Sony To Report $1.3 Billion Quarterly Loss On Friday.

[TEXAN*]

http://www.smarthouse.com.au/TVs_And_Large_Display/Industry/H3R5W9P2

The Company whose executives still believe that Sony is a premium brand, are now having to face up to the stark reality that consumers have a different view and are deserting the brand in droves, in favour of products from Apple, Panasonic and LG.

If Stringer fails to deliver within 12 months, several leading analysts are tipping that he will be dumped.

If going platform agnostic and dropping the costly console wars is what it takes for Stringer to save his job, then believe you me he'll make the call.

[semitope]

So why should their place in the console market be the thing to be targeted? Seems to me they are more secure there in the long run (while there are only 3 competitors and they have a "fanbase"). Their other hardware segments can be improved. The console segment was really the only thing painted in a positive light in the article so why your conclusion? Could stringer even get the go ahead to do that?

btw apple is much more a premium brand than sony. Don't know why they were included in the authors list. This type of news also will cause a fall in sony stock prematurely (we dont know its true).

[TEXAN*]

So why should their place in the console market be the thing to be targeted? Seems to me they are more secure there in the long run (while there are only 3 competitors and they have a "fanbase"). Their other hardware segments can be improved. The console segment was really the only thing painted in a positive light in the article so why your conclusion?


Because they lose $100 on every Slim sold.

The more SCEI sells PSX3 Slim, the quicker Sony arrives at bankruptcy court...

[obonicus]

Isn't smarthouse a terrible site with a history of terribly fake news stories? Do we have any other source for the 'Stringer may be dumped' line?

[cbarcus]

Because they lose $150 on every Slim sold.

The more SCEI sells PSX3 Slim, the quicker Sony arrives at bankruptcy court...

Where did you come up with $150 loss per console? I was under the impression that it was more like $20-$30 (if it is even that high. I seem to recall hearing somewhere within the last year that the loss on the previous iteration of the PS3 was around 10% ($440 to make, selling for $400).

[TEXAN*]

Where did you come up with $150 loss per console? I was under the impression that it was more like $20-$30 (if it is even that high. I seem to recall hearing somewhere within the last year that the loss on the previous iteration of the PS3 was around 10% ($440 to make, selling for $400).

My fault, It's $100 per unit sold.

http://www.examiner.com/x-6894-SF-Console-Game-Examiner~y2009m8d23-Analyst-says-Sony-is-losing-100-per-Playstation-3-sold

I've updated my post.

[makattack]

In my mind/opinion, the only console platform that wins in the long term are the mobile platforms from Apple or Google....

[patsu]

That's because no one games at home ?

[zed]

The more SCEI sells PSX3 Slim, the quicker Sony arrives at bankruptcy court...
at that rate of loss they will be bankrupt around the year 2300

Havent they got billions in the bank?
(checks)
yep

TEXAN - "damn those pesky facts again"

[tirminyl]

Where is this analyst getting their manufacturing costs?

Sony has much more areas to worry about than their gaming sector. Their PC's or TV's aren't doing so hot either. Either way, Stringer has been given the power he needs to make change within the organization since the financial crisis. He is now able to make the changes he has been wanting to make without anyone fighting him. It will take a while before you, as a consumer, see the labor of the company restructure.

[Neb]

at that rate of loss they will be bankrupt around the year 2300

Havent they got billions in the bank?
(checks)
yep


Isn't that borrowed money?

[tha_con]

I see it's against the rules to point out someone's intent.

Anyway, All of these thread's you make come with little factual information and outrageous assumptions on your behalf. Don't you think you should start fact checking more often before you start making these allegations?

That said, if Sony loses $100 on every PS3 Sold, they still make a considerable chunk of change from a lot of the services and accessories (and software) that they sell. Losing $100 per console isn't a big deal at all.

I could go into specifics, but I fear you'll just ignore it in place of more FUD on how Sony is going to fall out of the console race and become a 3rd party publisher.

Nebula - I don't see the relevance of it being borrowed money or not. If it's money in their bank, it's money in their bank. Granted, they will have to pay the money back, but none of us can predict the kind of financial situation Sony will be in at that time.

[Rangers]

Well this isn't GOOD news..in the past I'd have blamed the economy but it seems many American companies are turning in good profit figures these days.

[Nesh]

I wonder why TEXAN thinks it is the Playstation to blame for the majority of the losses

[tirminyl]

I wonder why TEXAN thinks it is the Playstation to blame for the majority of the losses

I thought everyone knew that Sony is only a gaming company :razz:

[SG79]

Isn't smarthouse a terrible site with a history of terribly fake news stories? Do we have any other source for the 'Stringer may be dumped' line?

Yes, and no. Check out the silly typo in the beginning and the fact that he mentions Sony's own projected loss for the year, which is less what he's claiming for the quarter. There is another story where the author seemingly didn't grasp the idea of what patents really mean:

http://www.smarthouse.com.au/TVs_And_Large_Display/Industry/A3X9E8L4?page=1

[SG79]

Well this isn't GOOD news..in the past I'd have blamed the economy but it seems many American companies are turning in good profit figures these days.

