Sony: Game Sales Down 30%

Dragged down by the inevitable costs of launching a new console, Sony‘s first quarter profits suffered to the tune of about $230 million. Fortunately for Sony this setback came as no surprise, as a slump in sales had been widely predicted.

With game sales down 30% for the year, the burden has been shifted to other more profitable divisions within the company. Sony is deeply diversified, very large and more than capable of dealing with market fluctuations.

While Sony’s game division has been a poor performer of late, as a whole the company reported that sales were up 11%, bolstered by strong growth in sales of notebook computers, televisions and cameras.

Analysts were surprised by the extent of Sony’s growth in net income over the previous year. After cutting nearly 10,000 jobs and receiving a boost from the arrival of HDTV, Sony has raised its operating profit forecast by 30%, pointing to a strong future for the company in the near term.

Dragged down by the inevitable costs of launching a new console, Sony‘s first quarter profits suffered to the tune of about $230 million. Fortunately for Sony this setback came as no surprise, as a slump in sales had been widely predicted.

With game sales down 30% for the year, the burden has been shifted to other more profitable divisions within the company. Sony is deeply diversified, very large and more than capable of dealing with market fluctuations.

While Sony’s game division has been a poor performer of late, as a whole the company reported that sales were up 11%, bolstered by strong growth in sales of notebook computers, televisions and cameras.

Analysts were surprised by the extent of Sony’s growth in net income over the previous year. After cutting nearly 10,000 jobs and receiving a boost from the arrival of HDTV, Sony has raised its operating profit forecast by 30%, pointing to a strong future for the company in the near term.