Sony six-month losses nearly $700 million, PS3 sales up

PS3 will turn it all around, sure its taking its time but honestly its a sexy machine and i wouldn't have it any other way. Blu-Ray playability alone is worth the price. My Wii sits untouched under the telly. NDS is used when at work.

@ Pwnd56 "if u mean that it is lower in popularity for now because of that, then i understand." This is exactly what I mean. I think it's a great price now and am on the fence about getting one. I want to play the God of War series really bad.

@method115 then, no offense, but i don't understand y u wouldn't get a ps3 because of its price. i mean, there are many reasons u may not like it (once again, i no fanboy, just talking about ur own opinions), but u can't say its still expensive. but if u mean that it is lower in popularity for now because of that, then i understand.

@ Pwnd56 Yea I know the reduced it now which has obviously been great for them. I meant when the system was first released.

@xRmRxfreakBOMB i'm no fanboy and nothing i said relates back to xbox. all i'm saying Sony have been making huge losses on their hardware and the software is not making that money back for them. if i was head of sony i would shorld be disk continuing the hardware and repacing it with something much more profitable keeping full ps3 support almost creating a ps3.5 really. as for developers everyone know 3rd party love 360 but 1st party cannot be beaten if sony sucessfully make a console worth while because face it the ps3 is only good for the consumer ... blah blah blah you see where i'm going with this

I used to be a Sony fan-boy. But then the 360 came out, followed by the PS3 and the Wii....I got a Wii. It got REALLY boring after a while and I stuck to PS2 which is pretty timeless. It's just good. (I still play it.) I got my 360 in December and it is really great. There is so much content, so much to do, but it is pretty expensive. I have yet to ever hear an annoying little kid bragging and bothering me on Live yet. Its only 18+ yr olds. (I tell by the voices, not 100% sure if they are.) If Sony took what Microsoft did, and put it in the PS3, they would probably make some cash though some bad words would be said to them. But, Sony made a good choice lowering the price of the PS3. Im going to get one soon. ^^ PS: The New PSP was a BAD mistake. BAD. TERRABAD.

@Sokittoya I guess I misspoke in my previous comment. It is nice that the ps3 price has dropped down to $300, which is a very large and welcome improvement. But that still is another $100 above a 360 (not that I would ever get one). And about the new DSi...Nintendo needs to learn that its about quality, not quantity.

@grognard Great post.

@Blu-Fan-Boy I dont agree with any of your comments but i wouldnt mind paying $10-$20 a year for online... Then we'd get better online play

@Hitamaru-homia It's a real shame about those losses. Sounds like someone doesn't know how to run a company worth a snizzle. That video game side thing wouldn't be so bad if all their divisions weren't doing so poorly.

I am so glad I sold my Xbox 360 though. I am much happier with Sony's PS3. I do love the 360 games, but the system is so crappy designed, it's a shame...

the way i see it going is thusly: the next 2-3 years the ps3s power gets tapped into, the games start to look and play far superior to anything else (uncharted 2 being the first real example), the huuuge capacity of bluray making so much more content available than on on dual layer dvds. a mass migration starts and sony might one day make a profit. microsoft panics, rushes out xbox 720 that is somewhat comparable at which point sony's 10 year lifespan console is finally cruising. i also feel that xbox is holding back progress. with the majority of multi-platform games being developed on xbox then ported over to ps3 its like ps3 has its wings clipped everytime.

I think that PS3 main goal was to be a entertainment system in terms of watching blue ray as a blue ray player instead of actully playing games. i think that they wanted to win the blue ray race, which they did, because they can't rely on a unstable industry like the gaming one because sony have other branches so when they made this system i think ps3 being a blue ray player and pushing blue ray to first place was really their goal, and now because they have achieved that, they can start to please their fan base. i must say if sony probably saw this coming, with xbox 360 being first place, but maybe in the future we will see Sony do a surprise move on Microsoft or something, it seems they are now trying to establish themselves more in the gaming industry with the slim line ps3 and new psp. just like Microsoft has taken some hits to get themselves established in the gaming industry with the first xbox, where they lost 4billion i think it was, but now they are reaping the reward, so i think sony will benefit more from the ps3 in the future because of blue ray, when blue ray becomes more used by the public.

