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[James Sawyer Ford]

It really isn't safe to say that since MS traditionally ships more in Q4. The gap will widen next quarter.

Traditionally, they haven't. If you look at the data they go back and forth but have generally been roughly even.

 

[Elios83]

It really isn't safe to say that since MS traditionally ships more in Q4. The gap will widen next quarter.

Which traditionally isn't true
MS had a particularly good year with the Kinect effect which btw is now vanished and that's it.
This year, sales from MS biggest contributor, the US market, are considerably down and the monthly gap with the PS3 has shrinked significantly for the first 9 months of the year.
Honestly I expect similar holiday sales for both, one of them of course will come on top but I don't think there will a significant gap.
Also the fact that PS3 will eventually surpass the 360 globally is a given, once Sony hits the sub 200$ price sales will get a new life especially in Europe, also Sony looks positioned for an amazing 2013 in terms of the software lineup. Next year streams will cross.

 

[metalslimer]

Next year streams will cross.

People have been saying this for the last 3 years.

 

[Elios83]

People have been saying this for the last 3 years.

The problem is that every year people think that finally the time has arrived for Sony to make this thing mass market priced. Instead we're looking at 6-7 years old systems selleing at still over 200$.
2013 will be (incredibly being the 7th year in the lifecycle) the year when PS3 reaches mass market penetration which is really critical for sales in many countries (the whole continental Europe as a fact).
Also at this point the gap between the the two products should be under 2m in any case.
It's unfortunate that we aren't getting clear shipments datas but I guess that when that happens Sony will let us know

 

[Psychotext]

It really isn't safe to say that since MS traditionally ships more in Q4. The gap will widen next quarter.

Especially as Sony has obviously just had a huge PS3 shipment to get the super slims into the stores.

I doubt they'll be shipping a massive amount in Q4 given stores will still be selling through the old models and the latest shipment. Of course, it will happen eventually, but 7 years into the generation it's all rather irrelevant.

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

Traditionally, they haven't. If you look at the data they go back and forth but have generally been roughly even.

Traditionally, they have:

360 Q4s

05: 1.5m
06: 4.4m
07: 4.3m
08: 6.0m
09: 5.2m
10: 6.3m
11: 8.2m


PS3 Q4s

06: 1.7m
07: 4.9m
08: 4.5m
09: 6.5m
10: 6.3m
11: 6.5m

 

[jcm]

Traditionally, they have:

360 Q4s

05: 1.5m
06: 4.4m
07: 4.3m
08: 6.0m
09: 5.2m
10: 6.3m
11: 8.2m


PS3 Q4s

06: 1.7m
07: 4.9m
08: 4.5m
09: 6.5m
10: 6.3m
11: 6.5m

Sony won two, MS won two, they tied one. How does that prove your point?

 

[KillerMan91]

Traditionally, they have:

360 Q4s

05: 1.5m
06: 4.4m
07: 4.3m
08: 6.0m
09: 5.2m
10: 6.3m
11: 8.2m


PS3 Q4s

06: 1.7m
07: 4.9m
08: 4.5m
09: 6.5m
10: 6.3m
11: 6.5m

Eh? You are proving his point

2006 MS
2007 Sony
2008 MS
2009 Sony
2010 Tie
2011 MS (dat channel stuffing)

Two for sony and three for MS (Though -06 was easy victory as it was launch period of PS3)

 

[Elios83]

Especially as Sony has obviously just had a huge PS3 shipment to get the super slims into the stores.

I doubt they'll be shipping a massive amount in Q4 given stores will still be selling through the old models and the latest shipment. Of course, it will happen eventually, but 7 years into the generation it's all rather irrelevant.

The 'super' shipment of the new slims will happen in Q4, has not happened in Q3, those things started to appear in October and they still have to fully replace the old models.
So yeah Sony could even have suprisingly good PS3 shipments in Q4 because of Sony replenishing the retail channels with new skus.
Basically it's the opposite of what you're saying.

