There just propping up the business and are builing a new foundation. If the rumors are true that the new Xbox will not play used games this will look like brilliant move in five years. Sony still has a ton of assets to draw upon. They seem to be cutting waste and trying to get back to what they do best. Making quality products.

Okay, but if it's touchy for them, why do they enter threads like this and not bring anything to the topic but dividing people with lables fanboy and hater? If this topic is a place where people talk about the reasons or lackthereof, or implications of a business move like this, they should know that if it's a touchy subject for them they should stay away. If they can't resist and come in, they should be ready for tough words because let's face it the move is kind of a last resort. We both agree that they wouldn't be doing this if they were doing ok. It's a ballsy move and a good one because this way they stay in the game.

I'm not saying that. From people's reactions it really does seem some of your statments read "wrong".

I see what he means though. This may not be your attitude, but it's possible that someone may come in a thread like this to beat Sony while it's down, if they were a hater.

In other words, since we just want to talk about it, let's try to remain as neutral about it as possible, if at least to avoid having to run into this rubbish again, you know what I mean.

For example, Kowen, what about this move is a bad thing, relatively speaking (as compared to other options, were there any)?

That's true, people should have more composure or stay out of threads that can't contribute in, but people can wait around all day for that to happen. The best way is to reason otherwise things can just end up with moderation. VGC is full of this. Most recently I've seen has been in the touchy subjects of trusting MS and the reactions users on here have had and their unwillingness to adress the subject matter. It is like this in a lot of threads.

man some of those people who posted needs to calm down ASAP!!!

@Chark. That's honestly sad, it makes me sad that we can't just avoid that kind of thing, on all sides (haters and over-sensitive ones).

I agree and I think that's a very good point. As good a move this is, as much as it's a one-shot deal. If they are in this situation again they will not have this card to play and will be in serious trouble. In essence this move is not only their only resort atm (imho), but a play-once card that is something Sony must be betting on pretty hard right now. 

The crux is that when you are such a huge operating business that you can't sacrifice one segment easily to focus on the benefits of another (for fear of losing momentum, infrastructure, opportunity), Sony would have a very hard time putting more risky divisions on pause and focus only on its certainly lucrative ones (was it life insurance?). The Playstation 3 has been a source of revenue for them on the long run I believe, but the playstation business is a risky one I don't think anyone can deny that. As much as they want to stay in it, they can't get rid of it either even if they wanted to, it's a bit of an Achiles heel.

We have some people here who defend anything that Sony does, whatever is the result. The same people who defended Sony decisions on PS3 (Cell and Blu Ray) and now are defending Sony decisions on PS4 (Off the shelf components and PC-lite architecture), and are the same people who don't want anyone to remember them that Sony misbehaves have consequences. They are the same people who want more powerful hardware at cheaper prices, the ones out of touch, and anyone who remembers them this is a hater and harsh. Living in a bubble won't change the reality.

Exactly, they have the cash to invest now, but assets can only be sold one time. I honestly cannot see how selling an asset while creating a debt for the next 5 years is only good.

Never a good idea to sell a home and chose to rent. Its better to buy the home and rent it out yourself. However, I'm no CEO and I'm sure the guy Hirai knows more about this than anyone of us here. Hard to believe he'd just take the shaft....maybe the building maintenance was more trouble than it was worth. We'll see how it pans out.