The success of the PlayStation 4 cannot be understated. After capitalizing on Microsoft’s PR blunders with the Xbox One, Sony took charge of the new generation of gaming and never looked back. Sales have been outstanding, indie developers are rushing to get their games on the PlayStation Store and this week, CEO Kaz Hirai announced at a corporate strategy meeting that the brand new console is already profitable.
“From a profitability perspective, PS4 is […] already contributing profit on a hardware unit basis, establishing a very different business framework from that of previous platform businesses,” said Hirai. He also noted that the PS4 has launched in 72 countries, sold over 7 million units, features around 50 titles and has convinced approximately half of its users to sign up for PlayStation Plus.
Although the PS4 has been a success story, Sony is still attempting to recover from major losses this fiscal year. The gaming business won’t save Sony on its own, but as E3 approaches and the release schedule ramps up, the profitability of the PS4 and its software should continue to grow. With exciting titles slated for the latter half of the year, a new peripheral in the form of Project Morpheus and the avalanche of classic titles that will become available on PlayStation Now, 2014 is going to be a big year for the PlayStation brand.