Sony The ridiculous profit that PlayStation makes for every console it sells
Sony Upcoming releases for PS5
A priori, the latest balance released by Sony on PlayStation sales invites optimism: it
has sold more than 7.8 million consoles
since it went on sale on November 19 and has closed its fiscal with
profits of 3,140 million dollars
. A sales figure that also exceeds by 200,000 units the 7.6 million units that its predecessor, the PS4, had sold between its launch and March 31, 2014.
However, more than 4 months after its launch, the four main
problems and doubts surrounding the launch of the PS5 seem to have become chronic
: the demand for the PlayStation 5 continues to exceed its supply, Sony (as well as many other technology companies) It is facing
production problems
due to component shortages, its competitors are outpacing it in some of its major markets, and the console lacks great exclusive titles.
Some problems that, in a way, are alleviated thanks to the
spectacular growth of PlayStation Plus
(its
subscription
payment system
), which has experienced a significant year-on-year increase of 14.7% reaching 47.6 million subscribers throughout the world.
Consoles, gateway to fixed expenses
As we already explained in this article, the large console manufacturers such as Sony
work with slim profit margins as a result of the sale of these devices during the first months / years after their launch
. That is, during the first months or years that a console like the new PlayStation 5 hits the market,
the manufacturer does not make a profit from the sale of this product itself
. However, the sale of a PS5 is the gateway (or loyalty for users who previously had a PS4) to a series of
fixed expenses
(payment of subscriptions such as PlayStation Plus) and
eventual
(purchase of physical games, controllers and other peripherals) where they have a higher profit margin,
from which they really get money.
The maneuver of placing as many PS5s in homes around the world in the shortest time possible is a challenge with a view to maximizing the long-term profit that
Sony faces with two tough competitors: Microsoft and Nintendo.
In this sense, the PlayStation 5 has seen the first red lines in the North American market.
So far in 2021,
the Nintendo Switch has become the best-selling console in the US
, ahead even of the PS5, according to data from the NPD.
PS5 demand outstrips supply
Nintendo's advance to Sony in the North American market is closely related to another of the most serious problems that threaten the
PlayStation 5: a demand that exceeds supply
.
An expression of the world of economics that means that it is extremely difficult to get hold of a console in a physical or virtual store in important markets such as Europe and North America. In fact, on the websites of large stores that sell hundreds of these products (such as El Corte Inglés or Media Markt) we find the
label "Temporarily
sold out
"
when trying to buy the latest Sony console.
The underlying problem, as recognized by Sony itself, is a
shortage of chips and semiconductors that, in addition to the production of PlayStation 5
, affect its rival Xbox, graphics cards, the production of CPUs for computers and even to car assembly lines in Spain. The readjustment of the production of this component -which to make matters worse costs close to one euro, as explained by Bloomberg in this article- has no prospect of solving in the short term, so it is a problem with which sectors such as the automotive and the technology
will still have to grapple for a while
.
However, the horizon also holds good news for the PS5 and it is although little by little, the exclusive games for this platform, although little by little, will be arriving during the coming weeks and months.
Returnal is scheduled to launch on April 30 and DeathLoop will do the same on May 21.
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