The entertainment conglomerate is looking for a strong
performance from the PS5, which is in its fourth year on the market, during the
holiday shopping season to hit its sales target of a record 25 million units in
the current financial year ending March 31.
"Given the momentum we've had in November and a lot of
what we're seeing in December, just in general we're feeling very good about
sales overall," said Eric Lempel, senior vice president for global
marketing, sales and business operations at Sony Interactive Entertainment.
Sony's games business was its largest unit by sales and the
second-biggest contributor to operating profit after music in the last
financial year.
Management comments in August that PS5 sales had been weaker
than expected led to jitters among investors. Sony has said its 25 million unit
goal is a "high target and not within easy reach", with the company
looking to strike a good balance between sales volumes and profitability.
"We've done some good promotions this year. I will say
we've done fewer promotions at this stage of the lifecycle than we ever have in
the history of the company," Lempel said in an interview.
PS5 sales were hampered by supply chain snarls earlier in
its lifecycle. Those have eased, with it now gaining tailwinds including the
Oct. 20 launch of critically acclaimed game "Marvel's Spider-Man 2".
The Japanese company, which is known for single-player
games, is making a push into live-service titles, which offer continuous online
play.
Sony's Naughty Dog last week said it has cancelled an online
game from its "The Last of Us" franchise, saying releasing it would
have hit development of single-player titles.
The company's sales push comes as the industry debates the
future for consoles as advances in cloud technology promise gaming untethered
from bulky hardware.
For now, consoles continue to draw gamers, with Nintendo's
(7974.T) ageing Switch getting a boost this year from the launch of games such
as its latest "Zelda" title.
Upcoming PlayStation titles include "The Last of Us
Part II Remastered", which launches in January, and limited-time exclusive
"Final Fantasy VII Rebirth" in February.
"We are still pushing really hard and I think we will have a record-breaking year no matter where we end up," Lempel said. Reuters
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