Sony Aims To Sell 15 Million PS5 Units This Year, but Is Shifting Focus to Monthly Active Users

ZehDon said:
PS5 is now roughly a million units behind PS4, launch aligned, and the PS5 has another price increase coming which will stall adoption even further. Without a good reversal - which would require cheaper hardware, which isn't coming, and lots of games that would entice the uncommitted, which Sony don't seem interested in making - Sony knows the PS5 likely won't match the PS4's install base, which would be a death sentence for investor profit forecasts.
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At some point in the future the DualSense patents will expire.
Between now and then PlayStation needs to get DualSense consoles into as many rooms in as many homes as possible.
The PS5 is multi-user console aimed at the big 4k TV in the living room and built around the idea of multiple users sharing a single device.
Normal adults and normal teenagers don't want to share a device, they don't want to share games and they don't want to share access to a TV.
People want to build their own library of games that they can enjoy on a console that's their own.
TVs are inexpensive and PlayStations will be better off as dedicated single-user devices attached to the smaller TVs in side rooms where access is generally less restricted.

Anyone who games on a PS2/1 after gaming on a PS5 with DualSense will notice 2 things that stand out: long PS2 load times and no DualSense feedback.
Sony can merge DualSense with the PS2 and the PSN to provide a less expensive console that gives users a new way to experience a massive library of their favorite PS2/1 games with reduced load times.
PS2/1 disk BC with existing games will sell the consoles.
BC PS2 disk games having long disk load times and lacking DualSense feedback will sell users new DualSense versions of their favorite games via PSN.
Digital PS2 games will load quickly from HDD/SSD while maintaining the PS2's ability to boot directly from new collectible PS2/1 disks that hold game install PKGs.
By opening up the DualSense PS2 and PS1 platforms to studios PlayStation can provide 2 much less expensive game development targets with one massive user base.
The new DualSense PS2 being BC with existing PS2/1 disks, memory cards and wired controllers means it will tack onto the existing PS2 console sales numbers.
 
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Didn't they overship heavily to the US market because of tarrifs? That in itself could have bumped last year's fiscal unit's by a million and take a million off the next year.
 
Kerotan said:
Didn't they overship heavily to the US market because of tarrifs? That in itself could have bumped last year's fiscal unit's by a million and take a million off the next year.
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Sony have own distribution centers where it accumulate consoles before selling to retailers.
And consoles stacked in these centers are not sold-in yet so they are not reflected as sales.
 
15m isnt too amazing but still pretty good, if they wanna make it happen w/o gta6 launch then definitely rising prices of hardware and games would be bad idea.
 
Cakeboxer said:
Sounds like more multiplatform publishing.
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Sounds like they realize it no longer makes sense to measure their user base by just ps5 owners. Generations aren't going to be a thing anymore.

It would be like Apple measuring their iPhone user base by only counting the most recent model sold.
 
Hudo said:
Tbh, Sony are their own worst competition at this point.
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PC is their main competetition, at least here in europe tons of former xbox bros(and i mean here true zealots who loved ms consoles even back in x360 times) are on pc, they either switched right of at the start of the gen or down the line when they noticed whats happening at xbox.
Cant really know how bad it is in the US but from what i remember u guys love consoles more compared to eurobros, hence my assumption is- switch to pc isnt as bad as its here yet :)
 
PeteBull said:
PC is their main competetition, at least here in europe tons of former xbox bros(and i mean here true zealots who loved ms consoles even back in x360 times) are on pc, they either switched right of at the start of the gen or down the line when they noticed whats happening at xbox.
Cant really know how bad it is in the US but from what i remember u guys love consoles more compared to eurobros, hence my assumption is- switch to pc isnt as bad as its here yet :)
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They keep publishing their shit on PC as well, I don't think they'd do that if they view PC as real competition. I am not an American, btw.
 
Topher said:
During the quarterly financial conference call, Sony CEO Hiroki Totoki and CFO Lin Tao talked about the state of the PlayStation business and the strategy and targets going forward.

Totoki-san mentioned during the livestreamed presentation that the PlayStation business is doing "extremely well." The expansion of PS5, both in the number of active users and in spend per user, is "is "expected to continue and drive steady profit."

Looking ahead, Sony seeks to capitalize on its momentum to drive "stable, profitable growth" and "invest thoughtfully to create the future of play."

