"Finally, we made four bucks"

There’s no doubt that the PlayStation 4 has raced out of the blocks in fifth gear, but Sony overlord Kaz Hirai reckons that the company is not resting on its laurels yet. While the firm is extremely satisfied with the success of its next-gen device to date, the intelligent executive noted that the system will be measured by its long term growth, and not just its exceptional start.

“It's been a hugely successful launch, but the key to the long term success of the platform lies in how solidly we can continue to grow the installed base,” he iterated during a recent corporate strategy meeting, as reported by Polygon. “In terms of game titles for the PS4, as of 13th April, 47 titles had been launched with a total of 20.5 million units being sold via retailers and over the network on the PlayStation Store.”

The straight talking suit didn’t provide an update on hardware sales figures – we suspect that it’s waiting until E3 to reveal that – but he did point out that the platform is profitable. “PS4 is already contributing profit on a hardware unit basis, establishing a very different business framework from that of previous platform businesses,” he explained. Ordinarily, the Japanese giant takes a hit on hardware during these early stages of the generation.

Of course, the firm’s work isn’t over, so it’s reassuring to hear Hirai focus on the continued growth of the platform’s install base. With the recent moves from Microsoft, the next-gen competition is about to heat up all over again, and Sony will need to ensure that it works hard to maintain its current momentum through to the system’s second holiday period. Fortunately, it has a big press conference right around the corner to demonstrate just how it intends to do that.

[source polygon.com]