Sony debt rating lowered near junk

Moody's drops long-term bond rating to lowest investment-grade class; TV losses and declining PSP/Vita sales cited.

[LX-General-Kaos]

That is not good at all. Hopefully something is done about this quickly before it is too late.

Not quite sure if the TV division can be saved at this point. Lets just hope Sony's fortune changes in the gaming division, specifically hand held with the Vita. Which had seen some of its lowest sales numbers in its career in Japan since launch. Moving under 5000 last week in its home region. Though I am sure Sony has a plan in place to change their misfortunes.

On a more positive note. The original PSP seems to still be selling a decent amount. Even more than the recently released Vita many years into its life span according to recent charts. There is still money to be made in that regard.

Rated E For Everyone

[profgerbik]

You live in Japan? You been to Japan and seen the hideous games they love?

Why care about what sells in Japan if you don't live there? I know I sure don't and Japan is not some standard for gaming anymore.

They used to be but not anymore. Their taste in games has sadly not changed at all since Nintendo was first released. So I could careless what they think or let alone what is selling there, they are becoming crazy but everyone is becoming more easily taken advantage of and less aware of anything they actually spend their money on.

Also what is hurting everyone in gaming right now is these stupid IOS games and Android games and most developers are cashing in on these easy to make games while paying no attention to consoles or handhelds anymore.. Plus people have become idiotic casual gamers who play anything remotely decent and call it amazing like Angry Birds..

Don't believe me ask Nintendo...? They sell the most in Japan and are still hurting just as badly as Sony if not worse.

They are reporting losses literally close to 1 billion just late last year.. simply because just like America is obsessed with smart phones and tablets for some crazy reason, Japan is now becoming the exact same way and it is hurting gaming entirely is what none of you seem to understand.

Instead every idiot focuses on Sony instead of looking at the big picture. When Windows 8 is trying to move to tablets and change computers to tablets.. That is the point.. everyone is trying to adapt to this stupid era we live in currently where smart phones and tablets are thought of to be the most amazing devices on the planet right now.. which they are far from.. it is almost like we are going back in history with these stupid devices and starting all over, discarding everything else people worked a built foundations for like consoles, handhelds and PC's.

They might not have a track history like Sony simply because Sony has always focused more on the U.S. than Japan and they have more gaming divisions here and only like two in Japan so their sales are never going to shine in Japan get over it, none of that even matters right now when everyone is suffering from these changes.

I don't blame them if they stuck around and made the games Japanese people only liked, Playstation would be in far worse of a situation than they are now not even selling anything anywhere else either.

You people who disagree obviously don't understand a lick of business.

[icewater85]

That statement about their taste is completely wrong in regards to it needing to change. If that were true we would not be getting so many re-releases of older games. There certainly wouldn't have been as big of a fuss as it was about PS1 games not being on the Vita.

[omarzy]

I don't live in Japan, but i care and you should as well. Maybe you forgot, but 2/3 of home consoles and 100 percent of the dedicated handheld gaming come from Japan. What do you think happens when Japanese companies cannot sell product in Japan? You think they will just say oh, well lets just focus all resources to shipping our products overseas so we can get bitten in the ass by currency exchange and lay off all our Japanese devs because they are not needed anymore.

How can you possibly not care about how well Japanese product does in Japan just because you do not live there.

[chukamachine]

Never really been into japanese games, not saying they are bad. Just not my thing, well most of them.

Obviously GT5 and some others, mainly racing games for me.

But Sony should really be pushing the PS3/VITA like mad over there.

Wii is dead, getting in before wii u.

[Gr81]

Wow. That was one of the worst uninformed, intellectually lacking, borderline offensive ranting post I've seen here in a long time. Congratulations!

But you are greatly mistaken. Especially if you think Nintendo is in worse financial shape than Sony. If you really believe that then it is you sir that knows nothing of business.

Japan gaming tastes may differ from yours, so? Sony's problem is more than that because Vita's aren't selling well in any region. Since this gen launched Sony has lost billions upon billions of dollars. They went from a net worth of what? 100 billion dollars in the 90's early 2000's? To having a net worth less than Nintendo, a much much MUCH smaller company.

Sony is in trouble, big trouble and no amount of ranting or raving will change that. Economic conditions, bad business decisions have compounded Sony's dire predicament. You sound like the Sega fanboys before Dreamcast launched.

Sad.

[bintarok]

"...and the explosive growth of smartphones is cannibalizing demand for Sony products like cameras and the PlayStation Vita." -2nd paragraph

To many, it is almost unreal to see smartphones becoming so powerful and more focused for personal entertainment, beating dedicated devices even at higher prices.

iDon't wanna be judgmental at this point tho.