 

[CadetMahoney]

I see that they missed their projections again, lowering it now to 10 million portable systems for the year ending March 31, 2013.

When will they learn to release realistic projections that they have a shoot of hitting and/or exceeding?

If they keep lowering it, they'll eventually hit the right number.

 

[Psychotext]

The 'super' shipment of the new slims will happen in Q4, has not happened in Q3, those things started to appear in October

They'd have been in the September shipped figures as they were available as of the end of September and would have started shipping some weeks before.

I don't recall any shortages of them either (nor any massive sales boost) so I don't expect them to have to replace that shipment particularly quickly... unless of course they get around to dropping the price some time soon, but I don't see that happening before Christmas.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

I think Sony will continue to lead Microsoft from here on out globally. The kinect effect has greatly attenuated and will basically be a non factor this holiday.

PS3 has room to drop on price just as the 360 does, I don't consider price moves at this point to provide any huge movement of hardware sales and will mostly be used to stave off significant drops year over year, in other words maintain rather than grow.

Sony dominates emerging markets, and as we have seen with both ps1 and ps2, sales in those regions tend to pick up slack as interest wanes in developed markets. This global presence will better allow Sony to maintain sales and I suspect microsoft will have a much larger drop off moving forward.

For the holiday quarter I see 360 selling at best on par with PS3, but wouldn't be surprised if Sony did better to the tune of .5-1 million units, with Sony adding another 1 million for Q4. These gains would enable them to move into second place by the end of March.

You act like WiiU is a non factor and will have zero effect on either Sony or MS which is very naive. PS3 sales will all but almost stop in Japan once WiiU comes out and gains steam on systems sold. Not so much the rest of the world but the WiiU basically has Japan on lockdown and since Sony is the only other game in town and they won't have a new system out for at least another full year, they are at a great risk of totally losing Japan.

Also, I forgot that you are the fourth world country guy who thinks that all these little tiny nations is going to pull everything together at the end. You seem to be the only poster I see tooting this horn.

The 'super' shipment of the new slims will happen in Q4, has not happened in Q3, those things started to appear in October and they still have to fully replace the old models.
So yeah Sony could even have suprisingly good PS3 shipments in Q4 because of Sony replenishing the retail channels with new skus.
Basically it's the opposite of what you're saying.

Don't forget that all those new super slim models have a higher MSRP in the US than the system previously did. Bringing it just $30 away from a WiiU.

 

[Elios83]

They'd have been in the September shipped figures as they were available as of the end of September and would have started shipping some weeks before.

I don't recall any shortages of them either (nor any massive sales boost) so I don't expect them to have to replace that shipment particularly quickly... unless of course they get around to dropping the price some time soon, but I don't see that happening before Christmas.

The new slim launch was basically a paper launch, there were a couple of bundles, one in the US (Uncharted) and the other Europe (FIFA) officially available during the last days of September.
Truth is that stores have continued to sell mainly the old PS3s until very recently and the new slims were really hard to find and only reserved to a particualar bundle.
That is gonna change in November and December when Sony will definetly replenish the retail channels with the new skus, something that they couldn't do so far because of inventory of the old models which at this point seems finally on the low side.
So no, returning to our point, it's not Q3 shipments that are inflated, but it's the Q4 numbers that might be when they are reported.

You act like WiiU is a non factor and will have zero effect on either Sony or MS which is very naive. PS3 sales will all but almost stop in Japan once WiiU comes out and gains steam on systems sold. Not so much the rest of the world but the WiiU basically has Japan on lockdown and since Sony is the only other game in town and they won't have a new system out for at least another full year, they are at a great risk of totally losing Japan.

Also, I forgot that you are the fourth world country guy who thinks that all these little tiny nations is going to pull everything together at the end. You seem to be the only poster I see tooting this horn.



