Sony Group Corp. says it intends to increase production on its PlayStation 5 as the supply chain accelerates, signaling a rapid expansion of its gaming portfolio to include several PC and mobile titles.
Launched in November 2020, the PS5 sold less than its predecessor in the second year due to component shortages plaguing the electronics sector. However, the hole is expected to close in the third year and reach the installed base on the PS4 next year.
In addition to the initial increase, “we are planning an extra large increase in console production that will bring us to production levels we have never achieved before,” said Sony Ryan, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment.
While COVID-19 closures continue to create uncertainty in the supply chain, “things are definitely evolving,” he added. Sony predicts PS5 sales of 18 million units in the business year by the end of March, compared to 11.5 million a year earlier.
Ryan describes moving to PlayStation to stop focusing on single player games exclusively on his platform, Ryan said that in addition to live gaming services, more PCs and mobile titles will be offered and will provide continuously updated gaming.
While PS4 and PS5 titles are expected to account for more than two-thirds of launches this year, PC and mobile titles will account for nearly half of new games by 2025.
“Initiatives to expand our audience … have a major impact on the design of our gaming portfolio,” Ryan said.
Thanks to this innovation, PlayStation wants to continue the changing industry, which sees cloud technology and increased computing power of smartphones, which frees users from a large amount of hardware and a lot of money spent on free online titles for players.
Amid much speculation that metaversion or the idea that users will spend more time in simulated environments will change the industry’s industry models, Ryan said many consumers will continue to gamble as before. “There are many, many individual players who want to enjoy the games as if they have been playing them for the last 30 years or so,” he said.
