Sony Group expects sales revenue to reach ¥12.3 trillion ($78.6 billion) in the year through March 2025, missing analyst expectations for sales of ¥12.55 trillion, amid waning demand for its PlayStation 5 game console.
Sony is predicting a ¥67.7 billion decline in the video game business, reflecting an aging hardware lineup. The company’s executives have said that the console, released in 2020, is now on the downslope of hardware sales, setting the stage for a potential updated edition for this year's holiday period.
Sony sold 4.5 million PS5 consoles in the March quarter. Active users on its PlayStation Network declined to 118 million in the period. PlayStation 5 exclusives, such as Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, have not performed well in recent times, discouraging publishers such as Square Enix — which owns the Final Fantasy franchise — from locking their content down on a single platform.