Sony is really really stupid for releasing another PSP when you have such great losses.Seriously i hope in the future that they arent this retarded.The PS3 would be a whole lot better if there were good games to play on it.

its funny when people say the ps3 has no must have exclusives lets see gow3 and uncharted 2 yes they have made mistakes but at least they are trying to please thier fan base and granted they will continue to do some things that will make you go what are they thinking like the psp go but overall they know thier playing catch up in the next gen wars

Some people don't know what losses mean. Sony has the most money of out the 3. Video Games are a side thing.

I want to see what the numbers look like at the end of this current quarter. The revenue from the music division will surely offset these losses with the release of The Beatles Rock Band and the remasters (the catalog is now co-owned by Sony). I find the timing of this news a bit strange. Especially when Uncharted 2 has hit stores and sales of the console are up. Was GameSpot sitting on this until now?

I don't feel the least bit sorry for them since Uncharted 2, NG2S and the PS3 Slim is getting so much praise. Far as I'm concerned Sony receiving alot of positive feedback from their base so they should be happy with the PS3. This loss is nothing really if they continue to hold the momentum they'll be able to turn a profit so long as they remain competitive with Microsoft.

What good is announcing that PS3 sales are up if the whole of your gaming division is in the red for $700 million in losses? That's like being happy about your house still standing after every other house in a 2 mile radius of your house was completely destroyed in a hurricane. Yea, you got your house - but no neighbors, roads or civilization for 2 miles in any direction...

@grognard You sir have written the most intelligent post out of all these comments. Congrats!

@kgb1234 I'm not disputing the fact that it has amazing games. (I really want to try out Uncharted. It looks awesome.) I'm saying that just because a business makes a good product, it can fail because of poor financial management. To us, the gamers, we want and love amazing looking games. Let's use a small scale example: Johnny makes the best apple pies in the world. Johnny needs apples for his pies. For each pie, Johnny needs $2 worth of apples. Johnny sells his pies for $1 so he can be competitive with Sally's cherry pies. If Johnny starts with $10, how many pies will Johnny sell before he goes bankrupt and dies a hungry, hungry hobo? (Answer: 10) Once Johnny dies how many people will get to enjoy the best apple pies in the world? (Answer: 0)

As much as I love the 360, I have to admit that the Ps3 is an awesome system. I can't believe how much money Sony has lost on this system. It's rediculous. I mean, Sony has always brought something new to the table such as Ps2 playing DVDs and Ps3 with the blue-ray disks and upscaling regular dvds. Free online play and pretty decent exclusives and sometimes better graphics. I hope they do well with the next system

I would say that that it's all just because of the economic climate, however MS just posted a good quarterly profit and Nintendo are still making Billions regardless of a stalled Wii sales. Sony just really missed the mark this generation. They may recover with the PS3 Slim, which is finally an attractive purchase now, but it will only be mitigation of further losses. I highly doubt Sony will be making profits again for some time.

@xbox360mslover although i like the 360 alot none of that stuff you said is true.....it just sounds really biased and is supported by your name

Oh well... I'm not expert in this meters. I'm just hoping that this crisis will end as soon as possible and that Sony or any other company will pull through so I can continue to enjoy playing games.

well u gotta see the prices in India the wii is the costliest console here !!!!

i love my ps3 more than my 360 because it is more powerful system and for me,i'm more familiar with ps controller.. gaming are very expensive nowadays..that's why people go to wii due to it's more reasonable price.. they are not gamers like everybody else here.. so they don't have much idea about which one is more powerful or bla..bla.. most important point for people to buy v'games are bcoz it is fun..FUN..FUN.. @thedirtyleg (nothing...just want u to read my opinion..sorry to annoy u..huhu..)

