PlayStation 4 sold 3.3 million last quarter, but Sony still posted a financial loss

Sony sold 3.3 million PlayStation 4 consoles last quarter, but this didn’t stop the Japanese electronics giant posting a significant financial loss.

PlayStation 4 has now sold 13.5 million units worldwide, with its biggest quarter coming at release, when it sold 4.5 milllion. The quarter ending Sep. 30 was its second strongest, and Sony will be looking to build on this success during the three months ahead which culminate in a traditionally busy holiday period.

Microsoft hasn’t released sales figures for Xbox One, PlayStation 4’s main competitor, but Ars Technica recently estimated that PS4 is outselling Xbox One by 42 percent worldwide.

It’s not all good news for Sony’s gaming division, though. The handheld side, which comprises PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, and PlayStation TV, sold just 700,000 units in the last quarter, which is down 100,000 on the previous year.

Sony’s PlayStation TV, which released in North America earlier this month and allows you to play and stream games and watch video on a connected TV, may help to drive handheld sales this holiday. However, it’s entered a crowded set-top box marketplace and may struggle to fight for space alongside streaming solutions like Roku, Chromecast, and Amazon Fire TV.

Overall, Sony’s PlayStation business generated revenues of $2.78 billion in the last quarter, up 83.2 percent year-over-year, and posted an operating income of $196.5 million, compared to a loss of $37.9 million last year.

In contrast, Sony as a whole didn’t do so well, recording losses of $1.2 billion, compared to a $176.7 million loss year-over-year. This loss was mostly due to a $1.59 billion goodwill devaluing of its mobile business.