Sony today reported earnings for the quarter ended September 30, and among the notable takeaways for gaming is the fact that the PlayStation 4 has now shipped 67.5 million units worldwide. Sony shipped 4.2 million units during the quarter to boost the new total to that figure. 4.2 million is up from the 3.9 million units that Sony shipped during the same period a year prior, so the business is growing.
It's the highest quarterly shipment figure for PS4 since the holiday period last year, when Sony shipped 9.7 million units. Last quarter, shipments stood at 63.3 million units.
This slide also shows that Sony is now predicting to ship 19 million PS4 units by the conclusion of its current fiscal year, ending March 31, 2018. This is up from the previous forecast of 18 million. Whatever the case, this is down compared to last fiscal year, when Sony shipped 20 million systems.
Sony's Game & Network Services division, which houses the PlayStation business, saw its sales rise 35.4 percent year-over-year to ¥433.2 billion. Sony attributed the uptick in sales primarily to stronger PS4 game sales, including digital, as well as the uptick in PS4 hardware sales. Operating income for the division came in at ¥54.8 billion, up by a significant ¥35.8 billion compared to the same quarter a year prior.
"This significant increase was primarily due to the above-mentioned increase in sales, partially offset by an increase in selling, general and administrative expenses. During the current quarter, there was a ¥3.1 billion positive impact from foreign exchange rate fluctuations," Sony said.
When looking at all of Sony's various divisions together, the company had a strong quarter, with sales rising 22.1 percent and operating income jumping by a massive 346.4 percent. Check out the chart below to see a further breakdown of Sony's earnings. Sony was not the only big game company to announce earnings today. Nintendo did as well, reporting strong surges in revenue and profit, while also stating that the Switch will outsell the Wii U after just one year on the market. Electronic Arts will report earnings later today, October 31, so keep checking back for more.
