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Spider-Man 2 has surpassed 10 million units sold, bringing the game series sales to an astounding 50 million units

I think you are exaggerating here. They didn't miss it badly all year. Hell, just going off how their Q1 and Q2 were, and the Q4 that preceded them in 2023, anyone could understand why they made that prediction.

And they are off by only 4M. Not 6 or 8M. An argument can be made that they could have hit that 25M shipment if they actually tried. You know, like have a $400 PS5 slim bundled with Spiderman and the other bundled with COD. That would have almost certainly guaranteed them an additional 4M in sales over that 6-month window (Q3+Q4). They didn't do that. If anything, what they did is something that anyone who hears that can say is the one thing you don't do when you are trying to sell something. The increased the price of the cheapest PS5 and didn't do a price drop for the most expensive one.


And kudus to you, no one is saying you were not correct. I said the exact opposite, but both statements are mutually exclusive, for one to happen, it means the other wouldn't. If they increase the price, they do not hit 25M. If they drop the price, they do.

Again, you have to understand that they were still selling to pent up demand not to mention games like Hogwarts Legacy. So, no their prediction didn't make sense.

Also, they weren't just off 4M.

  • That's 2 billion in revenue at least
  • That's 4 million people not buying software, particularly Spider-Man
  • That's an overall adjustment down to FY2024
    • If they hit 25 million for FY23 they would have anticipated 21-22 million for FY24, now it'll probably be 16-17 million, it throws their entire projections off for the rest of the PS5's life, which is why their stock tanked as a result and the real reason why they're doing layoffs.
    • This was the difference between selling 115-120 million units and 130-140 million units
 

Hardensoul

Member
Sony was still sticking to the 25 million number in their previous quarterly financial reporting, which means they thought Spider-Man would carry the PS5.

The branding doesn't include the price of 499. The plan was always to bundle Spider-Man 2 with the PS5, whether or not they were going to bundle it for 500 is certainly questionable.

It was actually cheaper to get a PS5 Slim with Spider-Man than it was to get a PS5 Digital Slim and Spider-Man... that's a fairly broken bundle, which might suggest that was not always the plan.

You also have to separate Spider-Man 2 sales and Spider-Man 2 bundle sales. One is based on the weaker than expected sales of the PS5, which they very well knew going into November. You also have to realize that nearly every PS5 sold was probably that bundle, which does detract from Spider-Man 2 sales in the speed in which it sold over a larger period of time.

Also, my claim isn't that Spider-Man sales were slow (no one is actually interested in speed) but rather the sales were less than expected.

I'm not sure how anyone is arguing otherwise when we still see the PS5 Spider-Man bundle in stock AND Insomniac just had layoffs.
Japan had to reduce the price of Spider-man bundles. I just got notice BestBuy is reducing their price not sure if it’s temp sale.

 

Stooky

Member
You've obviously been backed into a corner on this.

What made them think they could hit the number in October when they'd missed it so badly the whole year. Did they expect the economy to turn up or was there something else that they thought would drive it?
im not backed into a corner. he was implying that console sales is what caused the layoffs. Im saying thats not true. Sony reported that in october of 2023 that they could hit the 25 mill number. Spiderman, sales would help but i don't think the were solely relying on spider man numbers that wouldn't make sense. He's looking at PS5 sales over the last. Im looking all the moves sony has been making over the last 2-3 years and the fact that SIE has a new incoming CEO.
 

Mr.Phoenix

Member
Again, you have to understand that they were still selling to pent up demand not to mention games like Hogwarts Legacy. So, no their prediction didn't make sense.

Also, they weren't just off 4M.

  • That's 2 billion in revenue at least
  • That's 4 million people not buying software, particularly Spider-Man
  • That's an overall adjustment down to FY2024
    • If they hit 25 million for FY23 they would have anticipated 21-22 million for FY24, now it'll probably be 16-17 million, it throws their entire projections off for the rest of the PS5's life, which is why their stock tanked as a result and the real reason why they're doing layoffs.
    • This was the difference between selling 115-120 million units and 130-140 million units
Ok. Now you are definitely exaggerating. no chance that their fiscal shipments/estimates for 2024 drop from 21M for the previous year to 16M for this one.

