As prospective but pennywise gaming consumers look to the horizon and June’s eagerly anticipated E3 Expo looms large, many with designs on a PlayStation 3 purchase may well be hoping Sony will mark the event by lopping a sizeable chunk off its powerhouse console’s lofty retail price. Don’t hold your breath, we say.
Play Beyond... your financial capabilities? Image: farbfilm/Flickr.
Moreover, Japanese consumer electronics titan Sony Corp. has today revealed it has bled a clear $1 billion USD across the fiscal year through to March, 2009, which equates to its first annual net loss in 14 years. And, according to AP, the company expects to bleed yet more throughout the remainder of 2009 as it battles against plunging interest in its electronic products.
Of course, some may claim the best way for Sony to reinvigorate its target demographic and revive consumer interest would be to cut prices on high-profile devices such as the PlayStation 3.
However, Sony continues to lose money in its videogame entertainment business, where the PlayStation 3 home console and PlayStation Portable handheld platform are struggling globally behind the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS and also Microsoft’s Xbox 360 in certain markets.
While it remains unlikely that Sony will reduce the retail pricing of its home console at E3 – a revamped third-generation PlayStation Portable that’s all-but confirmed may stoke consumer fires – the company did manage to post improved sales for the home system at the end of the fiscal year.
Specifically, Sony sold just over 10 million PlayStation 3 consoles throughout the last fiscal year, which is a 10 percent year-on-year increase. It also notched up slightly better PlayStation Portable sales too, seeing its handheld shift 14.1 million units against the previous year’s 13.8 million.
As Sony scrambles for traction and the recession claws at its heels, the electronics heavyweight has announced sweeping restructuring efforts that will result in the closure of three of its manufacturing facilities in Japan and worldwide job losses totalling 16,000.
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