MikeB said: NJ5 said: $1.1-2.2 billion loss for the fiscal year means a $2-3 bln loss for the holiday quarter and the final quarter combined. In other words, pretty much what some of us have been expecting and warning about for quite a while. LOL, warning for whom exactly? Investers or people interested to be employed by Sony? To quote myself from 2006: "In a worst case scenario only, I would imagine Sony to sell off one of their valuable subsidiaries, selling product IP and/or reducing their massive 158,500 employees (more than twice the amount of M$). IMO there will be no downfall of Sony anywhere in the near future." The PS3 is at the core of their long term strategy, gamers don't need to be really worried. Sony is a very strong company with a huge workforce and lots of valuable assets.

Warning for whomever wants to hear it or cares... Last I checked, this website is still about the performance of gaming companies, there are shareholders here as well.

I agree with the second to last paragraph you wrote, and partly with the last one (I don't expect the PS3 to be discontinued anytime soon but it's not impossible either).

 

@ NJ5

We already knew well before the PS3 was done and launched Sony would have invested a lot into the PS3 by now (many billions of dollars costs were already anticipated). That's one of the most important reasons why the PS3 is so appealing and games like Killzone 2 still are far from maxing out what is possible to achieve with the console.

However I think this news report regards Sony in total. A new slimmer and cheaper PS3 motherboard requiring less cooling as well as smaller cheaper Blu-Ray technology have been developed. Financially the PS3 is getting more and more interesting to Sony. IMO there's near to zero chance the PS3 will be discontinued in the upcoming years as past investments are already paid for and the PS3 market is headed towards profitability from which Sony will want to earn back money for many years to come.

MikeB said: @ NJ5 Warning for whomever wants to hear it or cares... Last I checked, this website is still about the performance of gaming companies :P We already knew well before the PS3 was done and launched Sony would have invested a lot into the PS3 by now (many billions of dollars costs were already anticipated). That's one of the most important reasons why the PS3 is so appealing and games like Killzone 2 still are far from maxing out what is possible to achieve with the console. However I think this news report regards Sony in total. A new slimmer and cheaper PS3 motherboard requiring less cooling as well as smaller cheaper Blu-Ray technology have been developed. Financially the PS3 is getting more and more interesting to Sony. IMO there's near to zero chance the PS3 will be discontinued in the upcoming years as past investments are already paid for and the PS3 market is headed towards profitability from which Sony will want to earn back money for many years to come.

I never said these losses are entirely due to the PS3... In fact most of it will probably come from the Electronics division (pretty obvious as most of Sony is in that division, and it's where demand should be the most down).

 

@ NJ5

I just don't understand why there's a need for warnings. The future for PS3 gamers is looking extremely bright, the 2008 games line-up was great, the 2009 line-up seems even better, many Blu-Ray movie releases are sheduled, many new free Home expansions and many hints towards potentially interesting surprises.

Sales wise if the PS3 sold as quickly as the PS2 did early on it would have costed Sony much more money, compared to the PS1 the platform is performing better at a much higher entry pricing. Of course to recoup costs the PS3 has to sell at PS2 levels later on when PS3 unit costs are near the break even point, then they can immediately start earning back money from Blu-Ray movies, Blu-Ray PS3 games, PS3 services/online sales, peripherals, etc when they sell units.

So, are you saying it's bad for PS3 to sell more?

I must be reading wrong...

@MikeB: I have said it twice already, but here it goes again:

This thread is not about the PS3 only, nor were my remarks directed at the PS3. What you have just posted has nothing to do with it. The world does not revolve around the PS3 nor does Sony.

 

NJ5 said: The world does not revolve around the PS3 nor does Sony.

 

Hey now. That's quite a subjective matter.

Galaki said: So, are you saying it's bad for PS3 to sell more? I must be reading wrong...

It's not black and white like that, there are advantages as well as disadvantages. Financially it would have costed Sony more, but it would also have made the PS3 market even stronger. IMO during the period of investment the PS3 had to at least perform on par with the 360 taking equal timeframes and the PS3 actually outperformed the 360 in this regard, all top sold 3rd party 360 games have thus seen PS3 ports and now with the PS3 at an install base of 20 million users the platform is more relevant to 3rd party developers than ever. There's not much to worry about in this regard as well.

What I find so sad about this thread is the sheer amount of facts about Sony huge financial loss, how it's the lead story on several news sites, and PS3 bots are like 'Well, it's ok. It won't affect our PS3.'

NJ5 stated it best - the world doesn't revolve around the PS3, nor Sony. So true.

If a poster creates a thread about Sony's current situation, it's called bashing. If a poster says the PS3 isn't the best thing since sliced bread, it's called bashing. If a poster isn't in amore with Sony and the PS3, it's called bashing.

Sheez, the writing is on the wall. Ninny and MS are making money - and yet Sony is tanking. Why, in light of their financial losses, the demand of shareholders and the like would Sony not trim significant fat off their gaming division, when it has huge losses? If it's a problem, financially, it requires an immediate fix.

Keep dreaming if you think the world worships your beloved PS3 so much that when excess luggage on a sinking ship is thrown overboard.

Face facts - Sony fans are in for a very, very bumpy ride. Mark my words.

madskillz said: What I find so sad about this thread is the sheer amount of facts about Sony huge financial loss, how it's the lead story on several news sites, and PS3 bots are like 'Well, it's ok. It won't affect our PS3.' NJ5 stated it best - the world doesn't revolve around the PS3, nor Sony. So true. If a poster creates a thread about Sony's current situation, it's called bashing. If a poster says the PS3 isn't the best thing since sliced bread, it's called bashing. If a poster isn't in amore with Sony and the PS3, it's called bashing. Sheez, the writing is on the wall. Ninny and MS are making money - and yet Sony is tanking. Why, in light of their financial losses, the demand of shareholders and the like would Sony not trim significant fat off their gaming division, when it has huge losses? If it's a problem, financially, it requires an immediate fix. Keep dreaming if you think the world worships your beloved PS3 so much that when excess luggage on a sinking ship is thrown overboard. Face facts - Sony fans are in for a very, very bumpy ride. Mark my words.

 

If you mean by that fans of Sony TV's, Hi-Fi's and video machines then yes I agree with you.

Sony is more than the PS3, and the fans of gaming (in general) and the fans of the PS3 (specifically) shouldn't be too worried.