[Hydrolex]

guys, please stop writting Essays, we don't have time to read them :0 !

[Flavor]

You spoke an inconvenient truth, the consumers cannot understand you.

Most gamers are passive thinkers with low aggression and even lower insight, the type of people who miss subtle humor and are incapable of thought not based on ingrained emotions.

They are the kind of people that allow a drug addict friend to destroy themselves then ask 'How could this happen?'. So naturally they disagree with you, prof.

[GribbleGrunger]

Why the hell are people disagreeing? Come on, think about what he's saying here. He's not attacking anyone personally, he's got passion and he can think intelligently... or is that the problem?

'it is almost like we are going back in history with these stupid devices and starting all over, discarding everything else people worked to built foundations for like consoles, handhelds and PC's.'

He's SPOT on there. Can't you people see how this industry is going backwards and calling it 'forwards'? How far do we need to go backwards before people see the obvious? Stop reading the script and playing to the camera people. THINK FOR YOURSELVES.

profgerbik deserves respect.

[HardcoreGamer]

i think you made 100 percent sense. but unfortunatley, we are heading in this crap a%% Era of change. you wont see uncharted , halo, or even gta soon. ppl will make dance games angry bird sequels. and put people on fast track lives, they dont understand but giving in

[SegataShanshiro]

because he is a Weaboo, he wishes he were japanese

[kopicha]

@profgerbik

you are an extremely selfish dude. so the rest of the world should not care even if your country explode out of this planet? Because we dont live there. Please....

[pixelsword]

profgerbik is right, and I'll simply prove it:

He's basically saying that a device that couldn't handle a game from the PS2 era properly is taking over.

So, those who disagree, how is he wrong, or is that statement wrong? Do these phones in fact possess as much power as the PS4 and nextbox 9before we even know what they are?) How about the current consoles?

At any rate, people who never lived through a one-console dominance like the NES era never had to endure the horrors of what one console could put devs and gamers through.

Imagine if every game for a gen or two were nothing but sequels.

Imagine if you had to pay a monthly subscription.

Imagine that every game was forced to not have multiplayer or it wouldn't be made.

If the industry makes a big slide towards one console, the first thing that will be stopped will be the next gen, as the less-powerful games will dominate, so every next-gen game will be put on hold, which means that developer staffs will likely be cut, which adds to the problem.

Which is exactly why this gen lasted as long as it has. It's a symptom of a much bigger problem.

[t0mmyb0y]

What ever happened to comments that weren't novels?

[Realplaya]

So if I like red and you like blue i'm an idiot?
The truth is we need japan just as much as they need USA But we shoun=ldn't knock others taste. That makes you sound like the idiot.

[miDnIghtEr20C_SfF]

I'm going to remember some of these names when NPD numbers come, and the guys that say, ya but what about Japan? They're going to be the same that in here say Japan doesn't matter.

:) Can't wait.

[AsimLeonheart]

Your opinion about Japanese preferences is very narrow-minded. You need to understand cultural differences and preferences. America is not the central of the world and nor their tastes are the best or absolute. Western obsession with shooters, space marines and crime based games probably seems just as silly to the Japanese. In the end everything is relative when it come to culture so you cannot say they need to change.

[nukeitall]

That article had so much bad news, it is amazing the darn company still operates. Sonys best division are the gaming, and digital imaging, but this doesn't sound good either:

"The service noted that operating profits from Sony's digital imaging and games offerings were down 60 percent for the first half of the fiscal year, and it only expects that decline to worsen."

It is rapidly heading towards "too late", and this is just the first nail in the coffin. I can't believe Sony is deteriorating that fast though. Stay alive because we need you to keep competition in the market, even though you are putting up pretty weak competition right now.

[DigitalRaptor]

Putting up pretty weak competition? coming from the Microsoft fanboy, this is no surprise statement. Do you mean sales, or games? maybe so on the Vita front, but Sony is not lacking on any of those fronts otherwise so....

Looks like the doom and gloom will continue, but i bet in 5-10 years Sony will still be here building consoles and making games. Sadly people only concentrate on the bottom line, and neglect advances in other areas and investments and behavior that will shape their future growth . Think Gaikai and the next gen PSN.

[nukeitall]

@DigitalRaptor:

I won't bother mud-slinging regarding your fanboy comment, but will point others to your comment history for reference of who the fanboy is.

"Think Gaikai and the next gen PSN."

If Sony can't get their ass in gear with the current PSN and the only real update is a long time coming with the PS Store I have little hope.

Gaikai whom is a competitor to a basically bankrupt company called OnLive. You know the biggest player in that market? Doesn't that tell you something?

All the Japanese titans are deteriorating fast including Sharp, Panasonic and even Sony.

