Local time on Wednesday (August 9), Japan's Sony Group Corp (Sony Group Corp).) announced its results for the first quarter of its fiscal year 2023 ended June 30。Sony's total revenue in the fiscal first quarter rose 33% year-over-year to 2% due to strong performance in the gaming business, according to earnings data..96 trillion yen ($20.7 billion), higher than the 2.46 trillion yen; but the weakness of the film and financial businesses has also hit Sony, with operating profit in the first quarter down about 31% year-on-year to 253 trillion yen (about 17.700 million US dollars)。

In an effort to calm investor sentiment, Sony Group raised its full-year forecast after the earnings announcement, as its PlayStation and entertainment divisions maintained momentum despite the global economic downturn affecting other businesses.。

In terms of performance expectations, Sony Group raised its total revenue and net profit forecast for the fiscal year to March 2023.。The company expects total fiscal year revenue to grow about 11% year-over-year to 12.2 trillion yen, compared with the company's previous forecast of 11.5 trillion yen; Sony expects net profit for fiscal year 2023 to fall by about 14.5% to 860 billion yen, but higher than the previous estimate of 840 billion yen.。

For Sony's core gaming product, the PlayStation, earnings figures show the company sold a whopping 3.3 million PlayStation 5 units in the April-June quarter, up about 38 percent year-over-year.。Sony said the PS5's momentum began to pick up in July after slowing in June.。According to Circana, Sony's most important product, the PS5, is the best-selling game console in the United States this year.。

In response, Sony expects its PlayStation gaming business to have a "bumper year" in fiscal 2023.。Sony said it expects to sell up to 25 million PlayStation 5 game consoles this fiscal year as supply chain chaos eases significantly, and if completed as scheduled, it would be the highest fiscal year sales record for PlayStation devices.。This compares to total Sony PS5 sales of 19.1 million units last fiscal year.。

Sony senior vice president Naomi Matsuoka said in a telephone earnings meeting on Wednesday that reaching 25 million PS5 sales this fiscal year remains the company's top priority.。"We will take the necessary steps to achieve this.。"

But some analysts say it will be difficult to reach the sales target at the current pace if no changes are made。Hideki Yasuda, an analyst at Toyo Securities, said: "PS5 sales momentum has slowed from the previous quarter, which will make it difficult for Sony to reach its target of 25 million units this fiscal year.。"。"Sony needs to cut prices or release new models to keep the momentum in its gaming business."。"

Outside of its core gaming division, Sony also downgraded its outlook for its image sensor, which is widely used to create photos and videos in smartphones.。The company said the recovery in China's smartphone market has taken longer than expected and demand in the United States is also deteriorating.。

And the company's image sensor business is facing huge resistance。Major customer Apple Inc. said in its latest earnings report that its iPhones are also facing a demand squeeze.。According to previous media reports, some production output problems of Sony camera sensors also pose challenges to the production of iPhone 15。

Sadahiko Hayakawa, Sony's senior general manager in charge of finance, said: "We expect the smartphone market to recover from the second half of the fiscal year, but now we won't see that until at least next year.。"。

Hiroki Totoki, Sony's chief operating officer, said: "We see a variety of risks and uncertainties in the coming months, including risks to our hardware business, from electronics to sensors to PlayStation 5s.。"。

The Japanese entertainment group has been beefing up its content offerings in recent years, though the most popular movies this summer have come from its rivals, from "Diablo IV" by Activision Blizzard Inc. to "Barbie" by Warner Bros. Pictures (Sony previously owned the rights to the film).。

The acquisition of Activision by console rival Microsoft Corp. is also nearing completion, though the near-term impact of the deal on Sony's business may be negligible as the companies have agreed to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation consoles for at least a decade.。