Don't forget that all those new super slim models have a higher MSRP in the US than the system previously did. Bringing it just $30 away from a WiiU.

Don't forget that the higher price doesn't apply in Europe and in the US it is just a move to get rid of the old 249$ 160GB SKUs.
The Black Friday deals you have in the US will tell a different story once the new slims have become the defacto models. I wouldn't even be suprised if the 12GB model was magically introduced in time for BF and December

About Wii U, that's just your speculation, PS3 offers a different value proposition and software lineup from Wii U.
PS3 has still many good games coming out for Japan I really don't think that japanese people will stop buying PS3s because of WiiU. Sales for the two products will be independent for a long time. They're different products and Wii U will take months to get out of the launch window where initial sales are a given, in Japan the old product from the same manufactuter tends to be replaced by the new one, but that doesn't traditionally apply to products made by different companies.
Of course we'll see what happens.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

You act like WiiU is a non factor and will have zero effect on either Sony or MS which is very naive. PS3 sales will all but almost stop in Japan once WiiU comes out and gains steam on systems sold. Not so much the rest of the world but the WiiU basically has Japan on lockdown and since Sony is the only other game in town and they won't have a new system out for at least another full year, they are at a great risk of totally losing Japan.

Also, I forgot that you are the fourth world country guy who thinks that all these little tiny nations is going to pull everything together at the end. You seem to be the only poster I see tooting this horn.

The Wii U is a non factor as it concerns ps3 sales relative to 360 sales. I don't expect PS3 sales to stop once the Wii U launches in Japan. They'll be down, but its not like they will evaporate to nothing, I think the markets are some what distinct for both and who they appeal to. The Wii U factor will evenly hit Microsoft and Sony in my view.

I see you're a "head in the sand" kind of guy that disregards Sony's presence in emerging markets because individually they are small. Collectively, they are not. Look at the data for ps1 and ps2 sales. Even when both consoles sold practically nothing in the US and other developed markets, they continued pushing millions world wide for yeas - hint: these sales didn't come from the US or Japan.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

The Wii U is a non factor as it concerns ps3 sales relative to 360 sales. I don't expect PS3 sales to stop once the Wii U launches in Japan. They'll be down, but its not like they will evaporate to nothing, I think the markets are some what distinct for both and who they appeal to. The Wii U factor will evenly hit Microsoft and Sony in my view.

I see you're a "head in the sand" kind of guy that disregards Sony's presence in emerging markets because individually they are small. Collectively, they are not. Look at the data for ps1 and ps2 sales. Even when both consoles sold practically nothing in the US and other developed markets, they continued pushing millions world wide for yeas - hint: these sales didn't come from the US or Japan.

How is the WiiU going to hit Sony and MS evenly in Japan when the 360 has been dead for years? MS will go from selling 20 systems to 10? Sony is going to take the major hit in Japan. And like I said, PS3 is down 14 million in the US and Japan makes up a lot of the worldwide gap. Europe may be giving more support to the PS3 than any other region but they can't prop the system up from them failing behind in the US and Japan. You really underestimate the damage WiiU will do in Japan in the current market to PS3. Add to that if MS drops the price of the 360 in the US while Sony raises their MSRP on units in that region, I don't see them selling that well. And that is why we see them hiding the PS3 sales numbers.

I'm a "emerging markets" don't matter in the grand scheme of things. They may be making the unit, but you will not see any AAA first party game support because of sales to these tiny nations. PS2 first party support was long dead when they started selling to these tiny markets. So those sales are great for Sony but for gamers in the three biggest markets they mean nothing.

