Strategic Key Points
Background to Strategies
The Game & Network Services segment is representative of Sonyʼs corporate direction of "getting closer to people," specifically users and creators. The PlayStation® platform provides a development library and know-how that enable creators to achieve the speedy and cutting-edge expression of their creative vision. In addition to enhancing direct to consumer (DTC) services, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) harnesses game play data and network service usage trends to get closer to what motivates users.
PlayStation®4 (PS4™) has sold 96.8 million cumulative units,* while PlayStation™Network (PSN) has over 94.0 million monthly active users.* PlayStation®Plus (PS Plus), a paid subscription service, has steadily acquired users since the release of PS4, surpassing 36.4 million paid subscribers.* These numbers reflect that PlayStation® is one of the worldʼs leading game ecosystems and network platforms. Making the fullest use of this foundation is crucial for next-stage growth.
Competition from online PC games and players from other industries is expected to continue to intensify. The fundamental growth strategy will be to innovate and evolve the PlayStation® platform. To this end, SIE will make proactive investments to reinforce content IP, and work to raise brand value, foster communities and user engagement, and enhance DTC services that get closer to users.
Strategic Direction
To reinforce content IP, SIE will accelerate the enhancement and rollout of its portfolio of exclusive PlayStation® titles. As a result of cooperation with in-house development and partner companies, sell-through of PS4 software titles continues to grow, and the intention is to further enhance the lineup with compelling content. While continuing to increase console sales, SIE will leverage the asset that is its existing user base as the key to expanding profit opportunities. Further growth in recurring income will be achieved through various network service enhancements. In executing these strategies, greater emphasis will be placed on user engagement. SIE will provide content for a variety of game genres and formats, and make advances in unique and immersive interactive experiences such as VR. At the same time, SIE will create a better user experience, improve usability, and strengthen its use of data analysis. Making the best use of new and existing partnerships while driving growth will be important for achieving further expansions in scale.
SIE aims to achieve robust revenue growth by accelerating the virtuous cycle that has been established for the PlayStation® platform. This entails increasing active users and play time, enhancing network services and reinforcing content IP so that consumers select PlayStation® as their platform of choice. Targeted outcomes include growth in active users, stronger retention and a shorter cash conversion cycle, from which expanded cash flow can be expected.
In the past, development of each new generation of PlayStation® has required substantial investment. Moving forward, SIE plans to stabilize the profit structure by greatly reducing the range of profit fluctuation at that juncture of the console lifecycle.