Sony expects to see stable growth in revenue of profits for the network business due to the growth of monthly users corresponding to the further expansion of the PS5 installed base.

Specifically, the company expects higher revenue and profits from PlayStation Plus and aims to maximize ARPU (average revenue per user) of the PlayStation Store through personalization and pricing optimization.



Tao mentioned that during the past 14 quarters, monthly active users for PlayStation have always been increasing year-on-year. PS4 continues to be used actively, and that's a pretty conspicuous difference from previous generational shifts.

As the installed base of PS5 continues to increase, the transition from PS4 to PS5 will continue to happen, on top of the influx of many new users. That's why Tao is confident that monthly active users will continue to increase even if PS5 sales may slow down.

She also added that in the current fiscal year (between April 2025 and March 2026), Sony expects to ship 15 million PS5 units, which would bring the total lifetime sales for the console as of March 31, 2026, to 92.7 million units.

That being said, she cautioned that this prediction isn't set in stone because there is a lot of uncertainty in the market environment, including the tariffs.

As such, rather than looking at unit sales as a key metric, the company wants to look at the entire market and have a flexible approach to shipments. To a further question, Tao mentioned that the focus has shifted from PS5 units sold to monthly active users, which she indicated as a "major change in policy."

Focusing on engagement and monthly active users rather than units sold is leading to profitability.



simulationdaily.com

Sony Aims To Sell 15 Million PS5 Units This Year, but Is Shifting Focus to Monthly Active Users - Simulation Daily

Sony CEO Hiroki Totoki and CFO Lin Tao talked about the state of the PlayStation business and the strategy and targets going forward.
simulationdaily.com simulationdaily.com
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Booooooh!
 
EN250 said:
'member when people laughed at MS for doing this shit? Guess now it's OK for some reason... 🤦‍♂️
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Nah, it is still shit regardless of who does it (it is admitting your sales are not as exciting as you wanted them to be… they may not be bad but they are not what investors that demand growth at all costs forever want to see)… please stop with this victim complex.
 
I would have thought PS5 was like 5m+ behind PS4 launch aligned. Surprised its only 1m or so considering it not only never had a price cut but increased in price instead and was near impossible to buy for it's first 2 years on the market.
 
That sound like MS strategy some years ago. For that end they created gamepass and day-one release on PC for their own games. It worked to increase MAU for some time... until it didn't. It's a short term strategy doomed to fail.
 
Little Chicken said:
You okay GHG GHG ???????

Not Funny Wow GIF by Bounce
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Why are you even asking this?

I log on to gaf and see mentions from you and DenchDeckard DenchDeckard in two different threads where Sony have just announced good results and are on course to comfortably cross 100m sales for the console.

Meanwhile you guys are prepping to move to "Xbox PC". As much as you wish it were the case, we are not the same.
 
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GHG said:
Why are you even asking this?

I log on to gaf and see mentions from you and DenchDeckard DenchDeckard in two different threads where Sony have just announced good results and are on course to comfortably cross 100m sales for the console.

Meanwhile you guys are prepping to move to "Xbox PC". As much as you wish it were the case, we are not the same.
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Ah cmon dude, You're awesome but nothing wrong with a little friendly jab hoping you would call out Sony fans, but we know that wont happen ;)
 
DenchDeckard said:
Ah cmon dude, You're awesome but nothing wrong with a little friendly jab hoping you would call out Sony fans, but we know that wont happen ;)
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I asked you in the other thread so I'll ask again - for what?

They just exceeded their 18 million forcast by half a million.

Here was Topher Topher saying it was doable:

pnOqLRD.jpeg


But on the other hand LordOcidax LordOcidax thought it was "impossible".

wO4VPR9.jpeg


Are these the kind of "receipts" you wanted, or something else?
 
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TheGodfather07 said:
He forgot that sony will not be hiding console sales data like Microsoft did. Big difference.
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It just doesn't matter anymore now that they have the whole market to themselves. I will literally stop caring until someone else launch a new console to compete. Sony's goal now is maximize efficiency for every customer. They could have cut costs to get more people to buy, but now the goal is to make more profits and selling consoles is only a part of that.
 
Topher said:
Think that was when they started including MAUs in financial reports, but not necessarily as an indication of overall performance. They are calling this a "major change in policy". Hopefully they will continue to report console numbers though.
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KPIs will likely be re-weighted after this announcement.
 