When taken in perspective, the drastically different directions Sony's and MS' gaming divisions are going is quite shocking Many anti-MS people on these boards correctly noted in the past that MS lost $4B their first 4 years in the market (original x-box, to get into the market). However, they fail to note that Playstation has now lost $4.7B the past 3 years while MS' gaming division has been profitable during that time. To be fair, MS' numbers are actually better at this point because Zune is in the same division and dragging it down and Playstation includes the VAIO computers. The important part for all gamers to pay attention to is that this is a business and these numbers matter to the entire industry. MS was (and is) in a financial position to write off $4-5 Billion to enter a new business segment. Sony is not in a financial position to lose that much money from a major business division. Unless the attach rate increases significantly for PS3, Sony will never recoup those losses and have the added challenge of falling from First to Third so they can't even strong-arm publishers/developers to support their next system (if they can even afford R&D for a new system). Gaming considerations aside, PS3 has been an absolute disaster for Sony and it's shareholders. Hubris and a corporate culture obsessed with proprietary physical media (Betamax/UMD/Blu-Ray) have dragged this company down.

Think of the starving children who could have been saved with that money...

peeps

Yawn...

All i can say to this is. When is Gran turismo coming out.

@xbox360mslover It is you who is becoming the failure, sir. I'm definitely a pro-360 guy for several legitimate reasons, some of which you stated, but overall, your argument is way off base.

@xbox360mslover *$300 to $350 price tag too high? How much is the 360 Elite selling for right now? *Lackluster games? Little Big Planet, Killzone, MGS, UNCHARTED 2? c'mon man. With God of War and MAG forthcoming, I think PS3 owners can be pretty happy about their options here. *Force-feed Blu-Ray? With every generation, consoles become more of a total entertainment device and less of a one-trick pony. What if HD-DVD worked out? Wouldn't you be forced to say that MS force-fed its HD-DVD players (which would've cost extra) on gamers? I would be way stoked if my 360 had a blu-ray, then I wouldn't have had to buy one :( Ask any console-industry executive, total entertainment (of which hi-def movies are an integral part) is the ultimate goal of gaming console evolution. *No Dev Kits. Completely legit here. Developers constantly complain about this, how it leads to increased dev costs and unnecessary bugs. A solid point, but that's a Sony strategy fail, not a PS3 fail. *Offering more for the same price? You're wrong here too. Sony has been cutting PS3 prices consistently while adding features to it all the while. *Non-existent advertising? Have you watched any worthwhile TV at all recently? Football? World Series? The new "It Only Does Everything" commercials are hilarious and all over the airwaves. Open your eyes dude... *No worthwhile exclusive titles? Man... See my response to your second point. *sigh*

@xbox360mslover Like I said. I'm 100% pro MS and pro 360. I think it's a better overall console than the PS3. However, I'm also not a meat-headed fanboy like you and understand that the PS3 actually has lots to offer consumers. It's a great console, I just think the 360 is a bit better. Your 360 fandom attached to this horrendous argument is extremely embarrassing.

sony need to stop leaning on thier ps2 crutch. nintendo gave the gamecube away, ms gave the xbox away and both are doing fine. good to see sony bounce back a little due to the price cut on the slim, but they need to do more to beat ms at thier game. having a bluray player doesnt cut it for many people. (mind you i have a ps3, but i only own two bluray movies.. thats it)

