Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
PlayStation (Games) Entertainment Games

Sony Profits, PS2 Sales Slide 27

Posted by simoniker from the not-so-really-good-really dept.
Thanks to Gamesindustry.biz for their article discussing Sony's disappointing games division financial results. According to the piece: "Global sales of the PlayStation 2 may well have peaked, with Sony's results for the quarter ended June 30 revealing a steep decline in sales of the console and a drop in overall revenues for the games division of the corporation." The specific news was mixed: "The company sold some 4.59 million PS2s during the quarter last year - this year, however, the figure has dropped off to 2.65 million. As you might expect at this point in the console's life cycle, however, software sales are up - gaining four million units in during the period this year to bring the total to 31 million units."
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

Sony Profits, PS2 Sales Slide More

Sony Profits, PS2 Sales Slide

Comments Filter:

  • Could it be (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Kizzle ( 555439 ) on Friday July 25, 2003 @09:44PM (#6537740)
    Could it be that *gasp* most people have a ps2 or some other next gen system by now? High sales can't go on forever.
    • Which is exactly why SCEA executive vice president Andrew House [playstation.com] emplores you to buy another PS2 and keep it in the original packaging as a collector's item. He does, after all, have a family to support and not one, not two, but three houses to pay property taxes on! Please, think of Andrew and buy a PS2 for every television you own.

      And while we're at it...Hideki "Dick" Komiyama [sony.com] thinks you might like a brand new Sony television. You deserve it! Be good to yourself! The new HDTVs are cool!

      :P

    • Well, when 31 million homes have a PS2.. they tend to stop buying the same ones..
    • How come when it happens to Nintendo that its a Signal That The End is Near. Or if it happens to the XBOX its because Micro$oft $UCK$!!!

      Naturally though, I agree with you. Console sales will eventually drop, despite price lowering, bundleing and other such tactics.

  • Ok... (Score:1, Insightful)

    by skwirlmaster ( 555307 )
    Well that is to be expected, as was mentioned earlier... and the fact that they *loose* money on consoles, and make it back in software means that sony might actually be duing better for it.
    • Except that Sony probably isn't losing money on PS2s anymore (if they ever did).

      Of course, it's possible that they make more money on each disc sold than they do on each console sold, in which case gaining 4 million disc sales and losing 4 million console sales is pretty much a good thing, unless developers look at it as a bad sign (though really, with how many PS2s already sold, who cares if they stop selling?). Maybe I'll buy another one when they're selling at $100 a pop, maybe, if I already have a 2nd
  • What does it matter if their hardware isn't selling like it did last quarter or last year? They're making a profit from licensing for games, right? How are the numbers for ps2 games? If sony is making a profit, I'd say game sales must be decent at least.

    Sony still hasn't gotten my money, but it's coming. I expect console sales to rise once GT4 is released next year. I know I'll be buying one!

  • Also note that their profits dropped 98% since last quarter (I believe).

    Sounds like somebody's not getting bonuses for Crash Bandicoot this year!

  • A variety of factors (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Rakthar ( 580956 ) on Saturday July 26, 2003 @11:30AM (#6539940)
    First up, the obvious "Boy there sure are a lot of PS2s out there" statement can be thrown into the mix. Most RPG gamers, Sports gamers, and all around game players have a PS2 at this point, so it makes sense that the hardware sales would slow down to a point.

    There are two figures being thrown around. That sony's profits dropped 98%, and that Sony's profits dropped 30%. Both are accurate. The 30% figure refers to the games division, and shows that while sales are slightly off, things are still going well. Sony does not make that much money off of each PS2 (though word is that they are no longer selling them for a loss) so the slowdown in base units and increase in software sales were fully expected. The 98% figure refers to Sony as a whole, which includes all their divisions.

    Basically Sony's game division is dragged down by the rest of the company, and believe me, Sony is a large company. Japan's still involved in a recession and deflationary conditions, and the Yen has risen strongly against the dollar, cutting into the profits from exports and consumer electronics sold here. So combine a slack marketplace at home, a reduction in profits from your core products due to exchange rate variances(consumer electronics often have razor thin margins to begin with), and a mature product line, and you have a worse quarter than before.

    The games division continues to be a bright spot for Sony and continues to help the company stay profitable. It's only a small part in such a large company, but it is a significant one. The games division did have a slightly weaker quarter than before, but I think this can be attributed to exchange rate variance (remember that the PS2s are largely built in asia then shipped over, meaning the real cost of those just went up), less profit per first party game sold (again, exchange rate), and the line-up of third party release.

  • If they charged $99 I'd buy one. Otherwise I'm a PC guy.

  • We all know that PS2's are poorly put together and thus this is why they break down a year or so later forcing you to buy a new one and hoping it WONT break down.

Slashdot Top Deals

There's no sense in being precise when you don't even know what you're talking about. -- John von Neumann

Close