Sony

Coming back to Sony, Totoki also noted that the company may consider "changing business models", specifically in the context of selling the next generation of PlayStation with those above factors in mind. In the context of future consoles, Elliot pointed to two possible options Sony might take moving forward: The first is hardware financing, or subscription models: "Sony pays for the BOM - bill of materials, sorry I am an analyst - upfront," Elliot said. "Then the customer pays over 24-36 months. Microsoft has piloted this through Xbox All Access. Apple does it for iPhones. It moves the afford

Sony also announced a partnership with Bandai Namco Holdings for an AI and future technology pilot. Elliot describes himself as skeptical about generative AI, by analyst standards, and sees this as a continuation of the wider business partnership between the two giants. For Elliot this is really a continuation of Sony and Bandai's 2025 partnership. That partnership, among things like "IP expansion" and "joint content development", included what Sony described as "jointly developing and operating entertainment-related technologies and services", which Elliot believes this AI pilot announcement

According to Bloomberg, Sony sent out an internal update earlier this week stating that its future first-party narrative-driven titles would no longer be launching on PC and will remain exclusive to PlayStation consoles. This likely means that while multiplayer titles like Helldivers 2 or Marathon will continue to be released and receive support on PC, any experience along the lines of Ghost of Yotei or the upcoming Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet will be console through and through. This shift in strategy has been rumoured for some time after releases like Spider-Man 2 and Ratchet and Clan

Finally, there are some general lessons we can take from Sony's big info-dump. In short: things are looking okay for PlayStation - certainly compared to the likes of Xbox - though not without key areas of potential concern. "Sony's gaming business is profitable, mature, and visibly in transition," concludes Elliot. "The headline numbers are genuinely strong, and the FY26 guidance suggests management has line of sight on continued margin expansion through the late cycle." In other words, those all-important investors are likely to come away from this feeling Sony can potentially continue to gro