PS3 proved profitable in last Sony fiscal year
Sony has issued its financial earnings report for its fiscal year 2009 (ending March 31, 2010), and things are looking good for the games division. For the first time in its life cycle, the PS3 is turning a profit and is expected to earn Sony ¥160 billion ($1.7 billion) in operating profits in the current fiscal year (April 2010 - March 2011).
These profits are expected to come from reduced manufacturing costs for the PS3 and a concerted effort to increase unit sales, following a strong showing last holiday season and a new and effective ad campaign. Japanese news outlet Mainichi points out that Sony has managed to ship 13 million consoles in its 2009 fiscal year, up from 10.1 million in fiscal 2008. Sony expects to increase that figure to 15 million units in its fiscal 2010. This should gain Sony a net profit of 50 billion yen ($539 million) in the next fiscal year, it anticipates.
However, the PSP and PS2 have shown declines. The PSP, which managed to sell 9.9 million units and 44.4 million copies of software, suffered from its previous year hardware sales of 14.4 million and software sales of 50.3 million. The PS2 fared better in hardware sales, reporting sales of 7.3 million units compared to 7.9 million the previous year, yet suffered a sharp decline in software, selling only 35.7 million compared to last year's 83.5 million.
Source - Sony Consolidated Financial Results for the Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2010 [PDF link]
Source - Mainichi reports PSP/PS2 sales figures [via andriasang]
These profits are expected to come from reduced manufacturing costs for the PS3 and a concerted effort to increase unit sales, following a strong showing last holiday season and a new and effective ad campaign. Japanese news outlet Mainichi points out that Sony has managed to ship 13 million consoles in its 2009 fiscal year, up from 10.1 million in fiscal 2008. Sony expects to increase that figure to 15 million units in its fiscal 2010. This should gain Sony a net profit of 50 billion yen ($539 million) in the next fiscal year, it anticipates.
However, the PSP and PS2 have shown declines. The PSP, which managed to sell 9.9 million units and 44.4 million copies of software, suffered from its previous year hardware sales of 14.4 million and software sales of 50.3 million. The PS2 fared better in hardware sales, reporting sales of 7.3 million units compared to 7.9 million the previous year, yet suffered a sharp decline in software, selling only 35.7 million compared to last year's 83.5 million.
Source - Sony Consolidated Financial Results for the Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2010 [PDF link]
Source - Mainichi reports PSP/PS2 sales figures [via andriasang]
