games™ Forum

Sony's chief financial officer, Nobuyuki Oneda, has warned that the games sector "is weak" and presents "a major challenge" after the company posted a drop in profit of more than 90 per cent.

The games division made a YEN 43.5 billion (EUR 289 million) loss, attributed to the investment required for manufacturing, marketing and research costs for the PS3. Sales and operating revenues also fell by more than 20 per cent to hit YEN 170 billion (EUR 1.13 billion).

"But the game segment is weak and is the major challenge for us now," he added.

PS2 software shipments during the quarter were down by 3 million units to 47 million, but the figure for PSP software rose from 9.9 million to 12.9 million units. PS2 and PSP hardware shipments rose to 5.02 million and 3.89 million respectively. However, both hardware and software sales were down overall, with sales and operating revenue standing at YEN 170.3 billion (EUR ).

The games business dropped into the red as a result of start-up costs for the PlayStation 3. Sales also fell due to lackluster demand for the PlayStation Portable (PSP). For the full year Sony cut its shipment estimate for the PSP from 12 million units to 9 million units.