Sony Group’s shares fall by 8.8% amid resurfacing gaming concerns

Sony Group Corp.’s shares fell around 8.8% in early trading in the Tokyo exchange on Thursday after 4 days of consecutive gains. The decline in the shares came as gaming concerns resurfaced amid component shortages and competition from heavyweight rivals.

According to sources, soon after Microsoft’s announcement of buying "Call of Duty" developer, Activision Blizzard last month, Sony’s shares fell by about 13%, but have since recovered thanks to its own agreement with "Destiny" developer Bungie.

The Japanese conglomerate announced third-quarter earnings that surpassed expectations because of the strong box office collection for Spider-Man: No Way Home and a one-time gain, while its gaming vertical managed a quarterly profit increase due to lower costs.

As per credible sources, due to component shortages and logistics snarl-ups, Sony is struggling to meet the demand for PlayStation 5 (PS5). It sold 3.9 million units in the third quarter, lower than what it did a year ago.

Sony announced bold ambitions to keep its gaming lead on Wednesday, stating that it expects to increase first-party gaming sales and produce at least 10 live service titles that will provide continuous and updated gameplay.

Serkan Toto, founder of the Kantan Games consultancy, stated that this is a huge shift of course for PlayStation and an area where the company was very passive. He further added that the announcement made by Sony regarding PlayStation's future should be taken very seriously by investors and competitors.

Sony's full-year PS5 sales forecast was reduced from 14.8 million to 11.5 million units due to the supply chain constraints. As they expand their install base, console makers often take a blow on new hardware sales.

Sony may also be obliged to follow Microsoft's lead and provide games through its Game Pass subscription service, which might potentially pinch profits.

Source Credit:

https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2022-02-02/sony-shares-slide-as-gaming-concerns-re-emerge#:~:text=TOKYO%20(Reuters)%20%2D%20Shares%20in,and%20competition%20from%20heavyweight%20rivals.