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The story
An IGN analysis reporting that PlayStation’s revenue per user rose 59% in the PS5 generation compared to the previous one sparked discussion on 5ch’s hardware/industry board (Gehazoku). Many posters speculated the increase was driven by price hikes to PS Plus and the console itself, with some analysis suggesting the growth came not from full-game sales but from DLC and add-on purchases. Others pointed out that the overall user base hasn’t grown, suggesting casual players may have left while only the core, heavy-spending fanbase remained. Opinions split over what the revenue growth actually represents and whether it validates Sony’s live-service strategy.
What people said
Wonder if they'll still lose it when the game—or the console itself—finally gets shut down for good.
Nah, only the truly unhinged ones blame it on 'not enough spending or evangelizing.'
Same goes for the 'giant smartphone' lol (a dismissive nickname for PS5 as just an oversized phone)
And now everyone's conveniently forgotten how they used to insist the lack of profit was because they were 'giving it all back to users.'
No, the user count is at least holding steady.
Probably thanks to an influx of players fleeing the badly declining Xbox.
Except the shortfall in full-game sales is being covered by growth in add-on revenue.
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It's not that full games aren't selling—it's that add-on and DLC sales are exploding.
These days the trend is having one main game you play for years and only occasionally dipping into other titles, so that's just how spending works now.
Third-party dev: 'PlayStation barely brings in new users' ← despair
https://krsw.5ch.io/test/read.cgi/ghard/1788385861/
and only the moderately hardcore ones stuck around.
The live-service strategy itself isn't wrong, though.
It's just that live-service games only have a 1% success rate, so you need luck.
Isn't this just gacha addicts getting their wallets drained?😭
Capcom:
'Our main business partners are just Steam and Sony.'
is that even Ape Escape never sold in the West—it was simply a studio bleeding money.
And despite being only AA titles, development somehow still dragged on forever.
The guy behind Ape Escape's Gonjiro ended up sticking with Team Asobi.
Even a studio with a stellar track record in single-player gets pushed into making a live-service game → project canceled.
And this is supposedly the 'correct' strategy?
They did produce Helldivers 2, so that's a success.
It'll keep printing profit forever, just like Call of Duty.
So because Helldivers 2 sold well, the ¥120 billion write-down on Marathon is totally fine?
Helldivers' Arrowhead has already stated their next game will be made without Sony.
Makes sense.
No third party actually defies the platform holder.
They'd just get banned and go out of business.
• Game convergence: Major PS titles like Genshin Impact and Apex now run in high quality on smartphones too, eroding PS's sense of exclusivity.
• Low versatility: PCs and smartphones are all-purpose devices, but PS is purely a game (consumption) machine. Its many restrictions closely resemble the walled garden of a smartphone.
• Monetization and fees: The PS Store's structure and 30% platform cut (equivalent to the 'Apple tax') push players into the same kind of impulse spending as on mobile.
• No mods, purchases mandatory: On PC you can dodge microtransactions with mods (free cosmetic changes, etc.), but PS's closed system makes official paid purchases mandatory.
• PC's shield: PCs retain an identity as a several-hundred-thousand-yen 'professional tool for work and creativity'—a production machine, not just a consumption one.
*Because 'only good for games,' 'can't escape spending money,' and 'closed system' are exactly the same traits as a smartphone.
Apex's mobile version was poorly received and got shut down after about a year, though.
Hearing that Destiny 2's team got forcibly shifted over to work on Marathon made me feel bad for them.
At the time, Destiny 2 actually had higher concurrent player counts than Marathon did.
They should've just made Destiny 3 instead.
Why remake some old game like Marathon anyway.
The shrinking user base is probably skewing that ratio too.
Simply put, it's bat news.
It's not 'bat' news lol, it's 'bad' news lol
Background and Key Points of Discussion
It’s worth noting that “revenue per user” doesn’t necessarily mean the number of players has grown. PS Plus subscription fees and console prices have both been raised in recent years, so the price increases themselves may be pushing the figure up. Sony’s own earnings materials, cited in the thread, also show full-price software sales holding flat while DLC and add-on revenue keeps climbing—suggesting spending habits have shifted from “buying new titles one after another” to “continuing to pay into games you’re already invested in.” Where opinion split in the thread was over whether to read this revenue growth as “business going smoothly” or as “a sign that no new players are coming in and the business now depends on existing heavy spenders”—a question that ties directly into how to judge Sony’s plan to roll out a large slate of live-service titles.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry [Geha]) thread “IGN: ‘PlayStation’s Revenue Per User Has Risen 59% Since the PS5 Generation Began’.”
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