Sony launches PS5, will it reach more than 7.6 million units in the first year-end sales season is the key? Bloomberg

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On the 12th, Sony released a new “PlayStation (PS) 5” gaming machine.Microsoft’s new “Xbox” and “Atsumare Animal Forest” are popular and strongAs competition with Nintendo’s “Switch” is expected to intensify, sales momentum in the first year, including the end-of-year sales season, will be the key to future earnings.

At the financial results briefing on October 28, Sony CFO Hiroki Toki (CFO) achieved sales of more than 7.6 million units of PS5 in the first year of PS4 in the current fiscal year (which ends March 2021). It is said to aim. The feature of PS5 is that you can enjoy more immersive games with visual, auditory and tactile sensations. You can continue playing the PS4 software.

PS5According to the official blog, the release date was sold out with reservation. There are already signs of popularity, such as a string of out-of-stocks on mail-order sites and noticeable transactions on frima sites at several times the list price. Sony blogged on the 10thFull comment! It was posted.

Masahiro Wakasugi, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence (BI), said: “After the second year of launch, we will be out of the situation where hardware costs are falling and we will enter the earnings expansion phase.” Assuming shipments of 7.6 million units, if the number of paying members and the number of downloads per person increase by approximately 13%, it is possible to cover the shortfall at the gross profit stage.

Sony expects gaming business operating income for the current fiscal year to increase 26% year-on-year to 300 billion yen, driven by demand for nesting due to the spread of the new corona virus infection. , while the semiconductor business is expected to cut profits by almost 70%It was a factor in the upward revision. In the future, the problem will be how to transfer the earnings from PS4 to PS5.

Kenji Fukuyama, an analyst at UBS Securities, is paying attention to the trend of “high-margin bonus content and services for paying members.” Takao Suzuki, an analyst at Daiwa Securities, said timing to profit depends on the software line, but the market is not worried. BI’s Mr. Wakasugi believes that there is a possibility that “at the peak of the PS5 cycle, it will exceed the past profit peak.”

End of year sales

For Sony, the end-of-the-year sales season will be a stepping stone to whether or not to outperform the PS4’s first-year sales. Microsoft Xbox, which just launched on the 10th and has the same price range as PS5, and Nintendo’s earnings even three and a half years after launch.Bump into the switch you are pushing up. Competitive Gamers are smartphone apps and online games that can be played on PC.

Sony steps in with software like the latest “Spider-Man” work, which is popular on PS4 too. Nintendo aims to increase demand with the latest works in the Super Mario series. Microsoft is also focusing on distributing cloud-like games that can be played on PCs and smartphones without Xbox.

BI’s Mr. Wakasugi discusses that for Sony to be successful in selling PS5 in the year-end sales season, it is important to attract with leading software and “how to supply the hardware” that users want. Daiwa Securities’ Mr. Suzuki believes Nintendo will strengthen switch sales and Xbox will strengthen efforts that emphasize “achieving their own plans,” such as expanding paid members.

From SonyOn the 12th, the stock price continued to grow to 9,215 yen, 1.9% more than the previous day, and has been trading at the highest level in about 19 years since mid-2001.

(Added Sony Stock Trends)