[mclaren777]

As someone who buys primarily Sony products (PS3, TV, sound system, MP3 player, etc) I'm greatly troubled by this news.

[Log4Girlz]

Isn't their camera business fairly profitable due to being involved in medical equipment technology? As for Sony making tablets, they already tried, but not a single fuck was given.

A laughable attempt at making a tablet, which will probably hurt their chances at ever making a dent in the market. What a stupid decision.

[zomgbbqftw]

Isn't their camera business fairly profitable due to being involved in medical equipment technology? As for Sony making tablets, they already tried, but not a single fuck was given.

It's because they made a shitty me-too product that was a year too late. They need to make a Vita pad with the Vita SoC and full PS-Suite/store compatibility and compatibility with all Vita games. Vita needs to turn from device into platform with a phone, tablet and dedicated handheld all available. That would give Sony something that other Android OEMs don't have.

Launching Vita without PS-Suite ready to go was stupid as well, their execution is absolutely fucking awful though.

[djplaeskool]

This is why they're gutting their TV division.

I wouldn't be surprised if the company was mainly Sony Computer Entertainment, Sony Digital Imaging, and Sony Pictures alone in 2 or 3 years.
As long as they stay in the vidya business, I'm cool.

[Log4Girlz]

It's because they made a shitty me-too product that was a year too late. They need to make a Vita pad with the Vita SoC and full PS-Suite/store compatibility and compatibility with all Vita games. Vita needs to turn from device into platform with a phone, tablet and dedicated handheld all available. That would give Sony something that other Android OEMs don't have. Launching Vita without PS-Suite ready to go was stupid as well, their execution is absolutely fucking awful though.

Too late. That's what they needed to do :(

[Maxrunner]

That's an extremely depressing trio. I'm preparing now for a PC only future.

Really???Why is it depressing???

[M°°nblade]

O_O Nintendo is a 4000 employees company Sony is a 140'000 employees company Holy shit.

Well, time to trim the fat away

[Maxrunner]

They overprice their products news at eleven. Their Tv's cost much more than the competition and are not even better....my next tv set is probably going to be a Panasonic VT series...and it will still probably cost less than a similar Sony product...

[fluffydelusions]

So Nintendoomed is worth more than Sony ?

[GCX]

They are both about $20 billion. Nintendo is worth slightly more at the moment.

I remember when Nintendo's market value was $80 billion during their crazy rise to heaven years (2007 or so).

[Lettuce]

It brings me great satisfaction to see their TV side completely flop. I bought a very expensive TV from them in early 2007 that suffered numerous problems and was a complete fucking nightmare to get fixed. Swore I would never buy a TV from them ever again.

Gone are the days of the might CRT Trinitron screens!!!!

[Escape Goat]

Too big to fail. We gotta buy more Vitas!

[GDGF]

Who needs a second job now Sony? ;)

ouch

[djplaeskool]

They overprice their products news at eleven. Their Tv's cost much more than the competition and are not even better....my next tv set is probably going to be a Panasonic VT series...and it will still probably cost less than a similar Sony product...

I think Panasonic is faring even worse financially :/

[Busty]

What do you mean by this? I thought Sony Pictures is one of their few profitable divisions?

IIRC the only reason Sony Pictures showed a (modest) profit last quarter was because they sold their share of the merchandising rights for the Spiderman films for $250m or thereabouts.

It was something of an eye raising development that was only released in their financial statement but no one seemed to run with it.

[phosphor112]

What happened to Sony's TV section? I remember back when a Trinitron was the TV to have. It really boggles my mind

I just got rid of mine... sucker was like 150 lbs...

[zomgbbqftw]

They overprice their products news at eleven. Their Tv's cost much more than the competition and are not even better....my next tv set is probably going to be a Panasonic VT series...and it will still probably cost less than a similar Sony product...

Almost all Panasonic TVs are sold at below cost. I would be surprised if they remained in the market as well. Like I said, Japanese CE companies must consolidate now, spin off all of the TV divisions and merge them into one company to compete with Samsung effectively. Either that or exit and concentrate on OLED.

[EvilMario]

The only Sony products I buy are on the gaming side. There's just too much of a markup on televisions in most cases, and their other products just don't matter to me.

I wonder how much was lost this year by major television manufacturers trying to push 3D.

[Combichristoffersen]

It's because they made a shitty me-too product that was a year too late. They need to make a Vita pad with the Vita SoC and full PS-Suite/store compatibility and compatibility with all Vita games. Vita needs to turn from device into platform with a phone, tablet and dedicated handheld all available. That would give Sony something that other Android OEMs don't have. Launching Vita without PS-Suite ready to go was stupid as well, their execution is absolutely fucking awful though.

Aren't most of their products me-too products these days though? The days of Sony being an innovative force to be reckoned with are mostly gone.

[Jimmy Stav]

It's stuff like this that makes me have absolutely no faith in Sony next gen. I want to believe, but a PS4 no longer sounds like a safe investment (regardless of how much the system may or may not actually appeal to me).

