Sony Stock Takes Huge Hit Following Earnings Report

[MikeWehner]

Sony Stock Takes Huge Hit Following Earnings Report

All eyes are on Sony as February 20 approaches.

Following its earnings call [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/122020-Sony-Looking-Into-Vita-Pricing-and-Marketing] where the company lowered projections for PSP and PS Vita sales, Sony's shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange took a hit of over 10%. It marks the biggest slide in the company's Tokyo stock price since 2008.

Prior to the earnings report, Sony's stock was gaining ground thanks to the declining value of the Japanese yen, which was expected to help the company's bottom line. This unexpected disappointment in the stock world puts a spotlight on Sony, but more importantly, it makes the company's plans for February 20 an even bigger deal. The company is expected to show off new PlayStation hardware on that date - and given that the company just released a new handheld last year, that most likely means the PlayStation 4.

At a time where many large game companies are reporting financial losses, and the Vita is off to a much slower start than investors would have liked, the company's next steps will be important for not only Sony, but for gamers as well.

Source: Bloomberg [http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-07/sony-margin-buys-hit-13-year-high-before-surprise-loss-announced.html]

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[AzrealMaximillion]

I think we're going to hear of a last minute price cut on the PS Vita. A big price cut too. They can't keep having that thing not sell.

 

[Mr.Mattress]

Yeah, Sony really needs to do something ASAP Or they will end up dying.

Here's hoping the PS4 is not a repeat of the PS3.

 

[Zombie_Moogle]

In light of recent Microsoft news, a sentence containing the words "used" and "games" could give Sony the edge in the console market once more

 

[Xman490]

Sony it's time you no longer have a choice KILL THE TV BUSINESS or you will DIE!

Woah, woah, woah! Don't jump to conclusions! Unless HD/3D TVs are on the decline, Sony probably isn't generating its losses from TVs, especially considering that they have a complementary product (and a soon-to-be newer complementary product).

As the source article says, ?Sony still has not shown us how it will fight with Samsung or Apple.? The mobile device market is likely the place where Sony's losses come from. It's a shame that they didn't smash together the PS Vita and the Experia devices to make a smartphone with large buttons that work for high-quality gaming, because that could have done wonders.

Heck, Sony should find some kind of MP3 download service like iTunes to integrate into such a device. If they did all that, I would buy it, even though it would mean abandoning my iTunes library to an extent.

 

[GenGenners]

Heck, Sony should find some kind of MP3 download service like iTunes to integrate into such a device. If they did all that, I would buy it, even though it would mean abandoning my iTunes library to an extent.

They have/did, it's called Music Unlimited.

 

[SonOfMethuselah]

In light of recent Microsoft news, a sentence containing the words "used" and "games" could give Sony the edge in the console market once more

Pretty much that. If this February 20th thing is about the next PlayStation console, then assuring fans that pre-owned games will still be allowed would give them a gigantic boost, which they could really use right now. More than that, it might even cause Microsoft to second-guess disallowing them on their next console, and when people see Microsoft following the example set by Sony, that could potentially be another boost for them.

Other then that, they really need to get behind the Vita. They need people to see that they're supporting it fully, rather than just putting it out there and letting it flounder, like its doing now. I don't know whether or not a price-cut is in the system's near future, but at the very least, they need to get some bloody software out for the thing. PS+ was a step in the right direction, now release some games people might actually want to purchase.

Other than that, they need to make sure that whatever they do on February 20th makes the hype they set for it completely worth it. If it turns out to be a let down, they're going to be in even more trouble.

 

[Nurb]

Will they learn anything from this?

 

[grigjd3]

Woah, woah, woah! Don't jump to conclusions! Unless HD/3D TVs are on the decline, Sony probably isn't generating its losses from TVs, especially considering that they have a complementary product (and a soon-to-be newer complementary product).

Actually, they've had an operating loss on TVs for some time. This has been true for most tv manufacturers as they find that people are not buying into 3D and there isn't much interest in going to yet higher pixel counts. This has been driving prices down. However, you need not take my word on it. Sony says so themselves in their quarterly financial reports: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/financial/fr/12q3_sony.pdf

 

[Baldr]

In light of recent Microsoft news, a sentence containing the words "used" and "games" could give Sony the edge in the console market once more

Not necessarily, some of the press findings suggest that the new system(if there is one) will be heavily reliant on the Cloud side with Sony's purchase of Gaikai. There was some suggestion that is only a cloud system they are employing in Japan and the US and not has to do with the PS4 at all.

 

[Strazdas]

Yeah, Sony really needs to do something ASAP Or they will end up dying.

Here's hoping the PS4 is not a repeat of the PS3.

the sad thing is, a lot of Sony fans want a PS3 mark 2 in PS4. so if they give in to fans sony can kiss its gaming business goodbye.

On the other hand, Companies start learnign fast when the stock falls, so maybe this will mean we get better Sony.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

Need to have backward capability, but not sure it will now they not make a Cell 2 chip for it. Plus need a killer line up of launch titles to buy when its released (something Nintendo always fails at.)An the price needs to be realistic. The worst part is they are releasing a console during a time when lots of people across the world are watching there coins so they really need to make the PS4 as attractive as possible.

 

[Deathlyphil]

Backwards compatibility is not very likely at all unfortunately. The PS3 is so completely different from everything else on the market in terms of architecture. That's why it took years before anyone could use it properly.

PS1 and PS2 backwards compatibility shouldn't be a problem though.

 

[Aardvaarkman]

Backwards compatibility is not very likely at all unfortunately. The PS3 is so completely different from everything else on the market in terms of architecture.

That doesn't seem like a real problem. A new console with modern enough specs will be powerful enough to easily manage software emulation of the PS3.

 

[GAunderrated]

Need to have backward capability, but not sure it will now they not make a Cell 2 chip for it. Plus need a killer line up of launch titles to buy when its released (something Nintendo always fails at.)An the price needs to be realistic. The worst part is they are releasing a console during a time when lots of people across the world are watching there coins so they really need to make the PS4 as attractive as possible.

If Sony or Microsoft don't show something spectacular after nearly a decade of the same generation I think they will get a humbling experience that their investors wont enjoy.

 

[llafnwod]

Backwards compatibility is not very likely at all unfortunately. The PS3 is so completely different from everything else on the market in terms of architecture.

That doesn't seem like a real problem. A new console with modern enough specs will be powerful enough to easily manage software emulation of the PS3.

:/ It takes a 2.5 GHz dual-core processor to perfectly emulate a SNES [http://byuu.org/higan/]. If they have PS3 compatibility it will most likely be because the architecture is extremely similar.

 

[Aardvaarkman]

:/ It takes a 2.5 GHz dual-core processor to perfectly emulate a SNES [http://byuu.org/higan/]. If they have PS3 compatibility it will most likely be because the architecture is extremely similar.

Huh? Your link is to some guy's recommended system requirements for his SNES emulator. This does not prove that it requires a 2.5GHz dual-core processor to successfully emulate a SNES. Perhaps a better programmer could do it with lesser hardware? Or a larger team of developers could spend more time optimizing performance?

Also, "recommended" system specs usually don't mean that much, especially from smaller/independent developers who likely don't do much testing and probably just recommend whatever system they use.

The only thing we know for sure is that people have been continually finding ways to push technology beyond what we previously assumed was possible.