 

[Apenheul]

I noticed in s'-Hertogenbosch (one of the largest cities in The Netherlands) today that only two (Game Mania, ePlaza) out of six stores that sell video games that I visited carried more than 5 different VITA games, and even then they were hard to find because there are no display signs, no demo units or anything. It was almost as if there was a stock clearance across the whole city. Does anyone who works in retail know what's going on, or if the situation is similar in other countries? It seems to me like it'll be an uphill battle for Sony to get the retail sector optimistic about the handheld again.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

How is the WiiU going to hit Sony and MS evenly in Japan when the 360 has been dead for years? MS will go from selling 20 systems to 10? Sony is going to take the major hit in Japan. And like I said, PS3 is down 14 million in the US and Japan makes up a lot of the worldwide gap. Europe may be giving more support to the PS3 than any other region but they can't prop the system up from them failing behind in the US and Japan. You really underestimate the damage WiiU will do in Japan in the current market to PS3. Add to that if MS drops the price of the 360 in the US while Sony raises their MSRP on units in that region, I don't see them selling that well. And that is why we see them hiding the PS3 sales numbers.

I'm a "emerging markets" don't matter in the grand scheme of things. They may be making the unit, but you will not see any AAA first party game support because of sales to these tiny nations. PS2 first party support was long dead when they started selling to these tiny markets. So those sales are great for Sony but for gamers in the three biggest markets they mean nothing.

My comment was that the Wii U impact to both consoles will be similar, on a percentage basis, world wide, not just Japan.

If emerging markets don't matter, then why are you going on and on about Japan? Japan is much smaller than emerging markets as it relates to gaming sales. PS2 sold substantially more in emerging markets than it did in Japan.

And now you're going on a tangent about first party support? This whole topic relates to sales and how they're good (or bad) for Sony,

 

[Currygan]

Sigh at lumping systems together. Is it really that bad to just release Vita HW sales?

ironically, putting them together does the exact opposite of what they're trying to hide

 

[Clear]

How is the WiiU going to hit Sony and MS evenly in Japan when the 360 has been dead for years?

By the same token doesn't that mean that MS is going to take the brunt of the WiiU launch in North America? Especially as its launching slap-bang in the midst of their best-selling quarter.

I'm a "emerging markets" don't matter in the grand scheme of things. They may be making the unit, but you will not see any AAA first party game support because of sales to these tiny nations. PS2 first party support was long dead when they started selling to these tiny markets. So those sales are great for Sony but for gamers in the three biggest markets they mean nothing.

Oh boy...

The revenue generated from those "emerging markets" you disparage are every bit as instrumental in the health and wellbeing of the business as primary market revenue.

Its all money. And money is all important in the grand scheme of things.

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

Sony won two, MS won two, they tied one. How does that prove your point?

Degrees of the win. 360 tends to win by more.

360 Q4 07-11 total: 30m
PS3 Q4 07-11 total: 28.7m


This year PS3 had a heavier Q3 due to Slimmer launch, 360 is pretty much guaranteed to do more Q4. The gap will widen in Q4, no question.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

By the same token doesn't that mean that MS is going to take the brunt of the WiiU launch in North America? Especially as its launching slap-bang in the midst of their best-selling quarter.

Due to the lowered price of $199 for the 360, the fact that there is a Halo game, and US tends to be more online play geared, that may take away a lot of the blunt of the WiiU launching. Sony really doesn't have anything for new customers this year and most of their line up is geared toward existing owners. Add to the fact that the new PS3 is only $30 less than a new WiiU and there might be trouble. Mind you, this doesn't not factor in a 360 price cut.

In Japan, they are going to be the odd man out. I'm not sure they have any heavy hitting Japanese geared/made games this holiday for the system. It's all Western geared where as WiiU has a new Mario Brothers game that sells more in Japan than the rest of the other two regions and a Dragon Quest *in every box*. MS has nothing to lose in Japan but for Sony it is pretty dire when the system launches.

The revenue generated from those "emerging markets" you disparage are every bit as instrumental in the health and wellbeing of the business as primary market revenue.

If PS3 starts selling like the PS2 in these "emerging markets" and Sony gives us the numbers for them and doesn't hide them then we can discuss it, until then we are years away... if ever since if Sony keeps up this kind of reporting we will never know and it will only be speculation.

