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Sony FY2015 Earnings ($1.3b profit; 40m PS4 Shipped)

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
Said this yesterday. Will say it again. $1,300,000,000 in profit and didn't have the decency to spend $50 million keeping Evolution Studios alive.

I used to like Sony a lot, but they have turned into a company that puts profits over their consumer which makes them just like any other corporation.
 
One of the mods here was hooked on that angle prior to the PS4/XO launch, always preaching long write-ups of doom and gloom for the industry in a lot of threads. It got to a point of predictability to where my eyes would just gloss past his post whenever I saw his avatar since it was the same thing over and over.

Funny how that dried up soon after launch.

Opiate.

Doesnt seem to post much in these threads anymore. Nor do the "Im totally a PC gamer" Nintendo guys, who were doing pretty much the same thing.
 

Gator86

Member
One of the mods here was hooked on that angle prior to the PS4/XO launch, always preaching long write-ups of doom and gloom for the industry in a lot of threads. It got to a point of predictability to where my eyes would just gloss past his post whenever I saw his avatar since it was the same thing over and over.

Funny how that dried up soon after launch.

I quit bothering with the NPD threads for that reason. You'd get sales talk for a while, but inevitably, hysterical people would come in shrieking about how "the numbers look worrisome" and sidetrack the thread with console gaming doomed talk. Console gaming is fine, the Wii was a complete outlier and aberration, life goes on.
 

Salvadora

Member
images

I'll genuinely never forget almost the entire industry trying so hard in the months leading up to and after launch.

It was like the PS3 killed their dog or something.

Never forget.

Lolololol

Thank you, I'd almost forgotten that one.

I picked up a little something for, Kyle.
eating_crow.jpg
Am I missing something here?

From what has been posted (initial success =/= long-term success) doesn't appear that objectionable to me.
 

MacTag

Banned
Neither console is going to bell-curve like the Wii, either.

Edit: Unless everyone jumps on the Neo and the PS4 craters.
Wii's bell curve was relatively normal as far consoles go, the oddity was really 360's and PS3's late generation surges. PS4 and XOne's cycle will probably more resemble the former than the latter.
 
Said this yesterday. Will say it again. $1,300,000,000 in profit and didn't have the decency to spend $50 million keeping Evolution Studios alive.

I used to like Sony a lot, but they have turned into a company that puts profits over their consumer which makes them just like any other corporation.

Sony liverpool I understand. Wipeout, even not a great seller, could be made cheaply by a small studio.

But Evolution, nah man. They fucked up royally and paid the price. The fact they were keep around to krank out so much post launch content shows that Sony really did try to give them a chance.
 
Wii's bell curve was relatively normal as far consoles go, the oddity was really 360's and PS3's late generation surges. PS4 and XOne's cycle will probably more resemble the former than the latter.

Wii was outpacing PS2 by decent amount for years but still fell behind PS1 in ltd sales. I wouldn't call it relatively normal when it doesn't resemble the curve of any previous market leader.
 
Said this yesterday. Will say it again. $1,300,000,000 in profit and didn't have the decency to spend $50 million keeping Evolution Studios alive.

I used to like Sony a lot, but they have turned into a company that puts profits over their consumer which makes them just like any other corporation.
Sony has always been like any other corporation.
 

Salvadora

Member
Okay.

I was basically saying the PS4 has long term success.
That is unquestionable, but using a screenshot of a headline as evidence of media bias against Sony is strange - to say the least.

If the shoe was on the other foot, i.e "Don't read too much into the Wii U's day one sales" - no one would bat an eyelid. Because it could (have) potentially made a solid argument.
 

Purest 78

Member
Said this yesterday. Will say it again. $1,300,000,000 in profit and didn't have the decency to spend $50 million keeping Evolution Studios alive.

I used to like Sony a lot, but they have turned into a company that puts profits over their consumer which makes them just like any other corporation.

It's business don't take it personal it's about probability for them nothing else. Motorstorm Didn't sell Driveclub did ok in the end I think. Where was EVO going to do next? Sony likely didn't see much profit going forward.
 
Said this yesterday. Will say it again. $1,300,000,000 in profit and didn't have the decency to spend $50 million keeping Evolution Studios alive.