I hope they stick around, because they all make some great products.

"Do you mean sales, or games? maybe so on the Vita front, but Sony is not lacking on any of those fronts otherwise so...."

Competition statement meant overall not just gaming, but for a company that used to dominate the industry and has the record for most sold console just this last generation whom now is on par with a weakling like Xbox it begs the question and where the company sits now.

[XabiDaChosenOne]

@Nuketail What other major updates to the PSN could Sony offer right now that would be relevant? It's 6 years into the consoles life cycle, Sony is not loooking into over hauling the PS3s Network infastucture this late in the game. Besides, there is no need to. PSN is an excellent service.

Also, what was the point of bringing up OnLive, what vague message are you trying to portray here? Regardless of you inane and irrelevant reference I'll tell you something right now. You would be a fool to lose hope in PSN with the direction Sony is taking it. Than again you are a 360 fan so your "hope" is irrelevant but I digress, with PSplus, Gaikai, and the PSvitas PSN infrastructure as a blueprint for the PS4 (free cross game chat FTW) Sony is set to make headlines with PSN next gen which is fortunately right around the corner. It's inevitable.

[profgerbik]

@omarzy They haven't been for years so what is your point?

My point is that Sony has separate divisions all over the world and if worse comes to worse they wouldn't need Japan to stay in business.

If they only needed Japan to stay open, I guess every business they own would be based in and heavily rely on Japan's perception of gaming is what you don't understand, clearly it doesn't.

Yea it would hurt but you are honestly off your rocker if you think Japan is holding any of these people down, if anything it is holding people back because people like you who love to recite the sales sheets you see that come from Japan.

What are these devices only allowed to be made in Japan? Of course not, they could easily move their companies here and keep making them.

The fact still stands it is completely idiotic people focus on sales in a country that isn't affecting anything as far as we see in gaming on our side.

I never said all Japanese games suck or their taste is always the worst, I am just saying all you have to do is visit Tokyo once in your life to see the vast differences in taste Japan has game wise compared to any other place in the world. Games that would honestly never sell any where other than in Japan, that the Japanese love and are very popular there still.. as Japanese also hold onto older systems..

I mean look at what is still popular in japan, usually older games from older systems still.

From a business perspective you need to find the perfect demographic, Japan is not that anymore in terms of gaming. Sony has done better in other places for a long time now hence why they don't focus on the Japanese demographic too much as they shouldn't..

They have a very niche taste in games there and those games just would not sell here or anywhere else well at all because they are so weird and not anything anyone else expects to be normal other than people who probably live in Asian regions.

[slazer101]

If its doing so bad why do I see headlines like this?

http://www.reuters.com/arti...

Edit: how in the @!#& do I get a disagree for asking a question. You people are pathetic.

[SilentNegotiator]

EIGHT bubbles? That's disgusting considering that all you do is troll. What happened to this website??

[bubblebeam]

"What happened to this website??"

I know. I always turned to N4G in times of trouble, seeking greater knowledge and wisdom. It's those damn dirty apes I tells ya /s

[SilentNegotiator]

Oh can it. This site was never so bad that the biggest trolls had 8 bubbles.

[pixelsword]

@ LX-General-Kaos

Moody's isn't a worldwide standard; this is also an opinion, just like Patcher's opinion: you take it or you leave it.

[Amplitude]

Honestly without numbers to back this up, this entire article is meaningless

[V0LT]

Not trolling.. Sony would be better off as a company if they exited the console business. It seems like they never make a profit unless I am just missing something.

[Chitown71291]

I wouldnt say that, I just think this is their reconstructing year. It took Sony a little over 5-6 years to get in the position they are in now. Its not going get reconstructed and up and running overnight. PS4 will be there saving grace I believe. Imo gaming is their biggest business at the moment, followed by there movie industry. Sony has so much stuff under them, that I dont think they will ever fully go out of business. It just wouldnt make sense. Sony will rise again, theyre just in the rebuilding process, give em time.

[MariaHelFutura]

It`s the TVs, gaming makes them lots of money.

[lashes2ashes]

If Sony did that the company is screwed. The playstation division is the only money making division in Sony right now. They have stated that several times in the last six months.

[dubt72]

Wow...

[mcstorm]

I would not worry too much sony are just about to come out the worst 10 years they have ever had. Sony will be fine just like Nokia will be as they are changing things at the top and in there hardware and software.

[Anon1974]

OMG! So Sony went from having "STRONG capacity to meet its financial commitments" to having "ADEQUATE capacity to meet its financial commitments"? They now have the same credit rating of the entire country of Thailand!

I remember when Toshiba's debt was downgraded to Baa2 years ago. We all know Toshiba went belly up shortly after. Oh wait...they didn't? And Panasonic is also Baa1?