[salpa]

So Nintendoomed is worth more than Sony ?

They have been since 2007.

And no, Sony does not need to just cut thousands of employees. Nintendo only has 4000, but they only make video games.

Sony makes virtually everything. I'm surprised there is no Sony toaster and microwave.

You need a lot of employees if you make a lot of products. Simply gutting everything from the company is not the answer.

[kuroshiki]

It's stuff like this that makes me have absolutely no faith in Sony next gen. I want to believe, but a PS4 no longer sounds like a safe investment (regardless of how much the system may or may not actually appeal to me).

I don't give a shit about investment when I'm buying a product to pleasure myself. You know as well that next gen also will be multi-platform heaven.

[Log4Girlz]

I don't give a shit about investment when I'm buying a product to pleasure myself.

Pervert.

[Wazzim]

This isn't allowed under international trade agreements. It's what China does though.

Well that's stupid. They're shooting themselves in the foot just to have some goodwill with the US. The US might charge tax on JPN goods/ or whatever if they fix the Yen to the Dollar though so I don't know what the best thing for them to do.

[zomgbbqftw]

Aren't most of their products me-too products these days though? The days of Sony being an innovative force to be reckoned with are mostly gone.

Indeed. CLED is the most innovative product they have come up with. I truly hope they marketize it, even if it is expensive I would buy a 46" CLED TV. Sony need to look at selling 1m $10k TVs a year at a profit if they are going to remain in the market, not 22m $1k TVs mostly sold at below cost. With CLED the jump in quality and the ability to make 4k at medium to larger sizes at the same cost as full HD is attractive.

[i-Lo]

Too big to fail. We gotta buy more Vitas!

Bruce invest in more Vitas. We know you can afford to.

[Thunder Monkey]

They have been since 2007. And no, Sony does not need to just cut thousands of employees. Nintendo only has 4000, but they only make video games. Sony makes virtually everything. I'm surprised there is no Sony toaster and microwave. You need a lot of employees if you make a lot of products. Simply gutting everything from the company is not the answer.

It really isn't the answer.

The answer would be to trim away at the costs of manufacturing. Start making cheaper TV's Sony. People don't seem to want cutting edge. The masses at least. The people that need the cutting edge, or care about contrast ratio and pixel density is a pretty small market to sell to.

They are in a bad way though.

[entrement]

Sony's brand loyalty is basically gone. Their TVs were best in class at one point, now they're just overpriced.

[Combichristoffersen]

Indeed. CLED is the most innovative product they have come up with. I truly hope they marketize it, even if it is expensive I would buy a 46" CLED TV. Sony need to look at selling 1m $10k TVs a year at a profit if they are going to remain in the market, not 22m $1k TVs mostly sold at below cost. With CLED the jump in quality and the ability to make 4k at medium to larger sizes at the same cost as full HD is attractive.

Those translucent mirrors they introduced for the Alpha DSLRs was also fairly innovative, I'd say (I got an Alpha DSLR myself, and I think it's great, besides sucking an immense amount of juice from the battery). As for their TV business, I think they should just gut it or sell it off. They can't sustain funding a division that keeps bleeding money just to have a presence in the TV market.

[Josh7289]

Too me it seems like they have a choice to either:

a) become a low end has-been who sells cheap products on brand name alone

or

b) become a very focused and risk-taking innovator again


Either way, there's a chance it'll all blow up, but at least with the second option there's also a chance they'll turn around this slow decline.

But I'm not a businessman so I don't stand too strongly behind these statements, hehe.

[massoluk]

Not only do they make just about everything, their everything most of the time is only compatible with their proprietary BS. You know why I didn't buy Sony reader? Who the hell want to bet on Sony Ebook shop over Amazon or B&N's library... and their readers are still more expensive to boot.

[tapedeck]

I thought a large portion of that loss was pre-paid taxes over the next two years. Even still Sony needs some major refocusing before PS4 releases, not to mention a whole new marketing team.

[zomgbbqftw]

Those translucent mirrors they introduced for the Alpha DSLRs was also fairly innovative, I'd say (I got an Alpha DSLR myself, and I think it's great, besides sucking an immense amount of juice from the battery). As for their TV business, I think they should just gut it or sell it off. They can't sustain funding a division that keeps bleeding money just to have a presence in the TV market.

Their imaging division is in decent shape. The NEX-7 is absolutely amazing, I was looking at one along with the 24mm CZ. I got a look at the FS700 as well, not to buy, but it is quite a big product in film and TV production as it does 4k with interchangable lenses for much, much less than the competition.

I would say the Translucent mirrors and CLED are good innovations, the OLED viewfinder for the cameras and the HMZ-T1 is good as well and I would like to see them make the HMZ into a proper product, not just an experimental one. They did the same with OLED and the XEL-1 which was great but it was never followed up with a $20k 32" OLED. People would have paid whatever Sony asked in 2009 for OLED, now they are looking at CLED which is the same as OLED but they won't be able to charge $20k for a 32" version because LG are said to be pricing their 55" OLED at $10k.