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

Wii U is going to have limited impact in general due to supply, but proportionately it will impact Japan most due to it having the smallest console market and also being Nintendo's national market (which is arguably their focus these days imo).

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

If PS3 starts selling like the PS2 in these "emerging markets" and Sony gives us the numbers for them and doesn't hide them then we can discuss it, until then we are years away... if ever since if Sony keeps up this kind of reporting we will never know and it will only be speculation.

We're about two quarters away from my estimations, and the 75% PS3 sales rate for combined PS2/PS3 sales is only going to increase. As of now its pretty safe to assume that the gap is no greater than 1.4 million.

And I'm sure when Sony releases their fiscal year report they will break the sales up individually, so we will eventually know.

 

[Baconsammy]

People have been saying this for the last 3 years.

Next year. It's always next year.

By the same token doesn't that mean that MS is going to take the brunt of the WiiU launch in North America? Especially as its launching slap-bang in the midst of their best-selling quarter.

LOL no. Nintendo can't deliver enough consoles this year to hurt Microsoft, or even Sony, this holiday season.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

We're about two quarters away from my estimations, and the 75% PS3 sales rate for combined PS2/PS3 sales is only going to increase. As of now its pretty safe to assume that the gap is no greater than 1.4 million.

And I'm sure when Sony releases their fiscal year report they will break the sales up individually, so we will eventually know.

Well, lets not assume if we don't know. If or when Sony breaks up the numbers then we can stop speculating. But doing the numbers like this means we will never know if they get out of third place.

 

[jcm]

Degrees of the win. 360 tends to win by more.

360 Q4 07-11 total: 30m
PS3 Q4 07-11 total: 28.7m


This year PS3 had a heavier Q3 due to Slimmer launch, 360 is pretty much guaranteed to do more Q4. The gap will widen in Q4, no question.

Oh come on. That entire difference comes from a single overshipped quarter. Claiming that as some sort of basis for a trend is lame. Maybe MS will sell more that Sony in the 4th quarter, but if they do it won't be the continuation of any tradition. You ought to just concede you we're mistaken. There's no shame in that. It's a common gaf myth.

 

[noobie]

Although i know this is not the right forum for asking this.
But isnt Sony Mobile Division doing quite good.. i mean they raised the Forecast and from the look of the numbers they are going to do more than that.

Although they dont have any single iconic Smartphones. but their mid range Xperia P, Sola and others are quite capable and surprising well prices in Middle east market atleast..

I do think Sony has a potential to become relevant in smartphones market once again if they play their cards correctly..
For starter release their phones on latest android version.
Secondly keep their aesthetic unique as they have done so far.
Thirdly i think they should have a Windows Phone also.
And lastly and most importantly keep the price reasonable like they have done so far in the mid range market.

 

[Parmenides]

Update: PS3 Sales Reach 70 Million Units Worldwide


Worldwide Hardware Unit Sales (Unit: Million)

Console   Ja-Mr'12    Ap-Jn'12    Jl-Sp'12      YTD       LTD
------------------------------------------------------------------
  PS3       1.9          -           -          8.0[*]    70.0 [*]

  360       1.4         1.1         1.7         4.2       70.0

  Wii       0.88        0.71        0.61        2.20      97.18
   
------------------------------------------------------------------


[*](as of Nov 4, 2012)



Console   Ja-Mr'11    Ap-Jn'11    Jl-Sp'11      YTD       LTD
------------------------------------------------------------------
  PS3       2.1         1.8         3.7         7.6       55.5 

  360       2.7         1.7         2.3         6.7       57.6

  Wii       1.36        1.56        1.79        4.71      89.36
   
------------------------------------------------------------------


Sources: Sony,Nintendo,Microsoft (Sell-in)

PS3 Worldwide Hardware Unit Sales (Unit: Million)

