Sony worried about “volatile” yen

Sony Corp. is building up its confidence as its PlayStation 3 game console picks up momentum right of 2007’s holidays. Prices of the high-powered console have gone down, while the number of premium titles is growing. The only thing that’s keeping Sony bosses awake at night, it seems, is the performance of the Japanese yen. CEO Howard Stringer tells us why in the full article.

Sony is optimistic about its consumer electronics wares after seeing the results of its holiday sales, according to Chief Executive Officer Howard Stringer. However, they’re a bit concerned with how the Japanese yen has been performing lately.

“There is always an impact on exports,” explains Stringer at the World Economic Forum. “The yen is volatile … We watch it with some anxiety.”

Consumer electronics is Sony’s main business machine, hinging heavily on TVs, cameras, and game consoles. The company was criticized over the past few months due to weak sales of its PlayStation 3, but there have been signs of life after 2007’s holidays.

“PS3 has now gone past Xbox on the Christmas market. It’s moving into its own as it gets into higher bandwidth,” says the Sony CEO. “PS3 is out of the woods and beginning to hold its own.”

The PS3 trailed rivals Microsoft Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii for most of the year 2007 despite having the most high-powered hardware chops of any console to date. Pundits have marked its high price point and limited software library as its major weaknesses.

Via Reuters