Sony Reports Rising Profit as PS5 Sales Nears 100M Milestone Prior to GTA 6

Sony has wrapped up a solid financial quarter, and the PS5 sits at the center of it. This is the second quarter of the current fiscal year, which aligns with Nintendo's reporting period, so you can compare the two companies side by side.

The PS5 now stands at 97.9 million units sold. With the holiday quarter underway, it is expected to pass 100 million, a milestone the company aims for with every home console except the PS3. The release of GTA 6 is the main factor expected to carry it over that mark this season.

Last quarter, 2.6 million units were sold, which is nearly the same number the Switch 2 moved in the same period.

The PS5 is also priced high at this stage, starting at $600. Compared with the PS4 from each system's launch date, it trails by about 5 million units. It arrived during a supply shortage and a pandemic, and it has kept selling through price increases, so staying this close to the PS4 pace is notable.

That 2.6 million PS5 figure is down from roughly 4 million in the same quarter last year, a drop of about 35%. Even with that decline, operating profit rose 82% year over year. Context matters: last year's results included unusual write-downs, including a heavy asset impairment tied to Bungie, plus other added expenses. None of those appear this time, so the year-over-year profit comparison looks much stronger.

Monthly active users grew by almost 7% to a reported 127 million. The digital sales ratio is listed at 78%, although that number includes extra revenue sources beyond game sales. By that measure, the physical share is estimated to be close to 25%.

Even with those numbers on paper, Marvel's Wolverine's sales were hard to overlook. The game sold 2.4 million units in its first 50 days on sale. Its budget reportedly ran past $300 million, which puts that result below what the company would have expected, and it now needs a strong holiday run to make up ground. The game is already available, which gives it a head start.

Just under two and a half million copies after two months is lower than a budget of that size would have called for.

Marvel's Wolverine was the only title that received an updated sales figure. Everything else remains stuck on older numbers from years ago, since the company sticks to its standard practice of reporting launch figures only. Looking at the full fiscal year, Sony projects an operating profit of $4.42 billion.

That would top last year's result by 51% and would be the highest the company's gaming division has recorded. GTA 6 accounts for a large share of that outlook, and the company is also monetizing its user base more effectively than before. Based on the active user figures and the number of PS5 consoles sold, an estimated 25 million PS4 systems are still in use.

For reference, the XBOX Series install base is believed to be around 30 million, which means active PS4 hardware is close to matching it. That high-water mark for operating profit also leaves out God of War: Laufey, which was delayed out of this fiscal year. A base this large lets the company earn heavily from third-party releases, and GTA 6 is the clearest example.

The company also said it already has the memory allocation required for the rest of this fiscal year, which has caused some confusion.

Nintendo indicated it will not raise prices this fiscal year, as it needs the Switch 2 to keep selling and cannot keep increasing costs while expecting buyers to accept a $600 system. Sony's position differs, since the PS5 is nearing the end of its life cycle and subsidizing the hardware much longer may not be appealing.

With supply covered for now, a further PS5 price increase at some point next year remains possible. Questions remain around the handheld and the PS6, including what each will cost, and those details are expected to signal where the company goes next.

Most people who want a PS5 likely own one or have owned one already, so the upcoming launches matter more. The company said work on both continues, with deeper development and R&D spending planned for the next fiscal year.

The handheld is expected to come first. Pricing for the handheld and the PS6 will be the main thing to watch. For now, the PS5 is delivering strong profit, which is the business's main aim. GTA 6 arrives in just a couple of weeks, and its performance will shape how the rest of the fiscal year plays out, along with what comes with the PS6 era.