News About Sony

Japanese company Sony Corp. has said that its April-June profit grew by 53% as its video game and other online businesses thrived while the coronavirus kept people indoors.

It reported a 233 billion yen ($2.2 billion) profit for the last quarter, up from 152 billion yen the year before.

Sony says that 3.4 million new customers joined PlayStation Plus, its online game service. This brings its number of subscribers to just under 45 million. And Sony is planning a major upgrade with the release of the PlayStation 5 later this year.

It said music streaming and online video content were both doing well too. However, other parts of its music business have been badly affected.

It also warned that its movies business would likely suffer for two or three years because of delays in film projects and reduced cinema seating.

Demand for electronic products has also dropped, including sales of digital cameras, TVs and other devices, according to Sony.

Some of its factories in China and Malaysia had to be closed temporarily because of the pandemic. This, as well as some employees not being able to travel, also caused problems, the company said.

Sony is now expecting a 510 billion yen ($4.8 billion) profit for the year ending March 2021, down 12% from the year before.

As we learn more from Sony about the PlayStation 5 (PS5), it can be hard to know what is fact and what is rumor. But there are some clear details we do know about the next PlayStation.

On March 18, Sony's Lead System Architect and game designer Mark Cerny announced more details of the PlayStation 5. According to Cerny, a big focus for his team was improving the loading speed of games and updates.

The PS5 stores information on a Solid State Drive (SSD) that works like a USB flash drive. The SSD can load an average of 5.5 gigabytes per second and stores 825 gigabytes of data, including digital downloads and saved game information. That is much faster than the standard 500 gigabyte PlayStation 4 (PS4) Hard Disk Drive that takes around 20 seconds to load 1 gigabyte.

Gamers expect each new version of a game console to have better graphics than the previous one. While the PS4 Pro version, released in late 2016, could use 4K technology for better game graphics and movies, the PS5 goes a step further with 8K technology.

The PS5 plans to improve its sound using a technology Sony is calling 3D audio. Cerny did not offer specific details but said players will hear the sounds all around them without needing extra equipment.

One of the most requested features by fans was confirmed by Sony. The PS5 will be backward compatible with most PS4 games, so users can continue playing some of their favorite games on the PS5. It is not yet confirmed if PS3 games, or ones from even older consoles, will work on the new system.

Sony has yet to announce the exact release date or the price. But, it is planning to have two versions on sale between October and December. The standard PS5 will allow players to continue using game and 4K Blu-Ray movie discs. The likely cheaper PS5 Digital will not have a disc drive, meaning new games must be downloaded to the SSD.

PlayStation has become the best-selling video game console brand in the world, as Sony celebrates the first version's 25th birthday.

The very first Sony PlayStation went on sale on December 3, 1994. It sold 102.5 million units. Twenty-five years later, the company has produced three more versions of the console. Across all four versions, Sony sold 450.19 million units, which is now a Guiness World Record.

The PlayStation 2, which came out in March 2000, is the best-selling console of all time with over 157.7 million sold.

The PlayStation 3 was first sold in Japan and North America in November 2007. It can play Blu-ray videos as well as video games. However, sales of the PS3 are the lowest at 87.4 million units.

The PlayStation 4 was released in North America in November 2013. It wasn't sold in Japan until February 2014. It has sold 102.8 million units worldwide, but sales will likely drop because the PlayStation 5 is coming to stores next winter.

Did you know?

The very first games console to be sold to the public was the Magnavox Odyssey. The console first sold in September 1972 with 12 games, including a tennis game and a football game. It sold 350,000 units.

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