Their hardware is down 11% this quarter, will be the same if not more next quarter with no games coming and no GTA this year.

MAU is the way forward as long as revenue climbs for Sony that's the number 1 goal even has hardware slows.
 
DeltaPolarBear said:
It just doesn't matter anymore now that they have the whole market to themselves. I will literally stop caring until someone else launch a new console to compete. Sony's goal now is maximize efficiency for every customer. They could have cut costs to get more people to buy, but now the goal is to make more profits and selling consoles is only a part of that.
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This is kinda bad though. It means more expensive everything to extract from the existing consumer base....
 
They've won the console war and PS5 will comfortably surpass 100 million and surpass PS4, so it's only natural that they'll focus on other metrics as well.
 
DenchDeckard said:
MAUs are now awesome!
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and hardware, software sales and services as well, that you will continue to see in plain sight with every quarterly financial report. Whereas MS : This random month this particular game has been played 10 million hours!
 
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"Focusing on engagement and monthly active users rather than units sold is leading to profitability."

This is super interesting.
 
DenchDeckard said:
"Focusing on engagement and monthly active users rather than units sold is leading to profitability."

This is super interesting.
Click to expand...

How so?

Software is where the margins are. But the catch is, in order to access those margins a prerequisite is that you have to sell hardware.
 
Yeah well that metric at this house has fallen into the toilet. 90 dollars CAD a game. A parade of remasters. I'm always hopeful for a surprise but otherwise I'll see you in May 2026.
 
DenchDeckard said:
"Focusing on engagement and monthly active users rather than units sold is leading to profitability."

This is super interesting.
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A turned-off console vs an active player who buy games at a regular pace, of course the second one is the more profitable one.

I am guilty of that, I was the first one up until September last year, when I got the Portal and started to buy a lot of PS5 games
 
GHG said:
Why are you even asking this?

I log on to gaf and see mentions from you and DenchDeckard DenchDeckard in two different threads where Sony have just announced good results and are on course to comfortably cross 100m sales for the console.

Meanwhile you guys are prepping to move to "Xbox PC". As much as you wish it were the case, we are not the same.
Click to expand...
I was just concerned in your absence you had met with some sort of freak hubris-induced accident, habibi.
 
ZehDon said:
PS5 is now roughly a million units behind PS4, launch aligned, and the PS5 has another price increase coming which will stall adoption even further. Without a good reversal - which would require cheaper hardware, which isn't coming, and lots of games that would entice the uncommitted, which Sony don't seem interested in making - Sony knows the PS5 likely won't match the PS4's install base, which would be a death sentence for investor profit forecasts. Changing focus to MAU shifts the investor mentality; ROI isn't about selling hardware, it's about user engagement. Microsoft did the same thing for the same reasons. The rest of your post is irrelevant; Sony would have done this during the PS4 era if their internals projected an install base retraction, just like Microsoft did it when they saw their own retraction during the Xbone era.
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Gta 6 & xbox wavin the flag alone is enough for the ps5 to surpass the ps4 total
 
QLQ said:
Agree. Also MAU also goes more in line with Sony's multiplatform incursion, since they have gamers engaged in their games on other devices besides their own hardware.
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It could also be them bracing for PS6 gen; if they plan on continuing their multiplatform strategy as-is or become more aggressive with the frequency and timing of non-GAAS ports of AAA titles to PC (Spiderman 2 was the quickest so far, just 15 months), then they have to know this will have a negative effect on early adoption of new generation hardware. They have to finally be acknowledging that overlap between console & PC gamers is much higher than it was 10 years ago, and platforms like PC are proving more effective as indirect competitors than Xbox has proven as a direct competitor for the past 10 years.

Yet, because SIE want big growth in markets like China, where PC dominates, they probably want to continue with their PC porting strategy, but for whatever reason never just...made that a regional effort vs. pushing for global PC support? I really don't understand why they did it this way (and inviting all the problems it has) vs. just focusing on Chinese region-locked Steam ports if that was the case.

And like others have already said, shifting to a heightened focus on MAU means they're looking into more multiplatform and GAAS content as a whole. So expect more legacy releases on other platforms (maybe even Xbox) through Bandai-Namco, and we'll probably hear about 3 or 4 new GAAS announcements before getting another single-player AAA reveal or even an update on Cory Balrog's game, or Wolverine.

