Sony has internally pushed some of its first party titles planned for release in Fiscal Year 2023, based on the latest report.
In its Q1 FY2023 Consolidated Financial Results, Sony Group Corporation has indicated a negative impact of changes in the launch dates of a portion of first party titles to its Operating Income forecast. As to which titles are included in this portion of the console maker’s first party output is unclear.
The other mentioned factor that have had a negative impact on the Operating Income forecast is the deterioration in profitability of PS5 hardware, mainly due to changes in promotions by geographic region and the sales channel mix. A total of 3.3 million PS5 consoles were shipped during Q1 FY2023, which ended on June 30, 2023. This is up 0.9 million from the same period in the previous fiscal year.
However, it’s worth noting that the Operating Income forecast remains unchanged from the April forecast due to the positive impact of an increase in sales of non-first party titles, including add-on content, and a decrease in costs.
Regarding the aforementioned decrease in costs, it is mentioned that it is expected to be partially offset by an increase in depreciation and amortization expense. The increase in depreciation and amortization expense is a factor for change in operating income only and is not included in factors for change in Adjusted Operating Income Before Depreciation and Amortization (OBIDA). As a result, the forecast for Adjusted OIBDA has been upwardly revised by the company, while the forecast for operating income remains unchanged.
The portion of first-party titles may be referring to the live service games that Sony currently has in development, some of which may have received an internal delay. This likely includes titles such as Naughty Dog’s multiplayer game based on The Last of Us, Helldivers 2, and Fairgame$.
