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Sony expects to post a fiscal-year loss of more than $2 billion
- Thread starter EdReedFan20
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openrob
Member
This is hilarious.
I'm imagining this being spluttered out at an investors meeting. "So, Kaz, after reading about the yearly loss at Sony, why should we trust you?"
"Well,There isn't a problem. This is some fanboy gloom and doom bull... "
PHOENIXZERO
Member
I could go into a lot more detail but I'm too damn tired.
Aside from some of those years involving the PS3 being an absolutely money pit that pretty much wiped out the revenue the PS brand had earned before and after for years. It comes ultimately down to a failure to evolve over the last 15 or so years in areas they really needed to while competitors either sprung up or established ones did evolve and managed to fill the gaps while Sony ended up late to the party, if they got there at all or continuing on their way and making bad decisions. It's not something that happened with when the losses started coming but a thing that was years before that in the making and really you might even say the problem with Sony was evident as far back as when BetaMax came out and refusing to learn a lesson from it by continuing to try and force proprietary formats even after Beta failed in the public sector, I and a lot of people give Nintendo crap for being stubborn control freaks but Sony has probably been worse in a lot of ways. I think another good example could be the combination of being behind Apple in the MP3 player market and letting them run away early with it and then when they did jump on they IIRC went and tried to force yet another proprietary format on people with ATRAC (and also made that whole DRM rootkit mess) is a good example I think of Sony just not getting it. Their TV and the PC/Laptop they jettisoned divisions and the competition are good examples to show what's been wrong with Sony.
Maybe the Japanese corporate culture has played a big hand in this too, I don't know I need sleep and this was a rambling mess.
HolyBaikal
Banned
You know, I would kind of like to have a Sony Vaio if they seemed as nice as ASUS or MSI ones. I do like the way a lot of their laptops look, though. Some of them are really pretty.
It would also be kind of neat if they found a way to give some kind of PlayStation things on their laptops. Why aren't their laptops selling very well?
It would also be kind of neat if they found a way to give some kind of PlayStation things on their laptops. Why aren't their laptops selling very well?
They sold their computer division.
1st Course
Member
Sony blamed weak smartphone showing last quarter on weak Latin America sales. Huawei on other hand said their Latin America sales were up 550% last quarter.
Samsung should also suffer this year, Xiaomi surpassed them as China #1 manfacture last quarter and Huawei is eating into their Latin America sales.
I have thought about it.
It's a lot of money.
And I'm not taking contextually framing the amount or anything, it's a lot of money.
Full stop.
*jumps through laptop screen in a TRON esque manner to strangle Hindle*
zomgbbqftw
Banned
Huawei may not be fancy but there is no denying that they have great value for money with their phones. Sony offer nothing like that. Samsung are going to end up in the same boat as well of they don't push harder in the mid range sector, especially now that Apple have taken their heads out their bums and released properly sized devices.
HolyBaikal
Banned
Why?
Because Apple owns the premium Notebook market.
Why would anyone want a Vaio or Dell or whatever when they can buy a cheaper Asus or Acer or any other make that's a lot less?
Unless it's Apple or DSLR cameras, people value affordability and cost over quality and make.
ragon
Member
Sony was a big company that offers things high quality gadget products with quite high price which it was quality of Japan technology .
Now we are having the latest technologies with the rising of south Korea companies like Samsung and LG with really Competitive price of gadget products.
And Sony was step behind those Korean companies for smart phones and TV's and other things .
now they try to back but it needs to take time and some risk to make strategy and better marketing for their products around the world which i think needs a lot to do,
And i don't know how could they handle this .
Now we are having the latest technologies with the rising of south Korea companies like Samsung and LG with really Competitive price of gadget products.
And Sony was step behind those Korean companies for smart phones and TV's and other things .
now they try to back but it needs to take time and some risk to make strategy and better marketing for their products around the world which i think needs a lot to do,
And i don't know how could they handle this .
Core area huh? I'd love to see where this is headed a decade down the line.Has to be said that nonsense runs in the Sony DNA.
