Since its release in 2020, Sony’s PlayStation 5 grew notorious to many for its limited stock due to its high demand and console scalpers. Luckily after two years, the third quarter of 2022 has been called the best yet for the Playstation 5 since its end on December 31st. In its recent financial results announcement, Sony revealed that the PS5 saw around 7.1 million consoles sold during the third quarter, with a total of 13 million consoles sold in the first three quarters of 2022. This is a 34% increase in sales from the year before and is considered to be the best in the PS5’s history.
Sony’s Game & Network Services saw a 53% year-on-year increase at 1246.5 billion yen in sales while operating income came in at 116 billion yen. Outside of hardware, most of that increase came at the sale of first-party games. It’s clear that Sony is beginning to make up for the previous shortage plaguing the console in its early years.
PlayStation Plus saw a slight increase from 45.5 million to 46.6 million users. While it hasn’t reached its former peak at 48 million users, its monthly active users grew to 112 million. PS Plus revenue has also increased for a second consecutive quarter, probably thanks to subscribers of higher-tier PS Plus plans.
Compared to Microsoft, Sony’s earnings have far exceeded expectations considering the current climate within the tech industry. That isn’t to say Sony hasn’t been affected by the aftershocks the Covid-19 pandemic caused, but it has managed to hold its ground into the new year. Because of this, Sony’s expectations for the final and fourth quarter have risen accordingly. Since Sony’s annual target is set at 19 million, the company would need to reach 6.2 million consoles by March, according to Video Games Chronicle (VGC).