Hey Sony, Nintendo! We’re Not Playing Games Anymore

Hey Sony, Nintendo! We’re Not Playing Games Anymore

There’s not a lot to do when you’re stuck inside for weeks dodging a pandemic. Thankfully, as Covid-19 was raging we could build digital worlds, drive cartoon go-karts and play virtual baseball on consoles built by Sony Group Corp. and Nintendo Co. 1

But now millions are vaccinated and restrictions are easing across many economies, allowing us to explore physical worlds and throw real baseballs. Great for us, but bad for Sony and Nintendo, which reported June quarter earnings this week.

As expected, games revenue from both companies weakened, largely because a year ago we were at the height of lockdowns and consumers were rushing to get their hands on software titles and the hardware to play them on. A more appropriate comparison would be against the June quarter two years ago, and on this basis the most recent period looked pretty solid.

Sony, for example, posted just a 0.6% rise in its games division — which includes hardware and software — compared to last year but that figure was 36% higher than in 2019. Nintendo’s total revenue was 10% lower than 2020 but 87% higher than two years ago.

It’s worth remembering that while games are Sony’s biggest division, at 29% of sales