Sony: New PS Plus and Increased PS5 Shipments Will Help Offset Decline

Last week, Sony published its financial results for Q1 2022 reporting a notable decrease in software sales from first-party and third-party as well as the number of PlayStation Plus monthly active users. As a result, the company's operating income also significantly declined – by 37% compared to the same period in 2021.

During a recent financial call, Sony’s executive deputy president and chief financial officer Hiroki Totoki also noted that PlayStation users spent 15% less time on games in the quarter ending June 30, 2022 than in the same period a year earlier adding that this is a "much lower engagement level" than the company expected.

Totoki shared that Sony attributes these results to a normalization process that followed an enormous spike in levels of player activity caused by the pandemic.

"We believe the main reason for this is that the growth of the overall game market has recently decelerated as opportunities have increased for users to get out of home as COVID-19 infections have subsided in key markets," Totoki said.

According to Totoki, Sony intends to increase players' engagement in the second half of the year by promoting a new PS Plus subscription as well as increasing PS5 shipments. He also noted that the company has been able to resolve a number of issues that previously prevented it from supplying enough consoles to meet the demand.

PS Plus subscriptions were renewed in most key regions in July, and therefore this is not reflected in the company's latest financial report. The first results should appear in the next report that will be released in October.