Sony Sees Lackluster Year for Smartphone Demand, More Bullish on PlayStation 5

By Yang Jie

TOKYO--Sony Group Corp.'s president said the global smartphone market was likely to remain lackluster this year because of slowing consumer demand, but the company had a more bullish forecast for its videogame machine.

Hiroki Totoki, speaking Friday at a briefing on the company's results, said the business environment for Sony's sensor business for the current fiscal year ending March 2024, was "extremely unstable." He said he wasn't optimistic about the Chinese market.

Sony's image sensors are used in many smartphone cameras. Its customers include Apple Inc. and Chinese smartphone makers.

Mr. Totoki said smartphone sales in markets such as North America, especially sales of high-end models, have weakened slightly. He said he expected a recovery in the smartphone business would come in Sony's fiscal year 2024, which begins April, a gloomier outlook than the one he gave in February.

Sony had better news about its flagship PlayStation 5 videogame console. It projected sales of 25 million units for the current fiscal year. It said it sold 19.1 million units in the year ended March, an increase from 11.5 million the previous fiscal year, when production was hampered by supply-chain disruptions.

The company said it has resolved supply-chain issues for the PlayStation 5.

Write to Yang Jie at jie.yang@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 28, 2023 06:01 ET (10:01 GMT)

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