PS5 is the most profitable generation and PS4 still represents half of monthly users

Sony held a corporate strategy meeting during which Hideaki Nishino and Hermen Hulst, the new heads of the PlayStation business, spoke about the good health of this division. The numbers are clear and they say that PlayStation 5 is the most profitable generation to date, while PlayStation 4 continues to represent half of the players who turn on a console from the Japanese company every month.

Although PS5 arrived in stores in 2020 and its sales did not take off until the second year due to lack of stock, it is already the most profitable console in Sony’s history thanks to operating income of $10 billion, a figure that It surpasses PS4 ($9 billion) and the rest of the consoles combined (PSX, PS2 and PS3). In four years, PS5 has generated sales worth $106 billion and is on the verge of catching up with PS4, which took seven years to reach $107 billion.

Sony is interested in PS4 users making the jump to PS5, since according to their numbers these they spend more money. During the first four years of the console, the PS4 user recorded an average expenditure of $580, while the PS5 user raised that figure to $731, 26% more. The PS5 player buys fewer games, but spends 176% more on additional content, 57% more on services (PS Plus) and 34% more on peripherals.

All in all, PS4 remains a very popular console. So much so that of the 97 million active monthly users that PlayStation has, half are from PS4. Of course, not only do they spend less money than those on PS5, but they also play fewer hours. “The PS5 user base has continued to grow significantly, reaching half of our monthly active consoles,” says Hideaki Nishino. “Even though PS4 remains an important part of our business, PS5 players are more engaged than in the previous generation, and we expect this trend to continue.”

To date, PS5 has sold 59.3 million consoles, virtually the same as the 60 million that PS4 shipped during the same lifespan. Finally, Sony has detailed that PS Plus Extra (16%) and Premium (19%) subscribers represent 35% of the total, 5% more than a year ago.