ps3 is becoming the failure - * The $300 and $350 price tag is just unbelievably high for a gaming machine that's been on the market for 3-Years. * The games are very lackluster at the moment, non-existent and look to continue this trend for quite some time (even games like Resistance 2 failed to provide any type of boost, and in fact did a not-so-well performance itself in the sales department > In other words it's doing bad!) "Resistance 1 did much much better" * As we all know Sony force fed Blu-Ray into every PS3, which is their proprietary media that they wanted to push so badly, even taking the risk of ignoring the main purpose of the Playstation 3, which is being a "GAMING CONSOLE." This ultimately pushes the PS3's price up and keeps it there until cost go down to manufacture these units. What a way to alienate your main base, which is gamers! * Sony did not release dev-kits to the developers until a few months before the PS3's launch, and on top of that the kits were not very developer friendly. * Sony keeps doing this offer more for the same price stuff (sure that may be good for some, but most just want a lower price and worry about the additions later). * Advertising for the PS3 and it's games are pretty much non-existent, sure you see SOME but it's not at a Wii and 360 "ad" level. They need to push advertising more! * The PS3 just doesn't have any must-have titles EXCLUSIVE to the console.

I think they will see significant growth in their gaming division or at least see better results then previously anticipated. 4 of my friends just got the new slim PS3, and a few more have plans on getting it with in the next coming months.

Without having time to read the article this looks like good news.

i like sony and think theyve always made great products. but they began to exude ridiculous anti-consumer business practices so im glad theyre getting spanked for it.

I think that Microsoft did Sony a huge favor by discontinuing the pro. I already own both but if I were only buying 1 of the 2 and they were the same price as they are now and I was educated on the systems it would be very difficult for me to justify paying the same for the 360 as for the PS3. The draw for the 360 has always been exclusives, which Sony has some good ones out and good ones coming, and price but now they cost the same. If Microsoft would have been smart they would have kept the 60 gig pro in the $240-260 range. I know what you are thinking there is the arcade but that is competition with the Wii anybody considering the PS3/360 is probably not interested in a system without the HD.

@method115 u must not have heard the news; the ps3 is now out for 300, and it has 120 gigs. just being truthful, i no fanboy.

just gotta deal with it. Its a terrible time to be in with this economic downturn but its @least assuring that things will turn around for the better. Just not anytime soon though. When the time comes we'll know. Its better than 'assuming' or second guessing ourselves. Its a total jeopardy out there, no one knows what can or will happen.

I think Sony messed up first and foremost by having a $600 system. I don't care what it can do I'm not paying $600 for a gaming system. I guarantee next gen there system will be on par with MS or cheaper.

Therefore, the count of AAA exclusives for either platform is even at 10. This disproves your wild claims that the "Xbox has over 30 exclusives while the PS3 only has around 10." Keep in mind that I'm only counting all the high profile games. There are more exclusives on each side that can be counted should we go down to higher review scores, but rest assured (you can double count if you want) that the count remains roughly even as you move slowly down the scale. Your claims, therefore, are absolutely ridiculous. Please do some research next time before posting like a troll, and instead, inform yourself. To everyone: if I've made any mistakes in my posting, please feel free to point them out. By the way, the sunglassed smilies are the result of ending the parentheses with 8), so you can assume that any of those are games released in 2008.

@ Blu-Fan-Boy Are you crazy? PS3 has consistently produced quality exclusive games, numbers of which are equal or greater than those that the 360 produces. For instance, let's take a look at the exclusive games on Gamespot rated 9.0 or higher for either platform: Xbox 360: Gears of War (9.6, Nov 7 2006) GTA IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony (9.5, Oct 29, 2009) Forza Motorsport III (9.5, Oct 27, 2009) Braid (9.5, Aug 6, 2008) Halo 3 (9.5, Sept 25, 2007) Forza Motorsport II (9.2, May 29, 2007) GTA IV: Episodes from Liberty City (9.0, Oct 29, 2009) Halo 3: ODST (9.0, Sept 22, 2009) Gears of War 2 (9.0, Nov 7, 2008) Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 (9.0, Jul 30, 2008) Perfect Dark Zero (9.0, Nov 17th, 2005) Total: 11 (or 10, - will be explained below) PS3 Exclusives: Metal Gear Solid IV: Guns of the Patriots (10.0, Jun 12, 2008) Uncharted II: Among Thieves (9.5, Oct 13, 2009) Demon's Souls (9.0, Oct 6, 2009) inFamous (9.0, May 26, 2009) Comet Crash (9.0, Apr 2, 2009) MLB 09: The Show (9.0 Mar 3, 2009) Killzone 2 (9.0, Feb 27, 2009) Resistance 2 (9.0, Nov 4, 2008) LittleBigPlanet (9.0 Oct 27, 2008) Ninja Gaiden Sigma (9.0, Jul 3, 2007) PS3 Total: 10 First, to explain my reasoning on the 360 count. You can't double count a game, even if it is released in two different packages, it's still the same game. Therefore, it would be incorrect to assume that the GTA IV expansions (especially the Ballad of Gay Tony) should be counted as a separate game from Episodes from Liberty City.