Premium phones deliver good bucks if you can actually sell them. Mobile devices such as phones are slowly but surely becoming our pocket tech hubs that we need in order to interact with our other devices and services. There is just too much potential future growth in the mobile space, can't miss that boat.
zomgbbqftw
Banned
It's also worth noting that they have cancelled the dividend this year so that will save them $130m. Investors are going to be mad pissed though.
I really don't understand why Kaz didn't come in and do all of this on his first day on the job rather than let the losses drip out over multiple years. Panasonic took the pain on two clean hits and wrote off ¥1.4tn from their balance sheet. Sony has done about the same amount but spread it over 5 years.
I really don't understand why Kaz didn't come in and do all of this on his first day on the job rather than let the losses drip out over multiple years. Panasonic took the pain on two clean hits and wrote off ¥1.4tn from their balance sheet. Sony has done about the same amount but spread it over 5 years.
Their marketing for phones is horrendous, I never see them at Verizon, they're never advertised on TV, and their naming conventions as already mentioned is terrible. 3 phones per cycle low, mid, and high end, properly named, is all you need.
Not only that but Samsung has taken the world by storm in the last decade. Nobody really considers Sony a top brand. Certainly not like they did in the 80s and 90s.
It's more like "oh yeah, Sony, what happened to them are they still good outside of Playstation?"
Not only that but Samsung has taken the world by storm in the last decade. Nobody really considers Sony a top brand. Certainly not like they did in the 80s and 90s.
It's more like "oh yeah, Sony, what happened to them are they still good outside of Playstation?"
You're not wrong. Marketing rules when it comes to smartphones. The Xperia Z1, 2 and 3 (and their compact versions) are fantastic phones. It's a shame that no one is buying them
Porcile
Member
Great products or not. Some of you really need to get your heads checked. Once a gigantic company starts hameoraging money, it's very hard to stop the rot. Not even Kazuo Hirai will be safe if he can't turn things around in a couple years. Simple as.
It's very likely that the Sony in ten years will be just a shell of it's former self, perhaps focused on gaming and few other profitable outlets. Which is fine, but it puts them in a precarious position should any of their flagship products fail to catch fire.
It's very likely that the Sony in ten years will be just a shell of it's former self, perhaps focused on gaming and few other profitable outlets. Which is fine, but it puts them in a precarious position should any of their flagship products fail to catch fire.
That's the sad thing here. I see this sentiment all the time.
"Wow. That Xperia phone looks great. Where is it available? What?! It's not coming to NA for another 4 months? It's only on T-Mobile? No Sprint? AT&T? Verizon? Oh well, guess I'll get a Galaxy/iPhone."
Sony is literally giving sales away by dragging their feet in getting their phone out on time and in NA on all carriers.
TheRealTalker
Banned
there is so much wrong in the first two pages of this thread that it is just mind boggling
Sho_Nuff82
Member
I feel like the Xperia line could actually be big in the states if Sony ever released them on time or bothered to advertise them.
Edit: Damn, beaten two posts up. I 100% agree. I come on GAF, I see a thread on an awesome feature phone, I say "wow, I so want to buy this!" and 5 months later it's still not available. Okay.
Edit: Damn, beaten two posts up. I 100% agree. I come on GAF, I see a thread on an awesome feature phone, I say "wow, I so want to buy this!" and 5 months later it's still not available. Okay.
jonnyp
Member
Haha... No. They're awesome.
Man, this post is hilarious.
AuthenticM
Member
So when is Samsung buying Playstation ?
Sho_Nuff82
Member
I just caught the system wars post. My goodness, #Driveclub and Bloodborne you say? Well then shut this thread down.
Those two sentences do not belong on the same page, let alone in the same paragraph. Sony has had major problems for a long time.
Yes, their phones are highly regarded, but at least in the US they are a bit player in the phone market.
It's one thing to say that their strategy is working and therefore we should not focus on this year's results, but they've been moving the goalposts back again and again in terms of when they will start to perform decently. Markets are not endlessly patient, and billion dollar losses year after year are not endlessly sustainable.
