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Sony Profits, PS2 Sales Slide
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."
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.
Hacker Media
You do know this is going to bring all the Box and Cube fanboys out of the woodwork, right? Nevermind the fact that it's a natural part of the PS2 sales cycle to finally experience a platue after over five years of undisputed industry dominance. This is the only thing that can sooth that ass-pounding their console has been recieving at the hands of the elderly piece of hardware.
Yes, fanboys. You're console is number one. Now drop your pants and bend back over.
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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.
My inner self is ineffable, so don't eff with me.
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!
How many of those sales include repurchases after their first PS2 took a shit all over them? I hear about broken PS2's at least 10 times a week at my game retail job and know two employees who both are on their third system. At least sony fixes the disc read errors for free now (usually).
Also note that their profits dropped 98% since last quarter (I believe).
Sounds like somebody's not getting bonuses for Crash Bandicoot this year!
p2p file-sharing! As far as I know, that's the only thing that can cause an entertainment industry company to lose money.
..and cause everyone to wait for it instead of buying into the platform now.
oh and doing
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.
You must master your joystick like a fisherman masters bait! - Gimpy