“PS5 is the most successful generation in PlayStation history,” says Sony’s CEO, but most of us would disagree

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The video game console world is seeing some big changes. Microsoft recently announced it’s moving away from making games only available on its own consoles, as that strategy isn’t proving successful. Sony released a new version of the PS5 without a disc drive, and despite having fewer exclusive games than usual this generation, they’re still calling it PlayStation’s most successful console era yet.

PS5 – profits up, games down

Geoff Keighley reported on X today that Sony’s CEO, Hideaki Nishino, is highlighting the PS5’s success over past PlayStation consoles. Many people, including myself, suspect there are underlying factors contributing to this success that Sony isn’t openly discussing.

Okay, so I was looking at this graph about PlayStation’s earnings, and it wasn’t super clear where all that $136 billion in just four years actually *came* from. Sony actually showed this data back in June, bragging it was their most profitable generation ever. Basically, the big money isn’t from game sales alone – it’s mostly from digital content and PlayStation Plus subscriptions. Plus, you have to remember that prices have changed a *lot* over the last 30 years, so comparing how much the PS2 made at launch to the PS5 now? It’s not really a fair comparison, honestly.

Sony recently increased the price of its consoles in the US, citing economic difficulties, and they predict next year’s earnings could surpass the last two years. However, a bigger concern is the decreasing number of games being developed by Sony’s internal studios. While this doesn’t bother me personally – I already have too many games to play – it’s definitely something to note.

It’s interesting how their biggest failure of the last ten years, the Concord project, didn’t seem to affect their overall earnings. It’s possible Sony offset that loss by canceling other projects and reducing their workforce.

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2025-09-25 16:32