HBO’s the Last of Us Series Success Drove the Video Game’s Sales, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan Says

Jim Ryan claimed that every time an episode of the show dropped, the sales of The Last of Us game increased ‘very dramatically.’

By Reuters | Updated: 24 May 2023 13:15 IST

HBO’s the Last of Us Series Success Drove the Video Game’s Sales, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan Says

Photo Credit: HBO

Bella Ramsay (left) and Pedro Pascal (right) in a still from The Last of Us

Highlights

Sony has brought The Last Of Us franchise as part of a push to diversify
Sony expects PC revenue to hit $450 million in the current FY
Sony's traditional strength is in single-player games

Sony said on Wednesday that the success of hit drama The Last Of Us from television network HBO is boosting sales of the game series upon which it is based, in a stand-out case of the group repurposing its popular franchises.

“We could see very, very clearly that every time an episode of that show dropped, that sales of the game increased very dramatically,” Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan told an investor briefing.

The success of the show is a notable example of efforts by Sony to drive business across different business lines after its transformation from an electronics maker to entertainment giant spanning games, music, and movies.

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Sony has also brought The Last Of Us franchise, which depicts characters struggling for survival in a post-apocalyptic United States, to PC as part of a push to diversify beyond consoles.

“Already our PC business is a significant profit contributor,” Ryan said.

Sony expects PC revenue to hit $450 million (about Rs. 3,722 crore) in the current financial year compared to $80 million (about Rs. 662 crore) two years earlier.

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In consoles, supply chain snarls have eased with PlayStation 5 sales likely to catch up and then exceed PlayStation 4 during the current financial year. Meanwhile, investors are waiting for further detail on expansion into live service and mobile games.

While Sony's traditional strength is in single-player games, more than half of PlayStation's investment this year will be in live-service games, which offer continuous updated play.

Innovation in cloud technology and artificial intelligence are widely expected to shake up the gaming industry, in which Sony has played a gate-keeping role.

The Last of Us Part I PC Review

“We do have some fairly interesting and quite aggressive plans to accelerate our initiatives in the space of the cloud that will unfold over the course of the coming months,” Ryan said without providing details.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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Read Review

The Last of Us Season 1

Release Date 16 January 2023
Genre Action, Drama, Thriller
Cast
Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Anna Torv, Nick Offerman, Gabriel Luna, Merle Dandridge, Nico Parker, Murray Bartlett, Storm Reid, Jeffrey Pierce, Lamar Johnson, Keivonn Woodard, Graham Greene, Elaine Miles, Melanie Lynskey
Director
Kantemir Balagov
Producer
Craig Mazin, Neil Druckmann, Carolyn Strauss, Rose Lam, Evan Wells, Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan

The Last of Us Season 2

Genre Action, Drama, Thriller

The Last of Us

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Genre Action-Adventure

Platform PlayStation 3 (PS3), PlayStation 4 (PS4)

Modes Single-player, Multiplayer

Series The Last of Us

PEGI Rating 18+

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The Last of Us Part I

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Good
Looks, sounds, feels great
On par with Part II, if not beyond
Centuries ahead of PS4 Pro version
Improved enemy AI behaviour
New Permadeath feature

Bad
Priced as a new PS5 game
No upgrade options for PS3, PS4 owners
No 4K at 60fps, or ray-tracing
No multiplayer
PC port to be sold separately

Read detailed Sony The Last of Us Part I review

Genre Action-Adventure

Platform PlayStation 5 (PS5), PC: Windows

Modes Single-player, Multiplayer

Series The Last of Us

PEGI Rating 18+

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The Last of Us Part II

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Good
Story subverts expectations
Background score and sound design
Kills feel personal
Semblance of open world
Accessibility options

Bad
Might be too morbid for some
Skill tree reset is too game-y
Might need to buy again for PS5

Read detailed Sony The Last of Us Part II review

Genre Action-Adventure

Platform PlayStation 4 (PS4)

Modes Single-player

Series The Last of Us

PEGI Rating 18+

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