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Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Sony lowered its expected PlayStation 5 sales for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, from a 25 million-unit target to around 21 million after quarterly sales fell short of the pace required. It also reduced its PlayStation segment revenue forecast by ¥210 billion, but left its operating-income forecast unchanged. Sony later reported 20.8 million PS5 units sold for FY2023.
What did Sony change in its PS5 sales forecast?
On February 14, 2024, Sony said it expected to sell around 21 million PS5 units in FY2023, which ended March 31, 2024. The revised expectation followed a prior annual shipment target of 25 million. Sony CFO Hiroki Totoki said in the company’s February 14 earnings announcement speech transcript: “Based on the results for this quarter, PS5 unit sales for this fiscal year are expected to be around 21 million units.” That was a forecast, not the final count.
Sony’s FY2023 third-quarter materials reported 8.2 million PS5 hardware units sold during the quarter. Although it was then a record quarterly result for PS5, the company said the pace was insufficient to meet the 25 million annual target. The earnings presentation gives the quarterly result and revised outlook in context: Sony’s Q3 FY2023 Consolidated Financial Results.
Did Sony cut its PlayStation revenue forecast?
Yes. Sony lowered its Games & Network Services (G&NS) segment sales forecast from ¥4.36 trillion to ¥4.15 trillion, a ¥210 billion, or 5%, reduction. This is a segment revenue estimate, not a forecast of console units. Sony said lower hardware sales, driven by lower unit volume, were the main reason for the revision; foreign-exchange effects and higher third-party software sales partly offset the reduction.
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| FY2023 measure | Before revision | After revision | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| PS5 unit sales | 25 million-unit annual shipment target | Around 21 million expected | Lowered expectation; unit forecast, not segment revenue |
| G&NS segment sales | ¥4.36 trillion | ¥4.15 trillion | Down ¥210 billion, or 5% |
| G&NS operating income | ¥270 billion | ¥270 billion | Unchanged |
| G&NS adjusted OIBDA | ¥385 billion | ¥385 billion | Unchanged |
The forecast figures and Sony’s explanation are from its FY2023 Q3 earnings presentation. Operating income and adjusted OIBDA are distinct profitability measures; neither is the same as segment sales.
Why did lower PS5 sales not lower the profit forecast?
Sony described opposing effects. Promotions contributed to weaker PS5 hardware profitability, while stronger sales of non-first-party games, including add-on content, helped offset those hardware losses. That mix allowed Sony to lower its revenue estimate while keeping the G&NS operating-income forecast at ¥270 billion and adjusted OIBDA at ¥385 billion.
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The quarter’s results showed the same tension: G&NS sales increased 16% year over year to ¥1.4444 trillion, while segment operating income fell ¥30.1 billion year over year to ¥86.1 billion. Sony attributed the profit decline primarily to worse PS5 hardware profitability, mainly from promotions, and lower first-party title sales; foreign exchange and third-party software sales provided partial offsets. These are company-reported segment figures for FY2023 Q3, not console-only results.
What were Sony’s final FY2023 PS5 sales?
Sony Interactive Entertainment later reported 20.8 million PS5 hardware units sold in FY2023. That company-reported sell-in actual was close to the February forecast of around 21 million, and 4.2 million below the original 25 million target. Sony’s official hardware sales table records the later fiscal-year totals as well.
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| Fiscal period | PS5 hardware units | How to read the figure |
|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | 20.8 million | Reported sell-in actual |
| FY2024 | 18.5 million | Reported sell-in actual |
| FY2025 | 16.0 million | Reported sell-in actual |
| FY2026 Q1 | 1.6 million | Partial-year sell-in; not a full fiscal-year total |
These are Sony Interactive Entertainment’s reported hardware sell-in figures, not consumer sell-through totals. FY2026 Q1 is only one quarter and should not be read as comparable to the full-year entries. The table was available as of October 8, 2026.
Did the forecast cut mean PlayStation engagement had collapsed?
No. Sony’s February 2024 earnings transcript reported 123 million PlayStation monthly active users in December 2023 and a 13% year-over-year increase in total game-play time during FY2023 Q3. Those company-reported engagement measures do not change the lower console-sales forecast, but they show why hardware unit sales alone do not describe activity across the PlayStation business.
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How does the 2024 cut differ from Sony’s current forecast?
The 2021? No—the 2024 revision applied specifically to FY2023, which ended March 31, 2024. It should not be confused with Sony’s separate FY2026 outlook. In May 2026, Sony forecast G&NS sales of ¥4.42 trillion and operating income of ¥600 billion for FY2026, saying its PS5 hardware sales assumption depended on how much memory it could procure at reasonable prices. In July 2026, Sony raised those FY2026 forecasts to ¥4.54 trillion in sales and ¥660 billion in operating income, and said it had secured enough memory to meet projected PS5 sales volume; it still expected hardware profitability to be similar to FY2025.
Those later outlooks reflect different forecast conditions and are not revisions to the 2024 FY2023 estimate. The May outlook is in Sony’s FY2025 earnings speech transcript; the July revision is in its FY2026 Q1 results presentation filed on Form 6-K.
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