You could still have money in the bank if it was a overdraft. But this mean you don't really have any money. The problem would be if the banks think there is a problem and ask for there money back.

Good will is definitely not on the balance sheet. (Please add me $100 million of goodwill!)

It is incorporated in the shareprice though. 

Oh squilliam...you and your threads....make it sound so simple!

Squilliam I agree with writing off the losses. The company and the investors simply must concede, and accept the money lost is money gone, and that they will never recoup those losses. However Sony borrowed against the PS3, and those losses cannot be written off. Sony cannot simply say we lost money so we do not have to pay back that seven hundred million we borrowed with interest.

Sony borrowed the money ostensibly, because they could not eat the losses from the launch on their own liquidity alone. That means that the company has limited cash reserves. Thus they are right now planning to sell bonds to cover their maturing debt. Basically it is robbing Peter to pay Paul. Ideally the losses incurred in the gaming division should be offset by other divisions. However now losses in the gaming division must be offset by accumulating more debt. The division must make money lest in increases the corporate debt load.

Remember the Rules of Acquisition clearly state. "Dignity and an empty sack is worth the sack.". Sony cannot afford to think as a deluded fanatic thinks. They cannot do something, because it suits their pride. I think Sony needs to follow the 35th, and the 76th rules of acquisition. "Peace is good for business.", and "Every once in a while, declare peace. It confuses the hell out of your enemies.".

Sony would do better by being profitable even if they lose the console war, and by declaring peace they are sure as hell to put the others off guard, or at least lull them into a false sense of security. Either way they will probably focus on their own profits, and perhaps be less avid about stripping away the profits Sony desperately needs.

Utter nonsense?  If Sony had $0 in the bank, THEY WOULD BE BANKRUPT.  It doesn't matter what's on a balance sheet.  You have to have cold hard cash somewhere, or their assets would be getting sold off.  You can't pay anyone with $0 in the bank.

Not really. If they still have assets to liquify into cash then they can still survive. Mind you not being liquid does not bode well for the company but having limited to no cash does not necessarily mean they are bankrupt. Cash is king though especially in these trying economic times.

I see what you guys are saying, and I suppose I worded it wrong in grouping together 'money in the bank' and 'cash reserves'. My fault, I apologize. I still think they have a little more money than people think..of course they have debt, but their debt payments are in the hundreds of millions if I'm not mistaken (And maybe I am). I live paycheck to paycheck...I'm pretty sure Sony isn't sitting there saying 'Sorry guys, I can't go out to dinner..our $300 million payment is due Friday, I just can't afford it!'

It's OK to be overdrawn by a hundred bucks...not by 300 million=P

I think the future is the problem. PS2 sold the most of any console ever and they spent all that money on PS3 and still have debt as other people have posted.

What happens when it is time to make the PS4 and they don't have the stellar sales of PS2 to fall back on, they will need to have even more money coming from some where else in the company to use for the PS4. Sony however, is reporting losses.

turnarounds raise stock prices, though.

Why is Squilliam so much cooler lately?

It's a sad development, really. As soon as SCE starts turning things around, the PS3 gains on the 360, the PSP starts to gain on the DS, everything starts falling apart. The situation was getting better, so that while the company as a whole was doing well, they were willing to accept the temporary losses of one division since the division was performing better competitively. With the economy sour, and Sony's stock recently devalued to "underperforming," there might be rough seas ahead.