The quarterly financial report for Sony is not a good sign in many aspects for the company. Sales have plunged 14.5 percent, which has contributed to a loss of ¥3.5 billion. Sony has blamed the poor figures on the lack of PS3, and PSP sales, which they say were “partially” offset by the Vita.
Although they claimed the Vita was responsible, they did not submit any numbers for the handheld console alone. Instead, they combined the Vita sales with that of its predecessor the PSP, and the joint tally of both consoles was 1.4 million. This is significantly less than that of the PSP on its own a year ago, when it sold 1.8 million.
Sony opted to also combine PS3 and PS2 sales. These systems sold 2.8 million units—much lower than the 3.2 million units the year before.
Sony’s software sales are fairing no better. Handheld software sales have dropped to 5.8 million units, a significant drop from last year’s 6.6 million units. Continuing the bad news, home console software sales declined significantly from 27.6 million units last year, to this year’s measly 20.1 million units.
Sony has recognized its falling sales and lowered their expectations for the rest of the year. The company now expects to ship 12 million units by the end of the year, rather than the 16 million as previously expected. Sony also warns that PS Vita and PSP sales will be significantly less than expected.
However, speaking to MCV, Sony’s UK’s VP and Managing Director, Fergal Gara, cited that, “the feedback from many consumers who’ve gotten their hands on [the Vita] is positive – so that’s a very good start.”
Even with all the bad news, Sony’s gaming division is relatively stable compared to their electronics division. The $312 million loss was mostly attributed to their television and mobile markets.
Both Vita and PlayStation 3 have a long life ahead of them. Titles such as, LittleBigPlanet Karting (Vita), Assassin’s Creed 3 Liberation (Vita), The Last of Us (PS3), and Beyond: Two Souls (PS3), continue to demonstrate the technical prowess of their hardware against the competition. Look forward to more PlayStation exclusives throughout the year!
(Via PushSquare)