Investors are reactionary, as is the stock market. We know this. For instance, Nintendo’s slashing of their forecast for the fiscal year caused such panic with their stock that several analysts have had to step in and point out that the Switch is still selling great, far faster than the PS4, in fact.
And then there is the PS4 itself. Sales for it are, naturally, slowing down, given that it is a five year old console. Nonetheless, it is at over 90 million units sold, and en route to hitting 100 million quicker than any console in history but the PS2. If you had any perspective, you would know the system is doing great, and this decline is a natural part of any console’s trajectory.
However, investors are often short sighted and lack perspective, because Sony’s stock has hit its lowest point in over two years off the back of perceived “weak demand” for the PS4, Bloomberg reports.
“It’s definitely not as positive as the headline numbers would suggest. It feels slightly negative overall,” said Andrew Jackson, head of Japanese equities at Soochow CSSD Capital Markets in Singapore.
A lot of this is because the smartphone division continues to bleed money, and the PlayStation division has long covered for the weaknesses of that, and other divisions, in the past. With PlayStation sales (naturally) slowing down, there is negativity regarding the future of Sony as a whole in the short term.
As I said, it’s reactionary and shortsighted. Let’s hope the launch of the PS5 puts these doubts to the rest.