None of what you are saying is wrong, but you are just exaggerating. And regardless of what you think is being missed here, the fact of the matter is simple. A $400 PS5 bundled with a gam,e would have done significantly better in the market than a $500 one. Which funny enough is what most retailers were selling the GOWR bundle in june 2023. If there is one thing that is clear as day, its that Sony need to find a way to drop the price of the PS. We are approaching the console's 4th year, it is unprecedented in PlayStation history to have gone this long with not just a price drop, but even a price hike.

You make it sound like a price drop wouldn't have done anything to help the sales.

If back when we were talking about them hitting that 25M target as far back as may last year or whenever, Sony said they were going to increase the price of the PS5 slim, even I would have told you that they wouldn't hit that target. I even said it then, the only way sony hits 25M is if they drop the price, and I felt that 25M target was a confirmation as good as any that they planned to do just that. Only way Sony ends up at 16-18M sales, is if even this year they still do not drop the price.
 
Ok. Now you are definitely exaggerating. no chance that their fiscal shipments/estimates for 2024 drop from 21M for the previous year to 16M for this one.

None of what you are saying is wrong, but you are just exaggerating. And regardless of what you think is being missed here, the fact of the matter is simple. A $400 PS5 bundled with a gam,e would have done significantly better in the market than a $500 one. Which funny enough is what most retailers were selling the GOWR bundle in june 2023. If there is one thing that is clear as day, its that Sony need to find a way to drop the price of the PS. We are approaching the console's 4th year, it is unprecedented in PlayStation history to have gone this long with not just a price drop, but even a price hike.

You make it sound like a price drop wouldn't have done anything to help the sales.

If back when we were talking about them hitting that 25M target as far back as may last year or whenever, Sony said they were going to increase the price of the PS5 slim, even I would have told you that they wouldn't hit that target. I even said it then, the only way sony hits 25M is if they drop the price, and I felt that 25M target was a confirmation as good as any that they planned to do just that. Only way Sony ends up at 16-18M sales, is if even this year they still do not drop the price.

You're assuming they hit the 21 million. If they're short of that as well, 16 million depending on the global economy isn't out of the question.

It's not an exaggeration. There are ranges to this. A combination of no price drop, a bad economic situation, and no real system seller titles could certainly result in significantly fewer consoles sold this year than last year. If they end up with 19-20 million units sold, 16 million isn't out of reach at all.

The only exaggeration I see here is yours. The hyperbole that I said a price drop wouldn't have done anything. I merely stated that a price drop to 400 dollars might not have gotten them to 25 million.

Totoki has already suggested that there might not be a price drop or at least a big price drop coming. That should tell you that the price of the PS5 is likely to stay the same until the PS5 Pro releases which will likely be in the fall. If that's the case it'll be very difficult for Sony to make up the sales to reach anywhere near 20 million.

So tell me mr exaggeration, how many units does the PS5 sell without price drop, with a 50 dollar price drop, and 100 dollar price drop?
 
You're assuming they hit the 21 million. If they're short of that as well, 16 million depending on the global economy isn't out of the question.

It's not an exaggeration. There are ranges to this. A combination of no price drop, a bad economic situation, and no real system seller titles could certainly result in significantly fewer consoles sold this year than last year. If they end up with 19-20 million units sold, 16 million isn't out of reach at all.

The only exaggeration I see here is yours. The hyperbole that I said a price drop wouldn't have done anything. I merely stated that a price drop to 400 dollars might not have gotten them to 25 million.

Totoki has already suggested that there might not be a price drop or at least a big price drop coming. That should tell you that the price of the PS5 is likely to stay the same until the PS5 Pro releases which will likely be in the fall. If that's the case it'll be very difficult for Sony to make up the sales to reach anywhere near 20 million.

So tell me mr exaggeration, how many units does the PS5 sell without price drop, with a 50 dollar price drop, and 100 dollar price drop?
I really doubt that PS5 reach 21 million this fiscal year… I think they are going to end in the range of 19-20 million, and is going to be another shitstorm for Sony… We only have to wait less than a month for numbers. Sony missing their initial forecast for about 5-6 million is not good at all, thats why they lowered the forecast to 21 million to miss only for 2 million, but the initial forecast is in the record.
 
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