I used to like Sony a lot, but they have turned into a company that puts profits over their consumer which makes them just like any other corporation.

A company that is trying to right itself and maintain profitability can't always make decisions that a subset of consumers would like. I want more JRPGs, but I know they don't make tons of money. They won't be the company's priority. There's no telling how costly the evolution blunders were. I bought the game and the DLC to support them, but not enough people did.
 

Pastry

Banned
Said this yesterday. Will say it again. $1,300,000,000 in profit and didn't have the decency to spend $50 million keeping Evolution Studios alive.

I used to like Sony a lot, but they have turned into a company that puts profits over their consumer which makes them just like any other corporation.

Yeah I mean it's only $50 million, no big deal. Evolution royally fucked up and I think any company (public or private) would come to the same conclusion.
 
Donnie said:
Total game related sales - $13.72 billion ($4.69 billion from Network)

Total game related profit - $785 million (5.7% profit)

Quite impressive.

For comparison:
Nintendo profits for the same period $148 million
now waiting for Xbox...

Sure Sony have money to push VR. I hope they'll do their best to make great creative games on the platform and not mostly ports where you can look "everywhere" (it's already awesome for sims though but 400$ for racing games is not enough for me).
 

matmanx1

Member
PS4 being between Wii and PS2 in sales at this point in it's life-cycle is remarkable. I don't think anyone would have predicted that back when it launched. It will be interesting to see how 2016 goes for them considering the ramp up of high profile game releases (Uncharted!!).

Anyway, good to see Sony profitable again if it means continued games and systems like the PS4.
 

Dirk Benedict

Gold Member
That is unquestionable, but using a screenshot of a headline as evidence of media bias against Sony is strange - to say the least.

If the shoe was on the other foot, i.e "Don't read too much into the Wii U's day one sales" - no one would bat an eyelid. Because it could (have) potentially made a solid argument.

You're taking this a bit too seriously. I was merely complimenting his post, the image was from a story by an author insinuating that the initial success would be short lived.

"Still, we recommend a bit of caution before looking at those numbers and assuming that the PlayStation 4 will be a long-term, market-leading hit. A quick look at the history of console launch sales numbers shows little correlation between early sales numbers and longer-term success."

This has been the opposite since launch and has not changed. I stand by the crow dinner.

I don't want to contribute to derailing the thread, so I'll leave it at that.
 

rambis

Banned
Wii's bell curve was relatively normal as far consoles go, the oddity was really 360's and PS3's late generation surges. PS4 and XOne's cycle will probably more resemble the former than the latter.
It wasnt normal at all. Wiis dropoff was cataclysmic, especially for the market leader of that gen.
 

tusken77

Member
Copy pasta some cool facts then

* Sony Corporation net income : 147 billion yen (target was 140 billion yen). Biggest profit of the last 8 years.

* PS4 annual shipment : 17,7 million (target was 16 million). PS4 remains the best selling PlayStation at this point of time, being only beaten by the Wii.

* Game & Network Services operating income : 88,7 billion yen. No other segment did better for the year, except the Financial Services, but that's a very different kind of business. Sony Music is just behind with 87,3 billion yen.

1KFXldQ.png
 
That is unquestionable, but using a screenshot of a headline as evidence of media bias against Sony is strange - to say the least.

If the shoe was on the other foot, i.e "Don't read too much into the Wii U's day one sales" - no one would bat an eyelid. Because it could (have) potentially made a solid argument.
Given Sony's console background, however, I don't think it is a particularly good argument. Given Nintendo's console background, yeah, I would understand why no one would bat an eyelid.

I see what you're saying though. It isn't necessarily based on media bias.
 

Dirk Benedict

Gold Member
Given Sony's console background, however, I don't think it is a particularly good argument. Given Nintendo's console background, yeah, I would understand why no one would bat an eyelid.

I see what you're saying though. It isn't necessarily based on media bias.

I can't fathom Ars being biased. They are usually reasonable with their stories. I've been reading them for years. If there is any, I sure as heck missed it.