Someone call the waambulance. Casualties incoming.

Edit: I just saw they guy below commenting about how "America could have chosen a businessman for president" to get America going. I'm not from the US, but that made me smile. A businessman who's job as a businessman was to buy companies and often break them up and sell them off bit by bit. When he was at Bain he only made money on about half the deals he was involved in. Having a guy like that manage your economy makes as much sense to me as having an undertaker diagnose your cough.

But hey, I'm just glad I don't have to put up with the nonsense of US politics. Seriously, I follow US politics and the things you people argue over and the things your politicians say just leaves me open mouthed in disbelief a lot of the time. I consider myself quite conservative and have always voted as such but the things conservatives say in the US...man oh man. There's conservative and then there's "we just stepped out of a 1880's time machine" conservative.

[IQUITN4G]

But just look at all those Sony exclusives, that's all that matters right?

Fact is the game has completely changed this time round and as surprising as surely is to anyone, Sony can't ride it's own wave any more. I would have never predicted the state Sony is in right now

At least the guaranteed mega success of All Stars will save the day

[MariaHelFutura]

It`s the TV division.

[jujubee88]

I wanna punch you in the face >.<

[Cocozero]

Hopefully they will last long enough to bring out the PS4.

I have a feeling if a 1st party studio fails to deliver they will be closed downed quickly to save money.

As for Vita, it better pick up this christmas or I can see it being dropped.

[LAZL0-Panaflex]

2 words....global recession!

Obama won...stock market crashed 2 days in a row.
Companies are planning massive layoffs.

If America is sick, everyone else is REALLY sick.

We couldve chose a businessman to turn get us out of this tailspin, instead we chose...a lawyer/community organizer who couldnt jumpstart the economy for four years,...now hes back with the same senate, and the same house.

With OUR unemployment going up and it will...whos gonna buy all japan's products? Whos gonna buy anyones junk in a deep...dark GLOBAL depression.

The us government taxes small business (70% of all business), they layoff people to make their budget, the people go on welfare and scale back recreational spending, companies like sony are forced to cut back, more unemployed who will spend less.

Less games, less innovation, less education, just barely getting by,...when capitalism was kicking ass everyone had a piece of the pie nintendo, ms, sony, apple, samsung, nokia, now its just the most popular,

Welcome to the third world!

And so it begins...

[lashes2ashes]

You do know unemployment has been going down not up right. Turn off Fox News and stop letting bible thumpers tell you facts they just made up. The majority of this country voted democrat. He even won the popular vote. Here is a great idea you do not like the president good for you, you should really make a statement to let him know. like leave the country or kill yourself

[majiebeast]

Republican logic its almost as good as republican math.

[SAE]

America is not the world , we lived before it came and we can live without it , i for one wish if the government of america gone because they are the reason of the chaos in my country , they involve in everything and when we blame them they say they don't interfere , they are keeping the dictators in our countries , they sell weapons , they steal oil , they hide the truth , they even make wars here like in iraq , they are the devil here , if wasnt of them the rulers here would have gone last year and the people would have ruled there own country again , but noo '' bahrain is a strong ally to america -.- ... ''

they encourage to make a dialogue and stop violence but in the same time they sell to the government weapons such as poison(in the name of tear gas) , shotguns ( that should have used for animals) , basically tools to silence killing ...etc , they even train the mercenaries here in the fifth army ..

even your own country is in chaos because of there greed to control the world and revenge

[LAZL0-Panaflex]

Cant argue with liberals. Incapable of using logic, only resort to name calling and scare tactics. I dont watch fox news neither insignificant liberal troll. I believe NO president should be in power longer than 4 years, republican or democrat. Its common sense though you raise a job creators taxes too high,.....theyre probably gonna fire people. I know this is over u libtards heads which is why im not bothering to add commas or spell correctly, c?

[SilentNegotiator]

"You do know unemployment has been going down not up right"

Well, from one of the highest rates it has ever been. I'm not agreeing with Lazlo, but your little "go kill yourself" paragraph is hardly balanced itself. All you really did was blurt out a bunch of political cartoon tropes and point out that the unemployment rate was lowering from the ~10% it got to under Obama.

[TronEOL]

Really? The world gets "really sick"? So far, my country is having some of it's best years, even managing to have a higher dollar than the US, which is a HUGE improvement since it was much, much lower only 10 years ago.

Just because the US falls doesn't mean at all that the rest of the world will feel it.

[smashcrashbash]

It would be sad world without Sony so I hope they pull through. They has always made the best stuff especially gaming systems . They may have to cut away some more dead wood and focus on certain businesses.

