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Sony Corp is seeing “very substantial” demand for its PlayStation 5 (PS5) console through pre-orders, its head of games said, as the tech firm aims for the top spot in the race to take advantage of growth in sales. games globally with the device on November 12. launching.
FILE PHOTO: The Sony PlayStation logo is displayed at the Tokyo Game Show 2019 in Chiba, east of Tokyo, Japan on September 12, 2019. REUTERS / Issei Kato / File Photo
TOKYO: Sony Corp is seeing “very substantial” demand for its PlayStation 5 (PS5) console through pre-orders, its head of games said, as the tech firm targets first position in the race to take advantage of growth. of games worldwide with nov. 12 launch.
Sony sold as many PS5 consoles in the first 12 hours in the United States as it did in the first 12 weeks for its predecessor PlayStation 4 device, Jim Ryan, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, said in an interview.
“The demand expressed by the preorder level has been very, very considerable,” Ryan told Reuters.
Sony has sold more than 100 million PS4 units and aims to persuade its user base to upgrade to the new device to play titles like “Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales” with improved graphics, sound and commentary via a new controller.
The launch of the PS5 comes amid the COVID-19 pandemic that has fueled gaming companies, but has also disrupted retail networks, game development, and manufacturing supply chains around the world.
“It’s very possible that not everyone who wants to buy a PS5 on launch day will be able to find one,” Ryan said, adding that the company is “working as hard as we can” to secure supply for year-end purchases. season.
Sony is expected to report increasing quarterly gaming earnings on Thursday as PS4 users switch to higher-margin downloads, and the PS5 is forecast to be the first next-gen device not to push the gaming division into an annual loss in its year of release.
Sony has created a network of in-house studios producing exclusive titles, including Sucker Punch Productions’ “Ghost of Tsushima,” to fend off rivals like Microsoft’s Xbox and new entrants, many of whom have struggled.
“AAA game development is an incredibly complicated and difficult thing to do,” Ryan said, using an industry term for big-budget games. Sony had “learned many lessons over many years” that helped secure the PS5 launch lineup, he added.
Sony plans to increase its studio capacity organically, but “where we can strengthen our internal capacity with targeted M&A that might be possible,” Ryan said.
Analysts wonder how far the expansion of gaming driven by consumers stuck at home will continue in the long run.
Ryan said it would be up to Sony to push that commitment forward.
“We definitely look up and think we can do better than we think we can,” Ryan said.
Industry insiders are warning about the impact of the pandemic on game development in its early stages.
“Initial concerns about the impact on the 2021 and 2022 roster were really legitimate, but they have probably now eased a bit,” Ryan said.
Sony shares have gained 45% from March lows. Its shares rose as much as 1.4% on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Sam Nussey and Noriyuki Hirata; Additional reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Stephen Coates)
