PS5 Shipped 4.5 Million Units in 2020; PS4 Is Now at 115 Million Units

Today Sony announced its financial results for the third quarter of the fiscal year 2020, which relates to the period between Oct. 1, and Dec. 31, 2020.

First of all, we get an update on PS5 and PS4 units shipped during the latest quarter.

4.5 million PS5 and 1.4 million PS4 units were purchased by retailers worldwide, which means that the grand total for PS4 as of Dec. 31 is at 115 million units.

Below you can check out an overview of the performance of the Game & Network Services business (which includes both PlayStation and PlayStation Network). 

We learn that sales (251.1 billion yen, which is a record for PlayStation) were up 40% year-on-year due to increases in software and add-on content sales and hardware sales due to the PS5 launch.

Profits have also grown significantly year-on-year due to the increase in game software sales, PlayStation Plus sales, and higher profit margins on PS4 hardware, partly offset by expenses created by the release of PS5, and the fact that the new console is sold at a loss.

The forecast for the full fiscal year has been adjusted upward due to higher-than-expected sales of software, network services, and peripherals on the revenue side. Growth on the profit side is expected to be generated by higher-than-expected software and network services sales and cost reductions.

Additional documentation about the gaming business’ performance reveals that the PlayStation Plus subscriber total was at 47.4 million as of December 31. On the other hand, PlayStation Network had 114 million monthly active users.

Speaking of Sony as a whole, all income numbers are in the black, showing year-on-year growth for both revenue and profit.

If you’d like to compare, you can read our dedicated article about the previous financial results announced in October.