Sony CFO: 18 Million PS5 Forecast Could be Affected If Situation in China Worsens - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 11 May 2022 / 2,318 Views
Sony previously had set a goal of shipping 22.6 million PS5 consoles for this fiscal year, but due to component shortages has lowered it down to 18 million.
Sony Executive Deputy President and Chief Financial Officer Hiroki Totoki in an earnings call with investors transcribed by Seeking Alpha discussed Sony's 18 million forecast for the PS5 for the fiscal year ending March 2023.
He said they feel good right now to get the components and parts to reach its 18 million PS5 forecast. However, he said if the situation in China worsens and the lockdowns continue it has a chance to affect that goal.
"And about the risks or downside, needless to say, and it’s not only restricted to game business, at this moment, 18 million units is the focus for this fiscal year," said Totoki.
"For components, we do have a good feel about how to procure the components and parts, but going forward, for example, the situation of the pandemic in China, if it worsens going forward and if the lockdowns will expand further, then that will have a possibility of affecting the protection and that can be a downside risk. However, this will not happen overnight. So for us, we need to be proactive, have a focus and take appropriate measures."
He added, "Maybe it’s more of a demand side is question. 18 million units is what we feel very comfortable that we can get the parts and components, and we feel that there was a little bit higher demand than that. And so whether, if the question is whether we can meet the demand, I think was still short somewhat.
"And regarding our stock or inventory, still remain very low. So in order to provide our PlayStation units to customers smoothly on timely basis, in that sense we are still behind or short."
Totoki was asked for the reasons behind Sony's lower forecast for the PS5 from 22.6 million down to 18 million and unaspiringly he said it comes down to the shortages.
"So first question about the fact that we originally were talking about 22.6 million that was more than PS5, and this was reduced because of the constraint of components," he said.
"And when it comes to procurement of components and we have not given up on this, we would like to continue to work on this. But at this point in time, what we can say safely is that we can achieve the necessary components for 18 million units. And so that is the reason for this change in the number."
For the fiscal year ending March 2022, Sony had originally forecasted it would ship 14.8 million PS5 consoles, but in the end the company managed to ship 11.5 million.
Sony has shipped 19.3 million PS5 consoles as of March 31, 2022. If Sony hits its 18 million forecast for the current fiscal year, it would bring PS5 shipments up to 37.3 million units at the end of March 2023.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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Ps5 wouldve been 30 mill by now if not for covid
demand would likely not be as high if not for covid. ps5 would probably be over 50 mil at least if they were able to meet demand consistently from day 1 with covid.
So just like every other console manufacturer
I surely hope that this is already somewhat priced in with the 18 Million. You don't forecast the absolute bast case scenario.
