Sony Sells 185 Million PS5 Units in FY 2024 Analysts Say GTA 6 Delay to Impact Sales in 2025
Sony’s future looks fuzzy: US tariffs cast a long shadow, dimming hopes for profit growth and leaving investors wanting more.
Sony would be taking a $700 million hit from US tariffs that affected its business, keeping its operating profits for the year ending March at the expected ¥1.28 trillion (roughly Rs. 74,353 crore). Without the tariffs in place, the expected operating profits would have been far below the analysts’ consensus of ¥1.5 trillion (around Rs. 87,126 crore) and would have been the exact number from last year, signaling a possible plateau for the tech behemoth.
Sony, going big and going bold while feeling adventurous, will buy shares to the tune of ¥250 billion (beyond Rs. 14,521 crore!). But wait, there’s more to the story: the next chapter will witness Sony spinning off its financial arm. September 29 is the D-day for that newly independent financial entity. Starting this quarter, Sony shall account for the financial operation as a discontinued business, hence unshackling itself to focus solely on its core competencies.
Sony’s stock price surged up to 4.5% with the rumors of a strategic shift. It seems Japan’s corporate giants, previously chastised for their gargantuan cash treasure, are now under severe pressure to unlock value. The answer is aggressive buybacks en route to a new era of capital efficiency and shareholder strategies.
Sony revised and recorded its Q1 numbers, and they’re splendid. It has defied expectations to generate operating income of over JPY 203.7 billion (approximately Rs. 11,836 crore). What is responsible for generating this kind of wealth? Undoubtedly, it is the PlayStation 5. Last year, 20.8 million units were sold, but up until March of this year, Sony already sold 18.5 million consoles, and the PS5 is showing no signs of slowing down.
In welcome-to-the-job challenges, Hiroki Totoki was entrusted with leading the entertainment giant through a trade war maze. With the US leading sales of PlayStation 5, and consoles largely made in China, Totoki must tread with care. Last month’s price hikes in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand have caused much speculation: Could US gamers be made to suffer the same way should these tariffs be called the permanent remain? The fate of the world’s largest market for Sony’s flagship console now rests on Totoki’s sharp strategic navigation.
In the five years of hardware operation of PlayStation, winds seem to be blowing against it. This price increase, in any case, can and probably will be a stopper for momentum, more so considering that Nintendo is set to release a Switch 2 this June. Staying on the higher and somewhat discouraging tone is the delay of Rockstar’s mega blockbuster, Grand Theft Auto VI, which casts a sombre shadow over this fiscal year’s sales forecast for the PlayStation.
“The PS5 has taken a punch to the stomach. In fact, there’s been the opinion that the delay in GTA VI is not a mere setback but the possibility of a knockout-blow. Cole felt the title was the killer app, the must-have experience that finally would have gotten holdouts on PS4 to go ahead and shell out for the newest Sony console.”
Further than PlayStation, the giants of Sony are facing headwinds. The crystal ball for their image sensor business, a solid component of portable gadgets churning out handsets from Apple to Xiaomi, is clouded by tariffs threatening to cripple the US handset market. But the hardening plot: President Trump is mulling tariffs on foreign-made films right when Sony’s anime ventures, led by blockbusters in the “Demon Slayer” series, are gaining higher monetary traction globally. Easy money is about to end.
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