               Ap-Jn    Jl-Sp    Oc-Dc    Ja-Mr     FY       LTD

FY 2006/07       -        -       1.7      1.8      3.5      3.5

FY 2007/08      0.7      1.3      4.9      2.2      9.1      12.6 

FY 2008/09      1.6      2.4      4.5      1.6      10.1     22.7 

FY 2009/10      1.1      3.2      6.5      2.2      13.0     35.7

FY 2010/11      2.4      3.5      6.3      2.1      14.3     50.0

FY 2011/12      1.8      3.7      6.5      1.9      13.9     63.9

FY 2012/13       -        -        -        -       6.1[*]   70.0 [*]



[*] Sell-in (as of Nov 4, 2012)

  PS1 Era - Production Shipments of Hardware (Unit: Million)
------------------------------------------------------------------
                            
December 1994     0.30    ---> Sony launches PS1 in JAP
                                 
March 1999        54.42   ---> Sony unveils PS2

March 2000        72.89   ---> Sony launches PS2 in JAP

September 2000    75.92

June 2002         90.30

May 2004          100.0    

March 2005        102.49  ---> End of cycle
------------------------------------------------------------------


PS1 vs PS3 - Hardware (Unit: Million)
------------------------------------------------------------------
                       PS1          PS3
  
December 1994         0.30          1.7    December 2006
                                 
March 1999            54.42         50.0   March 2011

September 30, 2000    75.92         70.0   November 4, 2012

------------------------------------------------------------------

PS1 : Production Shipments ; PS3 : Sell-in

Some aggresive price cutting and Japan gave the PS1 a small lead over the PS3.Nonetheless,the PS3 will soon overtake the PS1 in Western Europe;not even Japan can help the PS1 at this point.The real challenge begins at 120.

Side note:

Sony Corporation has decided to issue Zero Coupon Convertible Bonds due 2017 (Conversion Premium 10%).Use of the Proceeds ($1.85 billion)

$120 million towards the acquisition of Gaikai,by Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

$620 million towards the purchase of shares of common stock in Olympus Corporation

$370 million towards the redemption of the nineteenth series of unsecured bonds issued by Sony Corporation, due to mature on March 19, 2013

$740 million towards capital expenditure by Sony Semiconductor Corporation to increase production capacity of CMOS image sensors at its Nagasaki Technology Center

 

[Oersted]

...

That bump. We already have a thread about the shipment figures. Sorry dude.


Btw: You did a nice job.

 

[noobie]

Sony and Tosh gobble chips to kick start recovery

Japanese giants set for massive outlay

Ailing Japanese electronics giants Sony and Toshiba are set to splurge a combined total of over $US14bn (£8.7bn) on chips next year to support a range of new products they hope will turn their fortunes around, according to market watcher IHS iSuppli.

The analyst revealed in its IHS Semiconductor Spend Analysis report that Sony’s chip spend would jump by five per cent from $8bn (£4.9bn) this year to $8.4bn (£5.2bn) next, while Toshiba will increase outlay on processors by two per cent to $6.1bn (£3.8bn) in 2013 and then by 6.3 per cent the following year to reach $6.5bn (£4bn).


The two firms’ optimistic outlook is in stark contrast to that of their domestic counterparts Panasonic and Sharp, both of which plan less spending reductions will drop in 2013 and 2014, iSuppli said.

All four have suffered an annus horribilis in 2012 thanks to a variety of factors including the continued economic slump in key markets like Europe and increased competition from Asian rivals and Apple. Taken as a group they will see revenue drop seven per cent from 2011 to 2012, according to the analyst.

Panasonic recently received a £4.7 billion bailout from Japanese banks after posting a record loss of ¥772.1bn (£6bn) last fiscal year.

Sharp, meanwhile, managed to sign a ¥360bn (£2.9bn) bailout deal with the banks after it revealed plans to slash 11,000 jobs, and also received a ¥9.9bn (£75m) boost from Qualcomm, who will take a stake in its IGZO display business.

