In Sony’s IR Day 2017 presentation today, they revealed that there were more than 70 million monthly active PlayStation Network users at the end of Fiscal Year 2016 (ended March 31, 2017). By comparison, Microsoft reported 52 million monthly active Xbox Live users across Xbox and PC during their latest quarter.
Also in Sony’s slideshow, they said there were 26.4 million paid PlayStation Plus subscribers at the end of 2016, which is up from 20.8 million at the end of 2015. For the end of 2017, they hope to grow this number.
As part of their strategy for this fiscal year (ending March 31, 2018), Sony wants to “maximize profit during the “harvest” period” in the PlayStation 4 ecosystem, “further expand PS VR as a game and entertainment medium, incubate new content ecosytem,” deliver the best-in-class viewing experience in the OTT TV market with PlayStation Vue, and develop a new audience by creating a new mobile content opportunity in the Japan/Asia region.
To maximize their PS4 profit, Sony hopes to get sales up to 78 million by the end of this fiscal year, enhance the game lineup (Uncharted: The Lost Legacy and Gran Turismo Sport were the two games mentioned), and grow the PS+ paid user base.
To expand PSVR as a game and entertainment medium, Sony will enhance the PS4 Pro compatibility and games lineup. For new content, they want to expand the VR lineup to movies and music, and start initiatives in location-based entertainment.