@ ylwzx3. Sony's consoles always made profits. This is the only time it hasn't done it from the start and even then it wasn't that long ago the PS3 was reported to start making a profit.Anyway I don't want to see a gaming industry with only Microsoft and Nintendo as the dominant consoles. That would be awful.

[omarzy]

It is not the consoles that are the problem. I would not like it if sony left either, but every other division is doing badly and if that causes sony to go down then guess what goes down with it? They would have to focus most resources on everything not gaming.

Playstation is the guy trapped in the back of a car with a drunk Bravia driving off a cliff.

[DiRtY]

Sony didn't have a global hit since the PS2, so it is just normal that the situation gets worse for them.

- music player? Apple surpassed them.
- TVs? Samsung and LG surpassed them.
- Cameras? Canon, Olympus and Nikon surpassed them.
- videogame business? Nintendo and Microsoft surpassed them. (I know people with disagree with that one, but it is a fact anyway. Look at the financial results)
- Cell phones? Samsung and Apple surpassed them.

And there are growing markets where Sony is not even in yet or way too small. (Tablets)

[dafegamer]

well MS in Na only worldwide ps3 is the leading home console

[kopicha]

lol it is funny that you get so much disagree when what you say is true. Even in where I live, PS3 sell more than 360 and that's fact. Only around 2-3 out of 10 gamers around me actually own a 360 but the rest have a PS3.

[NeverEnding1989]

PS3 is in third place worldwide. Not second, and definitely not first.

[raytraceme]

Sony is surpassing most companies in the camera business. Their exmor sensors are used in most of the smartphones on the market. And their nex series are turning heads.
Sony is one of the top dogs in Hollywood and its music business is the top dog.
MS has not passed Sony in the console biz. Its even game ATM.

[Eldyraen]

I don't understand all the disagrees unless its over the word "hit" instead of "leader". I love Sony products but truth is their diversity is doing damage ATM as other competing products are controlling the market right now (compared to past markets) Doesn't mean their products are necessarily bad but loss of sales is never a good thing for a business especially if it exists on several fronts.

[f789790]

I don't get how they're TV's are doing so badly. I got a cheaper 32" one and it's great. It can handle SD sources without any quality degradation issues and looks great in HD.

I guess it just comes down to what people see as nice. Then there are those who go for the cheapest things out there and don't even notice the horrible quality of the picture.

[LinLeigh]

have you seen some of the quality screens by Samsung? Sony tv's have always been quality but their value greatly dismissed when competitors were releasing cheap quality and Sony didn't react in time

[MetalProxy]

hey LinLeigh I bought one of them "cheap quality" samsung tvs (51inch) and its nothing but a POS. Had to exchange it within two weeks of buying it. Doesnt even have half the options the sony did at the same price. I will never buy a samsung again.

[Megaton]

TVs are gonna sink your company. Sony pls.

[Redgehammer]

Although I have my issues with Sony, imagining a world without Sony is something I absolutely do not want to happen. Get it together Sony, MS needs the constant competition.

[profgerbik]

Keep in mind with Gaikai, Sony at least gaming wise will never go anywhere. Even if they had to stop making consoles and handhelds they could still keep their games being made by developers just the same.

Gaikai is the future sadly because all anyone has these days are smart phones and tablets and Gaikai can stream any game to any of those devices, any device with a good internet connection for that matter.

Sony saw this coming a mile away that is why they bought Gaikai. Anyone with half a brain sees that gaming as a whole lately has been declining ever so slowly.

Hopefully the PS4 or something can change all that but it's not like that will stop tablets or smart phones from being made, so it probably won't make much of a difference.

Stop worrying about Sony, they have done far enough to secure their future in this screwed up economy based on idiotic teens obsessed with anything that has an Apple stamped on it.

[Mr-Zex]

What happened to gaming in the old days? Honestly these days we're all wall street buyers and sellers, I miss when gaming news was actually about new games and developement procresses and interviews, these companies have been around for generations and so have we as humans, it our natural ability to survive and if anything surpass if we feel we can, Sony have been around too long to just go down now, so relax people, take a seat and catch you breath because just like a hurricane or tornado destroying a small city, they can re-build and profit once again.

[Sp1d3ynut]

Sony and MS seriously need to form a merger. About mid-way through this gen, it was talked/joked about some, when PS3 was struggling, MS was trying to recover from the "RROD" fiasco, and Nintendo was "winning" by a landslide, with 10 y.o. tech/hardware.

Now, it seems far more plausible...and logical...for such a drastic measure to be taken. MS and Sony combined could take the Apple juggernaut head-on, like no other company could in the past. Nintendo would be forced to become aggressive and innovative...in software especially...again.