Sony, whose credit rating was recently dropped down three notches by Fitch to double-B-minus, even lower than Panasonic’s, was forced to sell its chemicals business to the state-run Development Bank of Japan and issue five year convertible bonds in order to generate a profit this year.

It’s also in the process of cutting 10,000 jobs by the end of fiscal 2012 and is selling off manufacturing plants and shares in joint ventures.

Toshiba is faring better than most and still hopes to generate a net profit despite losses in the past two quarters.

IHS said that despite the gloomy headlines, innovation at the firms could yet herald a resurgence in the market, pointing to a wide range of smartphones, tablets, TVs and cameras on show at Japan’s CEATEC show in October.

In particular it highlighted a Bravia 4K LCD TV and hybrid tablet-laptop devices from Sony as well as plans for a PlayStation 4 console, as well as new REGZA HDTVs, ultrabooks and tablets from Toshiba.

IHS is predicting mixed fortunes for the two, however, with Sony likely to see 3.7 per cent revenue growth while Tosh is set to suffer a further one per cent decline.

“All the Japanese consumer electronics OEMs are struggling financially – prompting them to take measures to cut costs in order to shore up their profits,” said IHS analyst Myson Robles-Bruce, in a canned statement.

“But even in these grim circumstances, Sony and Toshiba remain optimistic about the future, and are taking steps to invest in innovative products. This will cause their spending on semiconductors to rise in the coming years.” ®

 

[noobie]

Was just browsing and found these two reports.

Japan stocks surge on fresh lows for yen

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks rallied early Tuesday as investors returned from a three-day weekend to price in a yen sharply lower than when they left their offices Friday. The Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NI225) rose 1% to 10,909.57, while the Topix also added 1%, with exporters the clear outperformers as the yen set fresh multiyear lows against the dollar overnight. Among major tech manufacturers, Sony Corp. (JP:6758)(US:SNE) gained 2.4%, Panasonic Corp. (JP:6752)(USC) added 2.7%, Olympus Corp. (JP:7733)(US:OCPNF) surged 3.6%, and NEC Corp. (JP:6701)(US:NIPNF) rose 2%.

Auto makers likewise gained, with Honda Motor Co. (JP:7267)(US:HMC) and Mazda Motor Corp. (JP:7261)(US:MZDAF) up 1.5% each. A four-month high for benchmark U.S. crude futures boosted energy names, as Inpex Corp. (JP:1605)(US:ipxhy) added 2.7%, and Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. (JP:1662)(US:jptxf) rose 1.1%. On the downside, Sharp Corp. (JP:6753)(US:SHCAF) dropped 3.9% after various reports said Apple Inc. (US:AAPL) was cutting its orders for panels from Sharp and other suppliers due to weaker-than-expected sales for the iPhone 5.

Abe Rocket-Start Lowers Sony Risk With Market Fuel: Japan Credit

Sony Swaps

The cost to insure the debt of Sony against non-payment dropped 135.1 basis points in the past month to 250.9 on Jan. 11, making it the fourth-best performer, while Toyota’s contracts fell 8.3 to 44, according to data provider CMA, which is owned by McGraw-Hill Cos. and compiles prices quoted by dealers in the privately negotiated market.

Sharp Corp. led the declines in the period, followed by Tokyo Electric Power Co. and NEC Corp., the data show. A decrease in the contracts signal improving perceptions of creditworthiness, while an increase suggests the opposite. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.

Abe’s first major policy initiative to end deflation and boost growth comprises around 3.8 trillion yen for disaster prevention and reconstruction, with 3.1 trillion yen directed to stimulating private investment and other measures, according to a Jan. 11 Cabinet Office statement. The package aims to increase gross domestic product by about 2 percentage points and create about 600,000 jobs.

As the OCT-DEC Quarter financial result will be coming soon. So i think it will be interesting to see how Sony Performed.