As predicted, Sony’s CES 2024 conference was very light on PlayStation and gaming in general. However, there were a few tidbits scattered throughout the keynote.
The biggest piece of news is that, following the 50 million PlayStation 5 consoles sold as of two weeks ago, the PlayStation Network broke a new record when it comes to monthly active users (MAUs) in December 2023 with 123 million gamers connected between PS5 and PS4. This is nearly a 10% increase from the December 2022 figure of 112 million monthly active users, and it speaks of a healthy business that certainly translated into strong PlayStation Plus subscriptions and game sales. With several PlayStation exclusives due this year, such as Helldivers 2, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Rise of the Ronin, and Silent Hill 2, 2024 could be even bigger.
Sony Pictures Television Studios CEO Katherine Pope also came on the CES 2024 stage to discuss various movie and TV productions, including those adapted from PlayStation franchises. She said that after the movie adaptations of Uncharted and Gran Turismo, Sony is now looking at adapting game IPs for television. Of course, The Last of Us was a resounding success, winning eight prizes at the Creative Arts Emmys and being up for five nominations at the upcoming Primetime Emmys. Pope said:
The Last of Us generated tremendous interest for both gamers and non-gamers alike and was the second most-watched HBO series in thirteen years. We are really excited to be underway with The Last of Us Season 2 as well.
Pope then provided a small update on the God of War and Horizon Zero Dawn TV adaptations, which will air on Amazon Prime Video and Netflix, respectively. She said writing is underway for both. Of course, they will likely have been impacted by the SAG-AFTRA strike that blocked the industry from July to November, delaying them from the previously intended release windows. Chances are we’ll have to wait at least until next year to see them on streaming services.
Funnily enough, both PlayStation rivals were mentioned on the Sony CES 2024 stage. First, CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said that Sony will produce The Legend of Zelda live action film adaptation on behalf of Nintendo, delivering an ‘amazing tale of adventure and discovery’. Later, Sony Honda Mobility president and COO Izumi Kawanishi welcomed Jessica Hawk, Corporate VP of Data, AI, Digital Applications Product Marketing at Microsoft, on the stage. They discussed the impact of generative AI and cloud-scale computing on mobility. As a reminder, Sony partnered with Microsoft back in May 2019 to jointly develop cloud-based solutions powered by Azure for gaming and AI.