Again, Sony have no vision. Stringer was the CEO that Sony needed, but he didn't have the vision. I just hope Kaz has got it.

[snoopeasystreet]

After the instagram buying I began thinking about how much money a billion dollars is and realised that I could buy every material possession I ever wanted a few of times over. 6.4 billion is waaaaay more than that. Sometimes I just don't understand how much money is in the world.

[coldfoot]

Imagine if they nixed all the TV/Stereo business and poured their resources into Vita XL with a 9" 1080p screen (4x of Vita) with ICS. I'd have bought that instead of the iPad.
Next, develop a lighter version of the HMD-TZ1 with 1080p resolution.

[Backfoggen]

That's what you get when you put crap like the Tablet P on the market.

[kuroshiki]

Imagine if they nixed all the TV/Stereo business and poured their resources into Vita XL with a 9" 1080p screen (4x of Vita) with ICS. I'd have bought that instead of the iPad. Next, develop a lighter version of the HMD-TZ1 with 1080p resolution.

No thanks.

[Cygnus X-1]

They have been since 2007. And no, Sony does not need to just cut thousands of employees. Nintendo only has 4000, but they only make video games. Sony makes virtually everything. I'm surprised there is no Sony toaster and microwave. You need a lot of employees if you make a lot of products. Simply gutting everything from the company is not the answer.

Even making too much is not good. I think sooner or later they'll have to follow Philips's strategy and cut everything who does not generate profits.

[CadetMahoney]

So when can we expect a new Samung console?

I welcome our new Samsung overlords. All Hail Samsumg!

Who needs a second job now Sony?

[HylianTom]

Too me it seems like they have a choice to either: a) become a low end has-been who sells cheap products on brand name alone or b) become a very focused and risk-taking innovator again Either way, there's a chance it'll all blow up, but at least with the second option there's also a chance they'll turn around this slow decline. But I'm not a businessman so I don't stand too strongly behind these statements, hehe.

Sounds about right.

Should be fun and fascinating to watch what they do. :)

[Reallink]

Don't worry guys, their TV business is on the right track. Their recently redeployed S.U.R.E price controlling program raised the prices of some of their TV's by $1000 over night. If the same TV wasn't selling at $2500, it's S.U.R.E to sell at $3500. Sony: saving Best Buy from Amazon one over priced TV at a time.

[coldfoot]

No thanks.

It could run ICS virtuzalized as another app. This way you get access to all the android apps.

[frankie_baby]

It could run ICS virtuzalized as another app. This way you get access to all the android apps.

great way to encourage developers to make vita games, have them compete with thousands of pieces of free shite

[see5harp]

Don't worry guys, their TV business is on the right track. Their S.U.R.E price controlling program recently raised the prices of some of their TV's by $1000 over night. If the same TV wasn't selling at $2500, it's S.U.R.E to sell at $3500. Sony: saving Best Buy from Amazon one over priced TV at a time.

Damn you guys are brutal. LOL

[OldJadedGamer]

Outside of my PS3 I can't remember the last time I bought a Sony product.

[Milhouse31]

I just bought a Xperia S, I liked the design :-)

[Infamous Chris]

What if Samsung is the manufacturer for the Steambox like they are with Android phones?

MEGATON

[90sRobots]

http://www.latimes.com/business/mone...,2919280.story

Best Buy is also in deep shit for selling overpriced garbage. The secret is out, BB! People are figuring out you're selling HDMI cables 15x above cost!

But seriously lol @ Sony for them forcing 3D only to completely backfire. Eastern and Western hubris is beginning to be one in the same (see Capcom).

[Stumpokapow]

This is why they're gutting their TV division. I wouldn't be surprised if the company was mainly Sony Computer Entertainment, Sony Digital Imaging, and Sony Pictures alone in 2 or 3 years. As long as they stay in the vidya business, I'm cool.

Well, except when they then need to gut Sony Digital Imaging because the professional market isn't big enough, the hobbyist market belongs to Canon and Nikon, and the general public ditches point-and-shoots in favour of their phones.

So then they'll be a content company.

[GreekWolf]

Selling overpriced bullshit for all these years is finally coming back to bite them in the ass. It's getting harder and harder to tell the difference between a $2500 Sony Vaio and a $1000 Lenovo. Or a $3500 XBR and a $900 Samsung.

My feelings, exactly.

I purchased a Bravia XBRHX929 back in February, due to the rave reviews it was receiving as the best television money can buy.

While it is indeed a very good set (as it should be, for $3500), I was disappointed to find out that both my Samsung and ancient Panny Plasma both provide a noticeably better picture, and at half the cost.

Historically, Sony has earned the reputation as providing impeccable television quality, but seems to have stumbled over the last several years. With the outrageous price tags and "second best" products, they are approaching Bose level of pseudo-excellence.