You are correct it does not matter in that point, but making a smartphone based on how a game console is done in the market for the smartphone market is or would allow Sony to carve out a well defined niche in instead of trying to sell you a refreshed phone every year.

Sony could make a PlayStation smartphone that instead of the idea of the smartphone being the next big thing , instead is making the software that goes on to that phone is the next big thing!

Many smart phones hardware goes untapped. For software builds , because you turn around a new phone is released so fast they make software for over all smartphone hardware instead of taking real advantage of the hardware as they could.

- Yeah and the reasons you have mentioned why Apple makes so much money is because of their closed Ecosystem.

-You do realize that a PlayStation Phone doesnt need a high install base to make a profit? Just like the PS4 doesnt need a high install base as 40 Million would be nothing in the smartphone bussines. What makes profits for consoles and handhelds are the royalty fees for each game sold, which are 10%. SAMSUNG and other android manufactures dont make a cent from purchases on the Google store, and even google and Apple make nothing dueto small Royalty fees.

Games with Royalty Fees, Sony exclusives without Royalty Fees and PS+ it would make more than enough money. Even more than Apple because they dont really make their own software.

And i think there would be a lot of people who would like to have a smartphone thats supports physical media to be traded in, one with real buttons and a smartphone which has a store clean from any BS games or copy and past games.

Sony tried that when they completely bought out SE, and had to do a write off of the entire buy out because the cost paid was more than the assets worth. 

Sony devalued the worth of the asset, and trim down, and cut the low end and the number of models they make , cut work force and made the entire asset streamlined. And are still working on even further cuts.

They could sell it off, but again total sell off would again be a freaking loss, its smart at this point to turn the already trimmed down asset into further cuts and cost cut measure. And by again changing from a multiple smartphone product to consolidate to a more marketable brand for a single SKU brand of smartphone.

It worked for Apple it could very well work for Sony. A gaming smartphone that directly works with your living room Playstation and is made to stay supported along right with the living room playstation.

By doing so , the key point is as brand strength goes, a playstation Smartphone would have a better brand strength than Vita, or xperia ever did.

No need to call it PSP phone..just streamlined to 

Playstation phone! Just like playstation Vue, playstation Now, Playstation VR. If you think about it a PlayStation phone would cover their Mobile entry into the portable space & would be a way to have a product in the smartphone market not trying to having to be relied on having to gain market share on Apple or Samsung, Google etc. Because the target is to gather software sakes for the likes of getting developers even under mobile to go with and make games for a smartphone like you would a console and licence profits on PlayStation consumers investment further into a playstation Eco system..the main point being is the software would cost more to the consumer , but at the same time be more represented of a console quality game experience than a smartphone game.

Its pretty ironic that there is console quality games on iOS and Android Playstore already, but they are seen as outdated old games and gamers want new iP's for a mobile device more akin to a living room game console but made for a mobile. With smart phones having system on a chips that are now cluster of mobile processors, has access to 8GB of system ram, GB of storage, advanced Graphics Api like Vulkan and DirectX12 support.. Its now getting to the point a company could very well make a real play to making a real gamer smartphone.

The hardware is there at a level capable of performance that could support it.

If Sony could gather big publishers on board with a premium playstation smartphone software store, they could get rather large returns on a game sale by sale on not just for 3rd party but 1st party games also. Say if the average game price is $25.00+ but which is seen by marketing more as a games console Quality game instead of a mobile game they could make a carved out niche, and a mobile market software place that has higher ROI for the companies that make the software.

Living room

VR

Network

The only thing really left missing is mobile.

What this could do is instead of trying to play in the normal way of the smartphone sandbox the other companies play in. Make a sand box like the console market is but for Mobile.

Its really no use trying to gain in market share against the incumbents of Apple & Samsung, its better at this point to separate the way your product is in among the other smart phones.

Content is a way to make your product stand out. Since it runs android you could still get Apk apps just like it would , but here is the big point the game's are its main priority..Sony and the big game publishers only worry about making games , YouTube , Hulu, office , file manager's etc..those are made by other companies...

The Phones game's made for it would in effect mimic the console market by the big publisher's.

That make games for console's. Have regular game pad dual shock 3/4 support.. Be the standard control impute method.

No point making a playstation phone, they'd make more money making games with the Vulkan API in the future that are available to all future devices and make more money, they'd be smarter to have OTG type connection for the PS4 controller for games on phones and have the games scale based on hardware instead.

That's like saying..No need to make a windows Phone.. Or no need for Samsung to make a Phone..someone has to make the Smartphone Why not Sony? They make smart phones already as is..many say well they do not sell that well.

So if Sony makes a PlayStation Smartphone and make games for other Smartphone's Also how would that hurt Selling their own Premium Smartphone for playstation being Sold @profit?