Business
Member
This is the stupidest fanboy crap that always comes up so quickly. Why would they give up something that is a steady cash flow for a one time payout that would not come close? They could negotiate one time usage rights much easier and still keep rights.
BrokenEchelon
Banned
I own a GS5 for this reason.
Captain Tuttle
Member
On one hand, that would be the dumbest thing MS could ever do.
On the other hand, NeoGAF reactions.
I say it's worth it!
funkystudent
Member
Sony make great phones but nothing that is a must have.
Low end is now full of plenty of "good enough" phones like the Moto G and weird Chinese no brand phones and high end is just utterly dominated by Samsung and Apple and everyone else is picking up the scraps.
Its kind of the same problem the TV market had. Its a tough place to compete.
How are other phones companies like HTC doing these days?
Low end is now full of plenty of "good enough" phones like the Moto G and weird Chinese no brand phones and high end is just utterly dominated by Samsung and Apple and everyone else is picking up the scraps.
Its kind of the same problem the TV market had. Its a tough place to compete.
How are other phones companies like HTC doing these days?
I'd bet Disney instead. Why:
1. Spider-Man. It would bring the IP back to Disney, which itself is likely worth a billion or two when you consider 3+ stand alone films, a huge shot in the arm for Avengers 4, etc.
2. Sony Music has a catalog Disney would dream about. Beatles Fantasia would happen ASAP.
3. Playstation and Sony's development studios are an ideal avenue to push their IPs more strongly into the gaming sector.
4. PSN, Sony's role in the Blu-Ray consortium, their role in UltraViolet, Music Unlimited, Video Unlimited, etc. all offer Disney an optimal digital marketplace that they currently lack. They either need to establish one or eternally live off of Google, Apple, Amazon, etc.. They can keep working with all of them but draw a lot more profit with their own marketplace.
5. Various Sony IPs would play very well in the Disney universe as secondary characters. Even better with a few other strategic moves.
In fact, a future where Disney acquires both Time Warner and Sony is both possible and incredibly concerning from an IP ownership standpoint. Disney would then be the purveyor of the vast majority of 3-29 age demographic IPs. They'd have Marvel, DC, Sony's IPs, Sony's music catalog, the existing Disney IPs, ESPN, etc.. They'd be an absolute juggernaut entirely through IP ownership, something that governmental regulators have traditionally been hesitant to view as establishing a monopoly.
I'm surprised they can keep going. When does it finally stop? Who is putting money into Sony stock?
Anyway, retreating to the high-end is what dying companies do. They need to realize nobody thinks they are a brand that demands a lot of money. The key to future success is an awesome middle end, especially in phones.
Anyway, retreating to the high-end is what dying companies do. They need to realize nobody thinks they are a brand that demands a lot of money. The key to future success is an awesome middle end, especially in phones.
CrunchyFrog
Member
It's interesting. Where at Sony Playstation is the one profitable venture, at Microsoft Xbox is the only loss leader (minus maybe surface/windows phone). We could be seeing both pawned off separately for entirely different reason in a couple of years time.
sony simply can't compete with firms like samsung and now the slowly rising tide of chinese consumer electronic firms but their hubris and arrogance that stops them from admitting as much will ultimately be their downfall. sony will soon be "the playstation entertainment company" if they survive long enough to figure out that games, movies & music are the only things they are good at. even though it is a bright spot now, their optics business isn't that much of a differentiator since they are easily matched or surpassed by other optics firms. i hope for their sake that they keep their patents though...
it's still hilarious to me that nerds, geeks and dorks have such a hard on for sony. i know a guy who spends thousands of his student loan and mom's money just to buy all sony gear even if he doesn't really need it. sad, but it's people like that who are keeping sony afloat at this point: hardcore brand loyalists. everyone else has moved on and left sony behind.
it's still hilarious to me that nerds, geeks and dorks have such a hard on for sony. i know a guy who spends thousands of his student loan and mom's money just to buy all sony gear even if he doesn't really need it. sad, but it's people like that who are keeping sony afloat at this point: hardcore brand loyalists. everyone else has moved on and left sony behind.
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