This is just where I'm at with SIE today; I haven't completely shut out the chance of them making what I'd call (and have outlined in the past) much better decisions long-term, but my belief of that happening is marginal at best. Maybe they'll surprise me in a good way, but I'm not counting on it.

ZehDon said:
They have about the same level of competition as the PlayStation 2 era. Which is when they decided the PlayStation 3 was a good idea.
Click to expand...

But the PS3 WAS a good idea, a great idea even. Technologically speaking it was well ahead of 360 and Wii, and Sony had arguably their most innovative & biggest revolution in 1P output that generation. That benefited the platform (eventually) and the industry.

PS3's problem was pricing and early messaging around that pricing, plus also not having the most robust SDK early on. Which made programming for it a challenge, versus 360 where development was relatively simple. Basically PS3 went through a similar arc the Saturn did; 1P were among the first to start truly leveraging the hardware effectively. Unlike Saturn, PS3 was commercially relevant enough for 3P to stick around, so eventually the advances 1P made would benefit 3P devs in the latter years of that gen. Which is why even some 3P titles (like GTA5) looked and ran better on PS3, let alone 1P putting out games well beyond any 360 title visually in the latter PS3 years.

Compared to today's environment, I wish we had another PS3 in terms of tech innovation & general quality of AAA releases along with a still-healthy AA market on the whole, plus free online and genuinely cool features (PS Home, MAG, etc.).

QLQ said:
Thankfully that's not the case for Playstation, as they don't have zero competition.
Click to expand...

Well they don't have any real direct competition anymore, but they do have Nintendo & PC (Steam, specifically) as indirect competition. I'm a bit mum on Switch 2's specs if the OS allocation for CPU cores & RAM are true because that obviously cuts into potential game performance, but Nintendo is doing all the right moves when it comes to prioritizing 1P exclusives, netting some 3P exclusives and tightening relations with big (mainly Japanese from looks of it) 3P as well.

And Valve are making good steps forward with getting OEMs on Steam Deck, growing support for Steam OS, and seems they're cooking up more games under development these days too between Deadlocked and Half-Life 3. Now I just want to seem them successfully bring back Steam Machines (or something similar to that); hopefully Steam OS gets a full distro by later in the year because I am dreading having to upgrade my laptop to Windows 11 if I can in any away avoid that nightmare.

Klosshufvud said:
Maximum Revenue Per User - I absolutely do feel like a wallet waiting to be exploited every time I boot up my PS5. They really want to squeeze the last tiny cent from us.

It's night and day compared to using Steam. The latter feels like made for my needs, the former feels like made for Sony shareholder needs.
Click to expand...

That's what happens when one's a privately-owned company (Valve) and the other is public (Sony). The former doesn't have to appease greedy shareholders and CEOs looking to fatten their own pockets, or appease various interests groups. They just need to (theoretically) make enough to provide livable salaries for their employees, and they typically don't need to employ a shit-ton of people for potentially various redundancy roles.

But the thing is Sony & SIE/PlayStation have always been public, yet it wasn't like this during PS1 - PS4 gens. Some will argue it was with PS3, but at least that didn't get price increases over time, and had tech which genuinely justified the price, even compared to higher-end PCs of the era (try finding a 2007 high-end PC with a Blu-Ray ROM drive fitted in that wasn't going for $3K at least). I genuinely think those eras of PlayStation being mainly helmed by Japanese types who weren't strictly from a finance background, made a big difference.

Plus, with PS1 they were out to prove themselves in the market, so they were very hungry to compete. With PS2 they wanted to prove PS1 wasn't a fluke. With PS3 they aimed very high for performance but got aloof along the way, humbled by 360, and had to build their way back up. With PS4 they had to finish the recovery PS3 started near the end of its lifecycle, and prove that wasn't just a fluke. I don't think PS5 had any of that type of motivation outside of maybe the very beginning, and when they were under threat of losing Zenimax & ABK long-term, they focused doubling-down on GAAS investments. But by that point, SIE was mainly under Western management, which became focused on chasing profit at all costs.

Sigh...
 
thicc_girls_are_teh_best said:
It could also be them bracing for PS6 gen; if they plan on continuing their multiplatform strategy as-is or become more aggressive with the frequency and timing of non-GAAS ports of AAA titles to PC (Spiderman 2 was the quickest so far, just 15 months), then they have to know this will have a negative effect on early adoption of new generation hardware. They have to finally be acknowledging that overlap between console & PC gamers is much higher than it was 10 years ago, and platforms like PC are proving more effective as indirect competitors than Xbox has proven as a direct competitor for the past 10 years.

