarding the actual benefits between different subscription levels. Furthermore, under his management, a 20% increase was announced in the price of said service.
Among the most controversial aspects of its era are also the price adjustments made to products such as the PlayStation 5 which increased by 10% due to inflation and other economic factors. Added to this was the decision to increase the price of new generation games by 10 dollars, placing their cost at 70 dollars, which generated discontent among players.
