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[sonycowboy]

http://www.forbes.com/technology/fe...-KEYWORD.Missing.html?partner=yahoo&referrer=

TOKYO, Jul 27, 2004 (AFX-ASIA via COMTEX) -- Japanese consumer electronics giant Sony Corp is expected to report tomorrow a fiscal first quarter operating loss or a profit that is much smaller than a year ago, hit by the deterioration of its key electronics, game and movie divisions.

Analysts believe Sony's two core businesses - electronics and games - will have suffered a major decline in profitability, causing a sharp slide in overall operating profit in the first fiscal quarter to June.

....

Sony is also now experiencing difficulties in the game division, once its growth driver, due to the maturity of its best-selling PlayStation 2 game consoles.

In the game division, the company registered operating profit of 1.8 bln yen in the first quarter of last year, down 31.6 pct year-on-year.

In April, Sony had predicted global shipments of its PlayStation 2 game consoles would drop to 14 mln units in the year to March 2005 from 20.1 mln consoles sold a year earlier.

Alarmed by the quick maturity of the market for PlayStation 2 consoles, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc (SCEI) president and CEO Ken Kutaragi, who is also executive vice president of Sony, announced recently the company will give the world its first look at its next-generation PlayStation 3 videogame console at the E3 (Electronics Entertainment Expo) in Los Angeles next May.

To make up for the expected loss in sales, SCEI will also start selling portable versions of its PlayStation consoles - PSP - by the end of this year.

"It seems to be unavoidable for Sony to have sustained some operating loss in the game division, even after the company transferred some portion of research and development cost to the electronics division," said Goldman Sachs analyst Yuji Fujimori, who is expecting first quarter operating profit of zero at Sony.

Sony transferred some portion of research and development cost related to development of key electronics devices for PlayStation 3 consoles to the account in the electronics division.

...

 

[jedimike]

E3 is definitely going to be good. After this announcement, I expect MS will choose an earlier event to unveil.

 

[sonycowboy]

E3 is definitely going to be good. After this announcement, I expect MS will choose an earlier event to unveil.

??? Could you elaborate? Not sure what you're getting at.

 

[jedimike]

??? Could you elaborate? Not sure what you're getting at.

Just lots of console stuff to get all hyped up about. I say MS might do something earlier to avoid Sony stealing their thunder. Even at this juncture, I don't think MS has the testicular fortitude to stand toe-to-toe with Sony.

 

[neptunes]

??? Could you elaborate? Not sure what you're getting at.

everyone is try to up one another for next gen and to be the first out there, (which is to present and release faster than sony)

They'll probably try to the Hype train also seeing as how it worked so well this gen.

 

[open_mouth_]

but Sony is #1... only Microsoft loses teh moneys!

 

[sonycowboy]

but Sony is #1... only Microsoft loses teh moneys!

I think you read it wrong. What they're saying is that Sony will suffer some operating loss relative to their PRIOR results. There's absolutely no way SCEI will post an actual bottom-line LOSS, but a significant decline in profit is likely.

 

[kaching]

Alarmed by the quick maturity of the market for PlayStation 2 consoles, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc (SCEI) president and CEO Ken Kutaragi, who is also executive vice president of Sony, announced recently the company will give the world its first look at its next-generation PlayStation 3 videogame console at the E3 (Electronics Entertainment Expo) in Los Angeles next May.

Is this really how the move is perceived? That it's a knee-jerk, "oh shit" reaction to the fact that - surprise, surprise - the PS2 market is maturing quickly now that it's been around for almost 4 yrs worldwide and Sony didn't see it coming, even though their own estimates for PS2 sales for this year are what forecast it? When the hell did they expect Sony to reveal the PS3, anyway?

 

[open_mouth_]

but factor in the transfer of R&D costs (which is being mainly used for PS3 tech) and you'll begin to see an entirely different profit picture. Microsoft doesn't have the liberty of using accounting tricks to offset the effect of Xenon R&D to its OS division.

 

[sonycowboy]

but factor in the transfer of R&D costs (which is being mainly used for PS3 tech) and you'll begin to see an entirely different profit picture. Microsoft doesn't have the liberty of using accounting tricks to offset the effect of Xenon R&D to its OS division.

We've had this discussion before. You really should make some attempt to know WTH you're talking about. Open-Mouth insert foot.

 

[open_mouth_]

We've had this discussion before. You really should make some attempt to know WTH you're talking about. Open-Mouth insert foot.

put the claws away. your undying devotion to Sony is...frightening.

 

[sonycowboy]

put the claws away. your undying devotion to Sony is...frightening.

Please. It's directly in proportion to your sad little post. OMG.

 

[MrSingh]

We've had this discussion before. You really should make some attempt to know WTH you're talking about. Open-Mouth insert foot.

NO! it's the goldman and morgan analysts who don't know what they are talking about!!!

 

[sohka88]

Mac office 2004

 

[jarrod]

but factor in the transfer of R&D costs (which is being mainly used for PS3 tech) and you'll begin to see an entirely different profit picture. Microsoft doesn't have the liberty of using accounting tricks to offset the effect of Xenon R&D to its OS division.

Nope they just throw the highly profitable Mac Office and PC Gaming sectors into Home & Entertainment to help offset it. Meanwhile SCE will continue filing a good amount of their massive PS3 maufacturing/R&D costs under Sony Electronics (just like PS2). What's Nintendo going to do?

 

[garrickk]

Even if they hadn't diverted some costs to other divisions, they would still have a net profit in their games division.

However, the electronics division does utilize a lot of the R&D from the games division. Why assume that transfering costs on paper is designed to make the games division look "bad" (actually, just less good)? Isn't the electronics division losing a lot of money right now?

I really doubt any of us really know.

 

[Deg]

I think SCE will do well despite the news.

 

[jarrod]

Why assume that transfering costs on paper is designed to make the games division look "bad" (actually, just less good)?

Er, I think you've got that backwards...

 

[evilromero]

The end of Sony's dominance is fast approaching. It has been known for sometime.

 

[DarienA]

The end of Sony's dominance is fast approaching. It has been known for sometime.

<checks calculations>

I agree at this rate..

<does a few more calculations>

they've only got about 1-2 more generations of being #1 in them!