If Win8 fails...or at least doesn't continue MS's OS dominance in the personal PC space...and Surface goes nowhere, like Zune...they'll be in trouble as well.

I think next gen will see a few seismic shifts in the electronics and gaming industries, simply because they've both grown too fast for their respective markets, and the competition is no longer benefiting anyone but the bargain bin consumer. Between EA, Activision/Blizzard, Ubi, Capcom, MS, and Sony...I see a MAJOR event happening, akin to what's happened in recent years with Disney/Pixar/Marvel/Lucasfilm. I know it sounds crazy, but if someone told me 5 years ago that Disney would be in control of my beloved Marvel films AND the Lucas legacy...I'd have laughed in their face, and called them a fool.

[sdozzo]

No merger. Be more realistic about spending and the market.

[f789790]

Screw that. They would have the hardcore console market cornered and it wouldn't come cheap.

Besides, the cultures around each system are too different for it to work.

[Sanquine90]

Ditch the TV sector. They are bleeding money with the tv division.

[jujubee88]

ctr+f and search the terms: "samsung", "apple", " ms ", "nintendo", and "business"

Now, google business terminology such as, "fiscal", "quarterly", etc.

... People don't know what they are talking about. :>

[Sanquine90]

Dude, i am working as an auditor. Just saying. Sony is like italy xD

[Vickistheman]

I'll worry if Sony burns through their 150 billion cash reserves.

And even then, Sony is a mega corp in Japan, they'll be bailed out by the gov't for sure.

[ShaunCameron]

Don't bet on it. The government might just let them die like Obama should have with some of those failing big businesses.

[MYSTERIO360]

I think its time Sony cut their losses quick and focus on the things that are selling well for them or undergo a rapid restructuring immediately. The camera and TV division seems to be losing a lot of money for Sony so they should really consider their stance right now(and put those products on hold) or maybe drop those products altogether.

As much as i admire Sony's attempt in the handheld gaming market(really like the PSVITA) Sony should really think about whether to continue their pursuit in this area in the future aswell.

[ALLWRONG]

Sony is too spread out. They would save so much if they just got out of the movie and music biz.

[TheKayle]

ppl need to read all the article before write something
..isnt just the av market
"The flat-panel TV market has largely matured, the service said, and the explosive growth of smartphones is cannibalizing demand for Sony products like cameras and the PlayStation Vita.
The service noted that operating profits from Sony's digital imaging and G A M E S offerings were down 60 percent for the first half of the fiscal year, and it only expects that decline to worsen. Likewise, Sony is expected to continue losing money on TVs in light of stiff competition and weak sales expected for the coming year."

Im sorry for sony coz other company like MS need competitive opponent in the market but...if i look at this years...sony did too many fail...

ps3 crazy high price for the customers(just for pushing the blueray tech..that will fail soon too)

ps3 incomes...SOny.didnt take money this gen from the ps3 or not how much they needed ..coz ps3 manufactor cost was too high for each console

Tv market...they lose the idea of what market need they arent anymore in the "trinitron" 90' where they would dominate the market jsut with a good doth pitch....Samsung tv r easly better than any sony tv.....

- Sony Vita...they should just abandon the project...was clear for the most expert in the market that an expansive handheld nowdays would not sell.....we have mobile phones already...and they do what we need.......sony didnt hear and understand this...and now....vita is clearly failing

- Cameras....well u could think ..ok the professional segment will train the market..but dosnt work like this...is always the consumer segment that train the market

Take a look at the Matrox company against Nvidia in the late 90'....they was dominant on the professional segment but they was also on the consumer market...after 4 years against nvidia they abandoned the consumer market for their high prices against nvidia better quality

so most of the consumer cameras...soon will vanish from the market as some expert said already ....coz mobile phones r taking their places.......u can shoot an good 8 megapixel photo with ur mobile phone and u dont need to take 2 pieces in your pocket but just one ;)

Now gaikai.....ok is a good look to the future.....but was this the good timing to buy a company? boh i dont know ...this could (IHMO) mean that we will never see a ps5 and the ps4 will be not that powerhouse that ppl waiting for...

guys next gen is all about integration an MS ...(u could be happy or not) have the ace in their slave already....windows 8....sony cant fight on OS lvl...sorry

Moodys saying that they need an 12/18 months restructuration and if they start to do this ..like in my country Fiat did after moodys asking (is a car company for who dont know) we will haver for sure a cheap ps4 console....so i hope they dont do it

they need to abandon the idea...of the CORE gamers..they need money..and core gamers..dont buy games.(probably most ps3 user of this gen..have a custom firmware for free games)..They just talk about games...look at how much difference we have between xbox xclusives and ps3 exclusive sales...MS dominate it. When we talk about exclusives all ps3 core gamers...jump on and start to explain us how much better ps3 exclusives r...but so why with + or - same console sold (MS and Sony) sony dont sell same exclusives of MS?
Why sony continue to offer services to ppl that continue to dont spend on their market? (online gaming etc etc)
Im talking about numbers guys..so dont go upset....and numbers r facts....
kinect is a bullshit as u want..but it sold 30 millions (YES 30 MILLIONS) and it wasnt cheap...