Yet, because SIE want big growth in markets like China, where PC dominates, they probably want to continue with their PC porting strategy, but for whatever reason never just...made that a regional effort vs. pushing for global PC support? I really don't understand why they did it this way (and inviting all the problems it has) vs. just focusing on Chinese region-locked Steam ports if that was the case.

And like others have already said, shifting to a heightened focus on MAU means they're looking into more multiplatform and GAAS content as a whole. So expect more legacy releases on other platforms (maybe even Xbox) through Bandai-Namco, and we'll probably hear about 3 or 4 new GAAS announcements before getting another single-player AAA reveal or even an update on Cory Balrog's game, or Wolverine.

This is just where I'm at with SIE today; I haven't completely shut out the chance of them making what I'd call (and have outlined in the past) much better decisions long-term, but my belief of that happening is marginal at best. Maybe they'll surprise me in a good way, but I'm not counting on it.



But the PS3 WAS a good idea, a great idea even. Technologically speaking it was well ahead of 360 and Wii, and Sony had arguably their most innovative & biggest revolution in 1P output that generation. That benefited the platform (eventually) and the industry.

PS3's problem was pricing and early messaging around that pricing, plus also not having the most robust SDK early on. Which made programming for it a challenge, versus 360 where development was relatively simple. Basically PS3 went through a similar arc the Saturn did; 1P were among the first to start truly leveraging the hardware effectively. Unlike Saturn, PS3 was commercially relevant enough for 3P to stick around, so eventually the advances 1P made would benefit 3P devs in the latter years of that gen. Which is why even some 3P titles (like GTA5) looked and ran better on PS3, let alone 1P putting out games well beyond any 360 title visually in the latter PS3 years.

Compared to today's environment, I wish we had another PS3 in terms of tech innovation & general quality of AAA releases along with a still-healthy AA market on the whole, plus free online and genuinely cool features (PS Home, MAG, etc.).



Well they don't have any real direct competition anymore, but they do have Nintendo & PC (Steam, specifically) as indirect competition. I'm a bit mum on Switch 2's specs if the OS allocation for CPU cores & RAM are true because that obviously cuts into potential game performance, but Nintendo is doing all the right moves when it comes to prioritizing 1P exclusives, netting some 3P exclusives and tightening relations with big (mainly Japanese from looks of it) 3P as well.

And Valve are making good steps forward with getting OEMs on Steam Deck, growing support for Steam OS, and seems they're cooking up more games under development these days too between Deadlocked and Half-Life 3. Now I just want to seem them successfully bring back Steam Machines (or something similar to that); hopefully Steam OS gets a full distro by later in the year because I am dreading having to upgrade my laptop to Windows 11 if I can in any away avoid that nightmare.



That's what happens when one's a privately-owned company (Valve) and the other is public (Sony). The former doesn't have to appease greedy shareholders and CEOs looking to fatten their own pockets, or appease various interests groups. They just need to (theoretically) make enough to provide livable salaries for their employees, and they typically don't need to employ a shit-ton of people for potentially various redundancy roles.

But the thing is Sony & SIE/PlayStation have always been public, yet it wasn't like this during PS1 - PS4 gens. Some will argue it was with PS3, but at least that didn't get price increases over time, and had tech which genuinely justified the price, even compared to higher-end PCs of the era (try finding a 2007 high-end PC with a Blu-Ray ROM drive fitted in that wasn't going for $3K at least). I genuinely think those eras of PlayStation being mainly helmed by Japanese types who weren't strictly from a finance background, made a big difference.

Plus, with PS1 they were out to prove themselves in the market, so they were very hungry to compete. With PS2 they wanted to prove PS1 wasn't a fluke. With PS3 they aimed very high for performance but got aloof along the way, humbled by 360, and had to build their way back up. With PS4 they had to finish the recovery PS3 started near the end of its lifecycle, and prove that wasn't just a fluke. I don't think PS5 had any of that type of motivation outside of maybe the very beginning, and when they were under threat of losing Zenimax & ABK long-term, they focused doubling-down on GAAS investments. But by that point, SIE was mainly under Western management, which became focused on chasing profit at all costs.

Sigh...
Click to expand...
Great insights, but that was so long you're asking for chatgpt to reply to that lol.
 
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