The PS4 has been a tremendous success for Sony since its launch in 2013. Having shipped over 40 million as of March 2016, it has become Sony’s fastest-selling console til date.
Now, recent fiscal data from Sony indicates that over 17.7 million PS4 units shipped in the previous financial year, exceeding the firm’s forecast of 17.5 million units sold for the period. To put this into perspective, nearly half of all the PS4 units sold till date, were sold in the past year.
Overall, however, Sony’s position isn’t quite as strong as the PS4 sales figures indicate. Sony’s smartphone revenue declined substantially—twenty percent lower than last year. Sony’s Xperia line was hit by the global slump in smartphone sales this year. Even Apple was affected with year-to-year iPhone sales declining for the first time. More than drive growth outright for the firm, strong PS4 sales and PSN revenue are helping to offset a poor showing from Sony’s smartphone business.