TOKYO, July 31 (Reuters) - Sony ( SONY ) reported on Friday

a 40% rise in first-quarter operating profit, beating analyst

estimates, boosted by the performance of its gaming and image

sensors businesses.

Profit in the April-June quarter was 476.5 billion yen

($2.97 billion). That compared with an average estimate of 361

billion yen from 11 analysts polled by LSEG.

The Japanese conglomerate has received plaudits for its

pivot to entertainment but the market is concerned about the

impact of AI on its business and a memory price boom on margins.

Sony ( SONY ) has said it has secured memory supply for this

financial year but expects continued high prices next year. The

path for memory prices is being widely debated in the industry.

The PlayStation maker is expected to be a major beneficiary

of the launch of "Grand Theft Auto VI" on November 19 as

Microsoft's ( MSFT ) Xbox business retrenches.

Take-Two Interactive Software ( TTWO ) could sell 30 million

to 35 million "GTA VI" units by year-end, according to a

forecast from Ampere Analysis analyst Piers Harding-Rolls.

Other games coming to PlayStation 5 include major in-house

title "God of War Laufey", which is due for release in February.

For the July-September quarter analysts on average estimate

operating profit of 465 billion yen. Sony's ( SONY ) shares were down 8%

year-to-date ahead of the earnings.

($1 = 160.5000 yen)

(Reporting by Sam Nussey; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)