Sony Announces Strategy to Grow PS4 Ecosystem; PlayStation Plus Reaches 26.4 Million Subscribers

DualShockers

By Giuseppe Nelva

Published May 23, 2017

Sony provides an update on the situation of the PS4 business, and discloses its strategy to achieve growth inr the current fiscal year.

During Sony's Investor Relations Day 2017 in Tokyo, Sony Interactive Entertainment Deputy President Tsuyoshi Kodera explained the strategy for the Game & Network Services segment of the business.

First of all, Kodera-san reviewed the performance in fiscal year 2016, mentioning that the growth and development of the PS4 ecosystem was "highly successful," including the continued innovation brought with the launch of PS4 pro and the successful release of PlayStation VR.

Moving on to the strategy for the current fiscal year, Kodera-san expressed the intention to "Retain and expand PlayStation engagement," and "increase business opportunities and revenue."

The plan involves maximizing profit from the PS4 ecosystem during its previously mentioned "harvest" period, further expanding PlayStation VR as a game and entertainment medium, incubating a new content ecosystem for the platform, and developing a new audience through mobile releases in Japan and Asia.

Interestingly, we also learn that PlayStation Plus had 26.4 million paying subscribers at the end of fiscal year 2016 (March 31st, 2017), out of over 70 million monthly active users.

Sony plans to further grow these numbers, also enhancing the game line-up with launches like Uncharted: The Lost Legacy and Gran Turismo Sport.

On the PlayStation VR front, Sony plans to expand the headset's market as both a game and entertainment medium. Among other things, they expect to enhance the games lineup and PS4 Pro compatibility. On top of that, they intend to expand non-game VR content like movies and music and take on location-based entertainment as a new challenge.

On the mobile front, Sony Interactive Entertainment plans to leverage its IPs and know-how in game development with the ForwardWorks label, and to cultivate a close relationship with third party publishers and developers.

The aim is to build a title catalog with a wide range of genres and developing original IPs, on top of launching collaborations with other branches of the Sony group.

In conclusion, the company expects to further grow the PS4 business in the current fiscal year, including PlayStation VR. Improvements in network revenues are also expected.