If its profitable than its profitable.

Remember Sony is not targeting low , or trying to compete in Market share..they would be building this smartphone to tie into their PlayStation Eco system.

So again why not still sell a smartphone & software..if they are only selling one type of smartphone model..and their games are better optimize for that model , than what harm would it be to sell one model of smartphone..

If it was all about selling Software over just hardware than why would any company make any hardware and just make their Software for only one single platform.

Since Sony is not selling off their smartphone section of their company they must be seeing a use for such to still sell smartphone's ..as long as they are profitable than that's what matters right? 

Some may say but if your not selling enough to matter..

Matter to whomever that may be right..investors and stock holder's right? So if investor's and stock holders get a return, that's all that matters again right?

So why not a playstation Phone..one marketing as a real playstation smartphone not a licenced one, or another companies smartphone playing PlayStation game's, but Hardware that Sony playstation is selling.

This was only for one quarter. For the full fiscal year, they will make a loss on their mobile division. And while I'm not quite as bearish as Kowen on the future prospects of Sony's mobile division, I at least agree that it won't become a big profit driver for Sony in the near future. It will become like the TV division is now: low sales, and a somewhat okay-ish profit.

Also I think a playstation phone would be disastrous.

So even if the smartphone part is folded into playstation and they sell a single model of smartphone and make PlayStation smartphone game's on iOS & AndroudOS and its all under the same PlayStation subsidiary.. You think it would be a disaster.. Even if its smartphone is sold @ a profit?

It seems to me if your going to make games for smartphone's now..what difference would it make if you made one yourself to put out there to sell. If its being sold for profit right off the bat.

I mean Amazon has a fire stick. But released Software services on other device's.. Should Amazon stop making hardware just because Apple sell more hardware?

Sony could in effect offer playstation now, playstation vue services and also playstation 1st play premium benefits to playstation smartphone owners outside of other smartphone's. Only getting the games to play.

I thought you meant a Playstation gaming phone? Or do you literally just mean change the branding of Xperia phones to "Playstation phones"? Either way, I think it's a bad move. While the Playstation brand is a bigger brand than Xperia overall, that doesn't mean that it would translate well to phones. Just like a Coca-Cola branded phone wouldn't do well, despite the Coca-Cola brand being huge. (Most) Adults will look at it and think "Playstation? As in the video game console? Okee.. not a phone for me then". Branding the phone Playstation would scare off more customers than it would bring in new ones. As for making it an actual Playstation gaming phone, it would be the same, only 100 times worse.

Yes, regardless of if it's included under the Playstation sub-division, and they only have a single model (which would probably just make it worse), and the rest you said, I think it would be a terrible move.

Playstation is a great brand within gaming, within phones though? It will do Sony's mobile division more bad than good.

How would it be bad again if they made and sold it @ profit..with the software being made going out goes to other handsets like Samsung & Apple iOS. Again how is making one single model going to hurt the brand if its set to tie in the support cycle to go along with a living room console's?

If its a forked over of AndroidOS Sony would have complete control on games made just for the playstation Smartphone and games released on iOS & Android are just more profit generation centers for Sony's playstation Subsidiary..

I see what you are saying , but I do not see how not making any hardware is any better than making a single smartphone that they make for playstation customer's a bad thing if that smartphone is sold at a profit.

Sony is turning playstation into an Eco system..you expect Sony to sit back and let every other company have hardware in the market for smart phones but not one they base on Playstation?

*When Sony is making playstation Vue streaming cable TV anywhere you go..on a playstation phone.

*playstation Plus

*remote play

Use standard playstation dual shock controllers

Use Android so as Android Apps work on the phone.

Remember if they are targeting the single smartphone as their new Mobile PlayStation Platform..they could load up tools and development to make the best games on smartphone's sell on other iOS & Android OS handset. Using Dual shock controller support , but again they could make certain games Exclusive to that playstation Phone only.

Unlike the PsVita , this is base around the smartphone market not on dedicated handheld game console's.. So instead Sony brings the development creation that would be for consoled to smartphone's.. That means publishers like King, and other mobile game development publisher's would be seeing Sony release better games on the mobile market.

The key now is physical control pad's are not required on mobile, but if Sony make such that developers must make such function built into every game they publish every game would have physical game pad controller support. Grand theft auto San Andreas for example has controller support Bluetooth & wired for mobile.

That's one of the big caveats missing in many mobile games..but if Sony make it a requirements to the game must have physical game pad support included, that changes due elopement for mobile games market as a whole.

At least for the better in my opinion.

I'm not saying they should drop out of the phone market, I'm saying that they should just keep the Xperia branding of their phones, and that changing the branding to Playstation would be a terrible move.