A Sony PlayStation 4 (PS4) controller sits next to the company's games console, manufactured by Sony Corp., in this arranged photograph taken in London, U.K., on Friday, Nov. 15, 2013. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg
It's game on for major video game console makers, all of whom reported strong numbers for their most recent quarters as they head into the crucial back-to-school and holiday shopping season.
Sony reported its results overnight Wednesday, revealing a big jump in profits thanks to surging sales of the PlayStation 4. Microsoft also credited sales of its Xbox console line as a major contributor to stronger hardware sales this past quarter, having pushed 1.4 million of its Xbox One and Xbox 360 boxes into living rooms around the world this quarter.
And then there's Nintendo, which continued its comeback-kid trajectory and reported a profit of $9.3 million -- its largest first quarter profit since 2012. That was largely thanks to strong sales of its interactive physical figurines, called amiibo, and its new squid-themed shooting game "Splatoon."
That puts each of the major three gaming hardware companies in a good spot as they head into the crush of the fall and winter shopping season, when plenty of consumers will be eyeing the consoles -- and plenty of games -- as "essential" school supplies or valued presents under the tree.
The video game industry overall had a pretty good start to its summer. Analysis firm NPD Group reported that sales for gaming hardware, software and accessories for June were up 18 percent from the previous year.
"A major factor for the rise in overall software sales was the success of June launches, which collectively rose close to 300 percent in dollar sales compared to June 2014 launches," said Liam Callahan, an analyst for NPD Group. In 2014, the video game industry made $15.4 billion in revenue, according to its industry trade association.
Looking forward, it should be a pretty interesting holiday season for the gaming world. Now that game developers feel more comfortable with the consoles, they're prepping more interesting games. That could convince consumers who've been on the fence about dropping a few hundred dollars on a new console to make the investment.
Sony, whose strong PlayStation sales helped offset sinking revenue from its smartphone business, is still leading the pack overall when it comes to sales. The company sold 3 million in the past quarter; more than doubling the Xbox's numbers. The PS4 has sold 25.3 million units since its 2013 launch.
The company may have a hard time defending its crown in the short-term, though, as its most-anticipated games aren't hitting store shelves until after the holiday season. Still, Sony remained confident about strong sales of the PlayStation 4; raising its projection targets for sales in 2015, to 16.5 million units from 16 million.
Microsoft is ramping up its focus on gaming within its new Windows 10 operating system, with the inclusion of an Xbox app that lets players tap into their online gaming profiles from Microsoft on their computer. Users are also able to stream games to their computers. Integrating gaming more closely into its core Windows product could help Microsoft spread the appeal of gaming even further -- particularly if Microsoft uses its platform to offer exclusives content from titles it controls, such as "Minecraft."
Nintendo, meanwhile, will hope to see continued success from amiibo, and has promised to roll out more of the collectible toys -- including beloved characters such as Yoshi -- to complement its holiday lineup. The approach has worked well for sales of the "Skylanders" series, which is owned by Activision. Callahan said in his report that sales of all interactive gaming toys rose 44 percent since June 2014. That may continue growing, particularly as Nintendo, Disney, Activision and Lego continue to roll out new physical toys that work in the virtual gaming world.
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