Sony can’t seem to catch a break. The company has been turning in red figures for the last 10 years, and their consumer electronics division has been in the red for the last three.
The company’s poor performance has prompted it to sell off its Vaio line of laptops, and spin-off its Bravia line of TVs. Recently it was reported that executives in the company might even be turning in their bonuses. During the company’s most tumultuous times, the PlayStation brand has continued to resonate with consumers, especially after E3 2013 where the PlayStation 4 became a media darling, going on to sell 7 million units.
But today Sony announced their financials for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024 and the news isn’t so good. Sony’s game division has turned in losses, attributed to the cost of launching the PlayStation 4. Its revenue sat at ¥979.2bn/$9.5bn (up 38.5% from last year) however its operating losses totaled ¥8.1 billion/$78 million.
Given that the PlayStation 4 is selling well, it is likely this will be turned around. Sadly, the same is not expected of Sony’s handheld line: The PS Vita, Vita TV and PSP sold a total of 4.1m units for the entire year (down from 7m last last year) and forecasts estimate the three will only sell 3.5m units between them in the year ahead.
There was a spot of good news however - software sales were on the increase, with Sony bringing in ¥91bn/$893m in Q4 (up from ¥79 billion in Q4 of the last fiscal year). Sony even expects to turn a profit this fiscal year - albeit a paltry ¥20m.
Shehzaan Abdulla
Latest posts by Shehzaan Abdulla (see all)
- Legend Of Kay Anniversary Review - August 21, 2024
- Magnetic: Case Closed Review - June 1, 2024
- Path of Exile: Forsaken Masters expansion detailed - August 4, 2024
