PlayStation 4 PS4 Hardware

Any signs of the PlayStation 4 slowing down? No, the console is quite literally on fire around the globe, with the device smashing an old PlayStation 2 shipment record in the company's most recently completed quarter. According to Sony's latest financial report, the manufacturer shipped a whopping 9.7 million consoles during the period spanning 1st October to 31st December, which is an improvement on last year's 8.4 million units. It's also a significant increase on the firm's best ever quarter, when the PS2 shipped 8.8 million units in the second quarter of fiscal year 2003.

It keeps the PS4 on target to meet its forecasted 20 million units goal for the fiscal year as a whole, with a shipment of 2.9 million units required in the current quarter. Given how strong the console's lineup has been of late, we reckon that it should just about scrape that figure.

All in all, the game division is doing very well for Sony. It saw a 5.2 per cent increase in sales for the aforementioned third quarter, bringing its overall operating income up to ‎¥50 billion ($444 million). It was also the company's biggest profit driver during the recorded period. Other areas of the business – like Mobile Communications and Music – saw decent returns as well, though a gigantic non-cash loss attributed to Sony Pictures wiped out much of the profits.

This, which was signalled by the company ahead of today's financial report, is designed to revise "the future profitability projection for the pictures segment". It's basically a book balancing exercise that spans all the way back to the organisation's acquisition of Columbia Pictures back in 1989. The end result is that, despite a generally decent quarter, Sony's overall operating income was down 54 per cent year-over-year in the third quarter.

Still, we reckon it will be moderately happy with this report. Aside from the movie sector, pretty much all of the organisation's divisions pulled a profit, and while some did better than others, it wasn't too long ago that the firm was perpetually in the red. It seems to have worked its way through that rough patch, and if it can figure out how to right the ship of Sony Pictures, then it'll find itself in a pretty comfortable position.

[source sony.net, via sony.net]