Strong first-party exclusives help Sony boost game profits by 65%

Sony’s game profits have increased by over 65 per cent since last year.

In its most recent financial update, detailing the second fiscal quarter for Sony’s Game and Network Services, the hard- and software giant attributed the gains to a strong first-party showing, specifically referencing Insomniac’s Marvel’s Spider-Man, which has purportedly helped Sony increase its share of the console software market to 58 per cent and sold 3.3 million units in its opening three days.

For the period up until September 30th, 2018, revenue is up 27 per cent year-on-year, reaching ¥550.1 billion ($4.87 billion), while the operating profit hit ¥90.6 billion ($802 million), representing a 65 per cent YoY boost. Sony attributes both rises to an increase in game software sales.

Hardware sales, on the other hand, have fallen to 3.9 million units, a drop from the 4.2 million units sold in the same period last year. However, Sony was keen to clarify that the boost in software sales offset falling hardware sales.

The strong performance has prompted Sony to revise its full financial year forecast and revise its projections with an upward boost of 8 per cent.

"We’ve been very blessed with some blockbuster titles," CFO Hiroki Totoki said during the earnings briefing broadcast. "The lineup will remain strong in the second half of the year."

The Spider-Man epic smashed records at UK retail, giving the PlayStation 4 its biggest week-one sales of any title to date in 2018. It edged out Far Cry 5 for the top spot – despite that title being multi-platform – and smashed stablemate God of War, with almost twice the sales that Kratos racked up back in April.