Sony Reports PS5 Sales Dip as Holiday Hardware Revenue Falls 15%

Sony reported a holiday-quarter decline in PlayStation 5 shipments, with hardware revenue falling 15.1% year-on-year (YoY) to ¥614.8 billion ($3.9 billion USD). The slowdown came during the three months ended Dec 31, 2025, even as software sales, network services, and overall profitability increased. 

The results were disclosed in Sony’s financial report for the nine months ended Dec 31, 2025.

Sony Earnings Show Profit Growth Despite Hardware Slowdown

Across the nine-month period, Sony posted sales of ¥9.4T ($59.8B), up 2.3%, while operating income rose 21% to ¥1.3T ($8.2B). The Game & Network Services segment generated ¥3.66T ($23.2B) in revenue, with operating income climbing 27% to ¥409.1B ($2.6B).

PS5 shipments totaled 8M units during the holiday quarter, down 15.7% from 9.5M a year earlier. 

Over nine months, shipments reached 14.4M units versus 15.7M last year, with hardware revenue at ¥1.18T ($7.5B), down 8.5%. Overall game & network services (G&NS) quarterly sales fell 4.1% to ¥1.61T ($10.2B).

Software, Digital, and Network Services Offset Console Decline

Sony sold 97.2M full games in the quarter, including 13.2M first-party units, up from 95.9M and 11.6M, respectively, last year. Sucker Punch Productions’ Ghost of Yōtei led first-party releases, selling 3.3M copies since its Oct 2, 2025 launch.

Digital game and add-on revenue rose 6% to ¥761.5B ($4.8B), while network services revenue increased 12.6% to ¥199.2B ($1.2B). 

Meanwhile, PlayStation Plus and third-party releases contributed significantly, alongside live-service titles including Helldivers 2 and MLB The Show. Monthly active users reached a record 132M accounts, with total gameplay hours rising year-on-year.

Cumulative PS5 shipments have now reached 92.2M units, surpassing PlayStation 3 lifetime sales and approaching Wii and original PlayStation totals. Sony noted the console matched PlayStation 4’s aligned holiday performance despite a higher price point.

Sony described holiday hardware conditions as “more challenging than expected,” while stating that PS5 install base growth remained aligned with internal forecasts, per VGC-transcribed earnings call comments.

Sony raised its full-year G&NS revenue outlook to ¥4.6T ($29.2B). It added that it has secured sufficient memory supply to manage the next sales cycle and will prioritize monetizing its installed base through software and network services.

With hardware momentum easing, Sony’s strategy is shifting toward monetizing its expanding install base through digital sales, subscriptions, and network services.