Some and the global economy hasn't exactly recovered yet to write it off as a reason why CE companies are still struggling. Employment isn't exactly on the rise anywhere nowadays.

[Crossbar]

If going platform agnostic and dropping the costly console wars is what it takes for Stringer to save his job, then believe you me he'll make the call.

Call me old-fashioned, but I personally don´t think this kind of inflammatory nonsense remarks belong on B3D.

[liolio]

Because they lose $100 on every Slim sold.

The more SCEI sells PSX3 Slim, the quicker Sony arrives at bankruptcy court...
Well we don't know for sure, I think (if there is truth to this news) Sony might still be suffering from actual currencies, the dollars is super low right now (which I like as I'm going to spend two weeks with my wife in US for Christmas, I'm going to buy a bunch of clothes :) ).

EDIT 1
http://www.zonebourse.com/graf/as22442.gif

I'm searching for euro/yen comparision.
EDIT2:
Found
http://www.boursereflex.com/common_files/news/fckeditor/B051009.png
It's a bit better but not great either, the trend is bad.

[eastmen]

I see it's against the rules to point out someone's intent.

Anyway, All of these thread's you make come with little factual information and outrageous assumptions on your behalf. Don't you think you should start fact checking more often before you start making these allegations?

That said, if Sony loses $100 on every PS3 Sold, they still make a considerable chunk of change from a lot of the services and accessories (and software) that they sell. Losing $100 per console isn't a big deal at all.

I could go into specifics, but I fear you'll just ignore it in place of more FUD on how Sony is going to fall out of the console race and become a 3rd party publisher.

Nebula - I don't see the relevance of it being borrowed money or not. If it's money in their bank, it's money in their bank. Granted, they will have to pay the money back, but none of us can predict the kind of financial situation Sony will be in at that time.

IT could be very bad. how long does it take sony to recoup the cost ? They may recoup it and mabye make a profit on it ,but it coudl take a long time which means sony has to carry those looses through quarters.

I don't see how $100 lost on a console isn't a big deal , they have to make that up before they make a profit.


That being said i have no idea how expensive the slim is and what htey looose on it. I just thnk sony as a whole is in a deep wad of crap. Their products have allways carried a price premium and in my experiance rarely if ever warrent it.

[Crossbar]

I don't see how $100 lost on a console isn't a big deal , they have to make that up before they make a profit.

We don´t know how valid that $100 number is, analysts have been mighty wrong before.

Why not get the facts from the mouth of the horse himself (http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article6808050.ece)?

Times:It’s well known that Sony loses money on every PS3 it sells. Will that still be the case with the new machine?
Kaz: If you're just talking about the hardware alone, the quick answer is yes. That makes good headlines, but I don't actually know that that's the true nature of the business that we're all in, whether it's PlayStation, Xbox or the Wii. I think the better indicator is to look at the business as a whole platform, to ask: are you profitable in terms of the hardware, software and peripherals. And the answer t o that question is yes on a gross profit level since the last fiscal year.

[SG79]

The source of that $100 figure is an analyst's comment on Japanese TV, which in turn was loosely based on Sony's CFO's comments much earlier in March. So basically, that's speculation by itself.

[Dr Evil]

In general these sort of end figures (100$) or conclusions are worthless, when we aren't provided any sort of data or research information, that is supposed to be behind these conclusions. I hate reading these kind of conclusions and it's even more annoying seeing people running with them.

[eastmen]

We don´t know how valid that $100 number is, analysts have been mighty wrong before.

Why not get the facts from the mouth of the horse himself (http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article6808050.ece)?

I admited that I don't know if its the proper cost. You could have read my post . Also his statement is them lumping the playstation brand together. I'd hope the ps2 ,psp and ps3 togehter would make a profit.

[Crossbar]

I admited that I don't know if its the proper cost. You could have read my post . Also his statement is them lumping the playstation brand together. I'd hope the ps2 ,psp and ps3 togehter would make a profit.

OK, but even if the $100 number is true it is not really interesting as Sony is obviously making up for their losses on the PS3 console sales in other ways.

Also Kaz does not say he is including the PS2 and PSP business in his take, but that may be the case, we cannot tell from that statement alone. "Platform" could mean the PS3 platform or the Playstation platform.

[tha_con]

I'm confident that Sony breaks even at a minimum from their loss when they sell accessories, and a few games. Hell, I'm sure that PlayStation Home even contributes to this.
Call me old-fashioned, but I personally don´t think this kind of inflammatory nonsense remarks belong on B3D.


It just takes a few minutes in his post history to let it click. I think either he's a joke character, or he seriously wants "Sony" to fail because they "Killed" Sega's hardware division.

[Carl B]

When Sony reports numbers, we'll have a thread and discussion. It's a one day wait so I think it's easy enough to wait for actual context before going through these motions.