PlayStation sales drop 20%, but PS Plus is smoothing the next-gen jump

The PlayStation 5 is coming. Sony Interactive Entertainment is launching the next-generation console this holiday. And one of the ways you can tell it’s imminent is that the company’s current games business is going through a cyclical decline. As part of its third-quarter earnings report, Sony announced that PlayStation sales dropped 20% compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year. Sony’s Game & Network Services Segment generated 632.1 billion yen ($5.8 billion). That’s down 158.5 billion yen ($1.4 billion) from 790.6 billion yen ($7.2) in Q3 of fiscal 18/19. The company claims that the decline is due to decreased PS4 hardware sales. A decrease in sales from third-party games hurt both Sony’s revenues and operating income, which declined from 73.1 billion yen ($667 million) to 53.5 billion yen ($489 million).