i have the PS3 and the 360. There things about both that I like and that I don't. PS3 Pros: -Powerful, reliable machine. Rare hardware failures. -Plays Blu-Ray -Free online service -Fantastic Sony published game exclusives (Uncharted, Killzone, LBP, Metal Gear) PS3 cons: -lack luster 3rd party support -Virtually non-existant online community -Not all games on PSN have demos -No indie support -Difficult and expensive to develop on 360 pros: -Robust online community, with frequent new games, add-ons, and demos for all downloadable titles -Supported by many developers -Slight edge on AAA exclusives and Microsoft published titles and expansion packs -Relatively inexpensive console sku's -Growing trend for HD downloads instead of reliance on blu-ray disks -Cheaper to develop on -Indie support 360 cons: -Shody hardware. Frequent console failures (note: repairs are offered for free, but require a month-long repair cycle). -Membership fee for XBLive's premium service

UrinalGoonie What connection do you have that it takes you that long? It takes me a good 20-30 minutes and I don't even have the top tier internet plan from my provider. It takes about a few hours to download a demo on my PS3 which is why I do it before I go out or go to bed. And I never deal with that many kids on Live seeing that all my friends have 360's. Plus the experience is so much better on Live that it justifies the price. I am just happy to say I have them both. But the Wii sucks herpes infested sacs.

Sony need to stop relying on the PlayStation 2 to bring in their striving profits and focus on the current machine the PlayStation 3. the Xbox 360 has lots of great games for everyone AAA RPG's top class shooters, great selection of interacive and family games like their slogan JUMP IN you really should. Sony on the other hand have good originality on their side great mini games on the PSN and great technolagy not just the blu-ray but the bluetoothing the easy acess music ripping and a web browser and many more featureas and functions BUT i must stress this they are putting too much in to the PS2 and wasting there time with old machines they need to put that money in to upgrade their PSN upgrade their Party systems (xbox's one is amazing) and get some exclusives PS3 roughly 10 exclusives may be less or more give or take Xbox 360 well over 30 exclusive titles AAA and less SO GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER SONY AND RECLAME YOUR FAME its just sad to see you in a state like this i chose my side (xbox 360/Microsoft) but your making it too easy AND START CHARGING FOR PSN so you can make it a better expirance

romeric do u realize that downloading a 1 gig game on a computer is quite time consuming? it takes me about 2 hrs + to download a direct2drive game depending on how big it is playstation gives u demos that r 1gig+ sometimes that takes awhile and i think they do it well just as xbox does it well and to say double time is bullcrap cause the patches vary in size from 1 console to the other. but being able to play demos of games before u download them is a must for sony and the voice chat is good but the party system is not sonys fault its the makers of the games. and btw playstation online is a hell of alot better than xbox live because of one flaw xbox live has ALL THE LITTLE KIDS TALKING CRAP non stop ruins every game i have ever played on the xbox u get a playstation for the entertainment package such as blu ray so only adults or spoiled rich kids get one (until now lets hope sony doesnt catch the little kid syndrome like xbox has from these price cuts). So i rather play for free online and put up with small issues that you talk about and play with adults then pay monthly for the same thing + little kids always talking crap like i get on xbox live sorry.