It is a very bad decision in the first place.

The Playstation brand is big enough that it feeds all its other departments.

Sony has a significant stake in DVD, and makes and sells movies, ps2 used DVD. That's an example.

Looking at playstation division alone without looking at the nourishment it provides to the rest of the company, through marketplace venues or brand strengthening, is folly. The fact is, Playstation by itself would have wasted profits. It's like mining crude oil just to make natural gas, there's all kinds of other fuel that comes as a by product of making natural gas. It makes more sense to have a bucket for each byproduct than to let outsiders stand around the well waiting for payday.

Kind of like how every other Microsoft fan makes hasty, or sweeping generalizations?

Very dangerous indeed.

Unless the company that replaces them is SEGA, then I would so the same.

Yeah exactly neither of us knows what would happen if the unlikely event of Sony not making Playstation anymore would happen. But you guys act as if they went out of business then there would be no good games left, which is untrue. They wouldn't just leave all those Sony IP's and games studios that are ripe for the picking sit around and collect dust.

If any one of the big three went out of business someone else would just take their place because that's how business works.

Just looks at how Sega dropped out...gaming is still great and there are no lack of good games coming out.

You gotta spend money to make money.

The issue isn't about Sony's products. It's about currency. Sony has always sold products at a higher price than competitors. People still buy them.

Were Sony not based in Japan, they would be doing fine.

What Sony needs to do is restructure the way their income works.

They need to someone change how profits and costs are allocated by region. Since they have several regions, they should be allocating profits to weak currencies from strong currencies.

Sony and Toyota are 2 globally iconic Japanese brands. I wonder, in that context, if the Japanese Govt would allow Sony to die. Would be interesting to know what would happen if it came to that brink.

Playstation is one of the few Sony brands that's selling very well, and even with the price cut is probably marginally profitable. If Sony's going to drop some hardware products I doubt it'll be Playstation

If Sony goes, Nintendo and Sony should finally create and finish the super console they had started

Yeah and if you did your research you'd realize that the majority of Japan's debt is in bonds, basically money it owes itself. What? You think a country with that level of debt vs GDP would actually remain solvent for long? They also have very little in foreign debt, unlike the U.S. which is basically China and Japan's bitch for the forseeable future. If I were you Kowenicki, I'd worry less about your hard on for hating on Japan and worry more about lost causes like the UK, which is fundamentaly bankrupt and more or less done.

Seece and Kowenicki, the usual suspects, get used to it. You should have seen Seece's debut at N4G though, good times, good times.

I wouldn't worry about it though, worse comes to worse the Japanese government will bail out Sony (you know, just how the U.S. bailed out it's auto industry), they are far too vital as an economic entity to just let wither on the vine, though the short term looks grim, they are necessary in the longterm and adjustments will be made. Sony's recent loses can also be attributed to recent aquisitions and R and D costs. As for the usual Japan-hating suspects in this thread, I'd pray that the 3rd largest economy in the world doesn't implode. You think Greece is a problem? Wait til a massive economy goes down, then you'll see some chaos. Of course the powers that be in the financial world would never let Japan spiral into insolvency, there's just too much to lose to let that happen.