Sony posted stellar financial results yesterday for the first quarter of the fiscal year, driven by its PlayStation business. But while the company saw a 9.3 percent increase in income from network services like PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now, there was a significant decline in PS Plus subscriptions.
In a webcast (transcribed the Video Games Chronicle) following the publication of the report, Sony’s chief financial officer Hiroki Totoki said that there was an unprecedented increase in PS Plus subscriptions last year due to worldwide lockdowns stemming from the pandemic. As a result, the dip in the last two quarters isn’t something the company is concerned about at present.
“Of course, 104 million is not a strong number, but are we looking at it as a declining trend? We don’t think so,” Totoki said. “We are trying to analyze different elements, but there are no conspicuous trends that we can capture. Maybe this month or next month we will have to continue to watch and do an analysis.”
He reiterated this point, later adding that “last year the stay-at-home demand was so significant in hindsight, so compared to that period last year as a trend of course [it’s declined]. [But] compared to fiscal 2019 there is an increase.”
“So, we will monitor the situation carefully and we will deepen the engagement and enhance the platform, therefore during the coming fiscal year we will take actions to support this business,” Totoki concluded.
PS Plus currently boasts 46.3 million subscribers as of June 30th, down by over one million compared to recent quarters.
[Source: VGC]