[skrug]

That is full of non-sense...

1) You say the PS3 is crazy high price, then in the last section you say how MS and Sony "+ or - same console sold". Yea the PS3 sold the same amount as the 360 with a HIGHER price point and at 1 year later too.

2)Sony made profit from the ps3 hardware since 2010. They also make money from games, PS Store, PS Home, and blu-rays.

3) Sony high-end tvs still has one of the best pictures out there.

4) Mobile phones will not replace dedicated game handheld. With not pyshical buttons for 99.9% of smartphones out there games are limited. Almost all smartphone games are time wasters, nothing with engaging story/game play. Not only that, games are better optimized with only one specific hardware. PSVita will 'fail' just like the PSP/PS3.

5) Professionals photographers will not use point and shoot cameras. They use DSLR and Sony makes one of the best cameras and they have a head start on mirrorless cameras. And most smartphone uses Sony's senors (including the iPhone)

6) Sony is in a middle of a restructuring

7) You want to compare sales? Uncharted sales comparably to Gears. And GT5 sales comparably to Halo. And then there's are dozens of other Sony made games selling 1,2,3,4 millions. Most other MS games don't sell that many. COD sale pretty much the same on both consoles. Core gamers don't buy games? And the casuals do? is that why those casual Wii games have crazy sales? oh.. wait.

[TheKayle]

..skrug sorry i didnt get it

1-2) NOW they have + or - same numbers ..while ms get money from the console very quickly adding the income from XBL ...numbers themself dont talk good on this..xbox is a lot cheaper to build ...so for each consoel ms get lots of more money than sony do (the expression is close to 2 on 5 in favour of xbox ...try to search on google)

3) Again a business nowdays cant go anywhere if U WANNA STAY IN THE CONSUMER MARKET u need to sell to the CONSUMERS not only to the high end and also if sony picture quality is best on the high end tv...samsung beat 10 - 1 in design, UI, and innovation with a sort of kinect on top of the tv......samsung is acting ala Apple in the tv market ...samsung sell..sony dosnt

4)Wake up man...mobile gaming already eated all up the handheld market there r lots of controllers out of there that u can use with ur mobile and with this new kind of mobile processors games will be always more close to what real gamers want...give them just time ...u will see soon games in mobile version too i think next two gen of high end phones (ala iphone,sg3) will run nice nice nice games...plus already ppl seem to want to play casual with that kind of hw and if u look at sales of a mobile phone compared to every handheld well...theres no story

5) yeah again real photographers use reflex mainstream professinal photographers use DSLR, they can buy a 4000$ camera and save it for years...but companies make money selling thousand of pieces and there arent a lots of ppl that buy 1000$+ cameras.....10 years ago...every fuckin family had the "family camera" to shoot picture at birthday...for the parties etc etc...now everyone have a mobile phone that use for that...ppl just dont buy it...just read around

"“Flip cameras went bye-bye and now low-end camera functions are being taken over by smartphones,” says Rob Enderle, principle analyst for the Enderle Group. Going forward, consumers will have less incentive to carry around a camera when they already have a phone in their pocket that takes quality pictures. “The point-and-shooters – and particularly the cameras that sell for under $200 – will eventually go away and be replaced by cellphones that do the same thing.”

6) i hope so

7) r u serious? i hope u dont

Kinect Adventures 18 million
Call of Duty: Black Ops 16.4 million
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 13.7 million
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 12.9 million
Halo 3 11.8 million
Gears of War 5 million

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...
vs

Gran Turismo 5 9.01 million
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue 5.35 million
God of War III 6 millions
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 4.8

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

as u see just kinect adventure sold as much 3 of the sony top list

[XboxInnovation]

The problem with Sony is other companies have caught up to them as far as quality goes but at a cheaper price. This was never the case before. Sony was always in a league of it's own.

This is why I've been preaching for Sony to get lower prices on their products at the expense of all the bells and whistles. Especially in these trying times. People do not want to spend money.

Sony does not know how to handle competition. They've had it too easy for too many years. Different ball game now.

As crazy at it may sound, If I was Sony I'd be aiming for a next-gen console under 250.00 US Dollars at launch.

[Gr81]

I thought Sony fans wanted a super speced machine? Anything less was seen as unacceptable.

