PS5 sales reach 21.7 million, but software sales plummet

Sony sold 2.4 million PS5 consoles last quarter, but software sales are down 26%

(Credit: Photo by Olly Curtis/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

➡️ The Shortcut Skinny

• 📈 Lifetime PS5 sales have now reached 21.7 million

• 🆙 Sony sold 2.4 million PS5 consoles, up 4% from last quarter

• 🔻 Software sales fell by 26%, but 79% of game sales were digital

• 📉 Sony has revised its profit forecast down by 16%

• 🥅 The company aims to ship 18 million PS5 consoles this financial year

Sony has announced its financial results for the first quarter of the fiscal year (April 1 to June 30, 2022), and even though PS5 console sales are up, there was a sharp decline in software sales. As a result, Sony has revised its profit forecast down by 16%.

The Japanese company managed to ship another 2.4 million PS5 consoles, up 4% from the previous quarter, which means that as of June 30, 2022, the PlayStation 5 has shipped 21.7 million units (purchased by retailers).

However, Sony predicted it would sell 18 million PS5 consoles for its 2022 financial year, which means it’ll need to average more than five million PS5 shipments per quarter for the rest of the financial year if it’s to hit that target. The company also refused to rule out a PS5 price increase.

Despite the console closing in on its second anniversary, the PS5 is still in short supply and in high demand. Our PS5 restock page has helped thousands of people secure Sony’s elusive console, but the ongoing stock shortages are clearly impacting Sony’s bottom line.

In an investor call today, Sony CFO Hiroki Totoki addressed the supply issues, saying:

“Supply has not been sufficient... demand has not gone down. We really need to meet the demand, that is the important thing to do.”

What will be more concerning for Sony is that software sales fell 26%. The company blamed a lack of big PlayStation titles in 2022 compared to 2021 on the slump. Still, we’ve seen the release of Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection, Horizon Forbidden West, and Gran Turismo 7, as well as third-party hits like Elden Ring.

• 📅 What’s coming to PS5 next? Check out our PS5 2022 games list

Monthly active PlayStation Network users also fell by 3%, but PlayStation Plus subscribers slightly increased from 46.3 million to 47.3 million. It’s unclear whether this will jump dramatically now that Sony has revamped the service with its PlayStation Plus Premium and Extra offerings. (You can save $18 with this PlayStation Plus discount code.)

One fascinating statistic from Sony’s financial results is that 79% of PlayStation game sales were digital. That’s up 11% compared to last year and shows that consumers appear to be happy to ditch the disc drive when it comes to PS5 disc vs PS5 Digital Edition.

Sony predicts another fall in games sales next quarter and the cost of its recent $3.7 billion acquisition of Destiny 2 creator, Bungie.

🎮 It’s all about the games

(Credit: Photo by Phil Barker/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

Like Sony, Microsoft reported a decline in gaming revenue, but while Microsoft saw a drop of 11% in hardware sales, Sony at least managed to sell more PS5 consoles than before. It seems extremely unlikely that the Japanese company will ship 18 million units as predicted — especially if supply issues persist — but the more immediate concern will be to address the steep decline in software sales.

• 🆚 Can’t decide? Check out our PS5 vs Xbox Series X comparison

Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo make the most profit on software and subscriptions, with hardware often sold at a loss — at least in the early years of a console being on sale. With God of War Ragnarok and The Last of Us Part 1 due in September and November, Sony will be hoping it has a strong holiday period to make up for the recent decline.