Sony’s shares took a nosedive yesterday after their financial statements were issued, and this year more than $3 billion has been wiped off its market share value, according to reports.
The shares dropped more than seven per cent after the statements to a low not seen for thirty years, when they were just starting to sell the Walkman cassette player in the States.
It’s the TV division that’s struggling the most. “If you wanted a top quality TV [in the past] you had to buy a Sharp, Panasonic or Sony,” said Steve Durose, of Fitch Ratings last month.
“Those days are gone.”
Kazuo Hirai, now Sony’s CEO, is banking on smartphones, claiming Sony will sell more than 33 million of them this year; and on consoles, saying they’ll double sales of the PlayStation Vita to 16 million.
As ever, analysts suggest that the demand for dedicated portable consoles is weakening in the face of competition from smartphones.
Source: 4-traders.
KeRaSh
Double the sales of the Vita to 16 million? When did they sell the first 8 million devices?
manicminer
Yay for cherry picked reporting.. Not even a mention that the PS3 outsold the Xbox360 for the 4th consecutive year in a row.
Surely that’s more relevant than this tripe?
gideon1451
Oh dear :/
I don’t think it’s a good idea banking on phones, you’ve got a lot to catch up on with HTC & Samsung’s latest reveals.
KeRaSh
Yes, while the Xperia line of smartphones is pretty solid, it’s nothing like the HTC One series. The One X is the best phone I’ve ever owned. Really loving the design.
manicminer
Got an Xperia and it’s a supurb phone. The the only real losers are those that only buy what they know.
IAmJacksMedullaOblongata
Vita price cut (almost) confirmed.
They can show lots of great software for the Vita at E3 but they need to build the install base before these games come out for the attach rate to make a jot of difference.
If they don’t announce a cut at E3 I would be shocked. Knock a tenner off those memory cards as well, Kaz.
LTG Davey
Not a huge surprise really. In order to make the Vita attractive it needs a couple of system-selling titles (which will appeal to both the Western market and the Japanesse) and a major price drop.
The 3DS sells for (give or take) £125 these days so the Vita needs to float around that price point in order to stay competitive. Sure the Vita has a lot more ‘under the hood’ but most handheld gamers won’t give a stuff about system specs
Bilbo_bobbins
wow, Sony are in trouble. I’m sure they confirmed not selling TV’s in the future too. Putting your hopes on phones, consoles and the Vita is very worrying indeed.
Forrest_01
Surely that would be a good thing though? Lose the part of the business that is failing & concentrate on the more successful divisions?
Blayney
Forrest is spot on.
KeRaSh
Or at least rethink your strategy in your failing sectors.
Samsung is running circles around Sony in the TV market.
People stopped buying Sony TVs for the name a long time ago so it’s about time they lower their prices to stay competitive.
Bilbo_bobbins
yes I agree there Forest, its the best thing to do. The problem is their phones aren’t that great compared to others, and the Vita doesn’t have many games going for it at the moment, unless they pull a spectacular one at E3.
Forrest_01
True – they need to lose the stigma that the first run of sony ericsson phones created & come out with something truly groundbreaking to set themselves apart from the rest of the market (what though i don’t know).
& i agree that the Vita doesn’t have much going for it at the moment in the way of looking to the future – Sure it has a few good games out now, but people need to know that they haven’t stopped, there is something coming & that its going to be good.
Not that i pay attention to Vita stuff, but i couldn’t tell you a damn thing due out for it anytime soon. & that’s bad news for them, as i am exactly the sort of person they should be trying to reach to get interested in picking one up.
As you say, they kinda need to show something (preferably lots of things!) at E3.
Dazbobaby
If Sony dont want to sell their TV part of the business they should at least mothball it or sell rights to the hardware. I also heard a rumour that they plan to sell Sony Pictures, the only part of the company that constantly turns a profit. Not a good idea IMHO, Sony Pictures could carry them and help Sony weather the storm.
skibadee
if they just bought EMI for 2.2 billion doubt they need to sell Sony pictures.
Awayze
No ICS on Xperia S is hurting it. It’s by far the best Android phone, One X has the battery issue due to misplaced file and it’s video recording is bad! Galaxy S3 is huge and pure ugly. Lack of Tegra 3 let’s down the Xperia but it has the best camera out of Android phones.
Bravia TVs should have used plasma tech. It’s cheap and it produces the best picture quality compared to LCD panels. Image Retention isn’t really a problem anymore.
Vita sales suck as there’s barely any decent games on it.
manicminer
The Arc S and Xperia S have awesome cameras. All these review sites are setup with predetermined outcomes. Not one tests low light performance. The Xperia creams them all.
What the media don’t wan’t you to see: http://tinyurl.com/bsbaxy9
Better than the Iphone4s, better than the S2, better than the HTC One… Slimmer and cheaper too.
bunimomike
There’s supporting a division that’s not profitable then there’s allowing the chubby non-swimmer to take you down with him. Kick him free and breathe air once more.
Forrest_01
Stand on him if you can – Makes breathing less effort!
TheDemocrodile
Best. Analogy. Ever.
Smallville2106
comment of the week right there!! lol
manicminer
Hmm, interestingly no mention of the Japanese earthquake, the very weak yen and the thai floods, and make this the most sensational fanbiy drivel I have ever read here.
Congratulations you gave unlocked a new trophy – ultimate fanbiy baiter.
grogy86
Have to say I love my Bravia tv
manicminer
I think too many people are too pikey to own Sony, and brainwash themselves that their inferior kit is just as good…