[Hicken]

Microsoft fans SURELY wanted the less impressive jump, right? And so did Nintendo fans.

GTFO with that stupidity. OF COURSE people want such a jump in capabilities. You don't want to upgrade your car moderately when you could have a massive upgrade, right? If your new computer was only slightly better than your last one, you wouldn't be as happy with it as you would be if the new comp left the old one in the dust, would you?

Man, I swear, you just type something negative without any consideration for how stupid it may sound.

In the future, I'd recommend you think a little more before you post, but we all know you're just gonna continue with the ignorance.

[Gr81]

Your problem is you are so sensitive about all things Sony.

What you don't realize is that many people expect Sony to release a moderately speced machine simply because financially they are hurting. You know they lost billions of $$ and their net worth has plummetted. These are facts here ok hickey?

What do M$ fans have to do with anything? M$ isn't in financial ruin atm are they? I also don't expect the next Xbox to be what many fans expect it to be.

And all the while folks like yourself talk about how 'underpowered' the Wii U is. Yet the guy I responded to first describes a system that if Sony were to release at $250 would also be lumped into that category.

Whats so hard to understand?

Relax, take a multivitamin and watch some porn. You are way to uptight.

[Sarobi]

Oh no we're all doomed.... ha

I see a lot of people here trying to talk business, yet I bet they don't even come close to working for a big corporate.. Sony has been seeing loses for quite some time now, but that doesn't mean the entire company is shutting down.

[Dread]

Well all u blind fanboys can spind this until you feel better, but this is bad news...not just another "doom and gloom" article.

As a gamer and supporter of all game companys, i really hope Sony can solve this as soon as possible. I am looking forward to the Sony Playstation 4, and would hate it if its finacial problems affect their gaming division, which is currently one of the best in the business, regardless of its financial problems.

[WeAreLegion]

You can't just give away free brownies and expect to make money, Sony.

[Series_IIa]

People need to know that the main reason why it was downgraded was because of a general drop in AV sales across the board, as stated by Moody themselves, not a drop in balance of Sony.

But unfortunately the downgrade means Sony again suffers once more with having to offload more assets into it's debt management to stabilize its rates, a continued up&down stock level until at least the next quarter, Sony has too much money still rolling in though to be falling flat, but not enough to get out of the red and into the black.

[3-4-5]

This is what happens when you refuse to listen to anybody and let Arrogance and ignorance run the company.

They deserve what happens to them. It just sucks because it's not Playstation as a brand that sucks....just Sony being hard headed or purely dumb about certain matters.

Sony: Go back to making the least graphically powerful system so everybody can make games on it and then you can dominate the market again.

I'm more a Nintendo fan, but I still like Playstation as a brand and would hate to see it fail.

[GTRrocker666]

Wtf sony has the best games

[ritsuka666]

Too bad so sad, aint nothing any technogeek hasnt known for the past 6 years. So many other brands priced cheaper and way better than anything Sony has had for that time.

[Silly gameAr]

Sony better come to N4G and get some of this priceless advice that people are giving out, because everyone here runs a multi-billion dollar company and knows wtf they're talking about.

Oh yeah, /s.

[sarshelyam]

I love how they lump the Vita sales in there, like it really has anything to do with this rating drop. Sony's TV division has been hemorrhaging money for nearly 20 years, they refuse to adopt a competitive stance, and the sets worth buying are simply priced out of most peoples budget. Their high-end stuff is nice, but it's not nice enough for the price.

Vita has a long way to go, but damn if we haven't even crossed a year on market. Too soon to condemn that as a variable in this equation.

[BrianC6234]

No way is the Vita one of the reasons for this. Sony is way too big for low sales of the Vita to cause this. Japan has had major problems plus exchange rates have hurt Japanese companies. There's a lot of reasons Sony has problems right now. Apple should buy Sony. They can easily afford to. Then they can get into the gaming business against Microsoft.

[DivineAssault]

There is something wrong with this world..

[justncase]

Wow seems like the united states and Sony have the same financial rating Junk, They must be doing well thats what the media tells us?

[jmac53]

The fact that it is the TV division that is at fault doesn't matter, This will affect the company as a whole and that means the games division. Now Sony can not possibly afford to have a high end expensive gaming system next gen compared to what they did with the PS3. This is a result of arrogance and resistance to change.

[shoestring]

Guess I just have to play The Last of Us on that new sega dreamcast now....oh wait

[Angerfist]

Competition is always good for the Consumer so here is hoping Sony gets the Curve and does deliver a new System, otherwise we have an overpriced new Xbox just because they can. Im pretty sure Playstation is one of their Flagships still, i believe Phones and TVs are doing worse, Samsung mindf...s them in those departments.