I just like, as my UK brothers and sisters would refer to it as "takin tha piss"
 
I quit bothering with the NPD threads for that reason. You'd get sales talk for a while, but inevitably, hysterical people would come in shrieking about how "the numbers look worrisome" and sidetrack the thread with console gaming doomed talk. Console gaming is fine, the Wii was a complete outlier and aberration, life goes on.

It's not like they were totally wrong. The wii U will sell 90+ million fewer consoles than the the wii. The xbone will probably fall short of the 360 by as much as 30-40 million. Unless the PS4 continues on an insane trajectory we will still see a pretty big contraction this gen.

Having said that the industry has looked much better this gen than I or many others expected and the idea that it was dying had turned out to be misguided.
 
I have always been a Sony fanboy since...well My Fist Sony. So in an age where they seem to be getting out of hardware, I am glad to see something like the PS4 thriving.

Said this yesterday. Will say it again. $1,300,000,000 in profit and didn't have the decency to spend $50 million keeping Evolution Studios alive.

I used to like Sony a lot, but they have turned into a company that puts profits over their consumer which makes them just like any other corporation.

Seriously? Sony has been nothing but fan service central since PS4 launch. Taking massive financial risks on Shenmue, The Last Guardian, whatever Kojima is up to, and (for you racing fans) Gran Turismo 7.

They closed Evolution, a studio that only made WRC, Motorstorm, and Driveclub. You should be happy Sony gave them an opportunity, it's not their fault it was squandered.
 

Gator86

Member
It's not like they were totally wrong. The wii U will sell 90+ million fewer consoles than the the wii. The xbone will probably fall short of the 360 by as much as 30-40 million. Unless the PS4 continues on an insane trajectory we will still see a pretty big contraction this gen.

Having said that the industry has looked much better this gen than I or many others expected and the idea that it was dying had turned out to be misguided.

I'm not sure what that XBone number is based on. Unless I'm wrong, which I could be, the XBone is still tracking over the 360 so I'm not sure I'm confident it'll see that much of a drop compared to last gen. PS4 will probably end with more units sold than the PS3 so that partially offsets it anyway.

The problem is Nintendo. Their market has absolutely collapsed and the Wii people aren't coming back. Aside from the Wii, Nintendo console sales totals have been almost a perfectly linear trend into the toilet so it's probably a reasonable expectation they're done being a major player in the console market.

Overall, I think console gaming is fine and Sony will keep killing it. No clue how the PS4K numbers are going to look though.
 

Servbot24

Banned
I used to like Sony a lot, but they have turned into a company that puts profits over their consumer which makes them just like any other corporation.
Every company in the history of time cares about money more than they care about you. And it's a good thing too, or millions of people would lose their jobs and families would be out on the streets.

haha classic!

Dont read too much into 40m on first 2 years of sales :D
That headline was 100% correct.
 

BumRush

Member
That's excellent, right? I feel like they've turned into healthy company now (especially vs. where they were 2-3 years ago)
 
Seriously? Sony has been nothing but fan service central since PS4 launch. Taking massive financial risks on Shenmue, The Last Guardian, whatever Kojima is up to, and (for you racing fans) Gran Turismo 7.

They closed Evolution, a studio that only made WRC, Motorstorm, and Driveclub. You should be happy Sony gave them an opportunity, it's not their fault it was squandered.

They announced a Kickstarter.
 
I'm not sure what that XBone number is based on. Unless I'm wrong, which I could be, the XBone is still tracking over the 360 so I'm not sure I'm confident it'll see that much of a drop compared to last gen. PS4 will probably end with more units sold than the PS3 so that partially offsets it anyway.

The problem is Nintendo. Their market has absolutely collapsed and the Wii people aren't coming back. Aside from the Wii, Nintendo console sales totals have been almost a perfectly linear trend into the toilet so it's probably a reasonable expectation they're done being a major player in the console market.

Overall, I think console gaming is fine and Sony will keep killing it. No clue how the PS4K numbers are going to look though.
not recently it isn't. And X1 still going to hit 80+million by end of the gen?

I doubt it...
 
Someone explain this to me in real numbers like MAU. None of these other numbers matter.

Also, damn. Another thread said PSN made more than the whole of Nintendo which is ridiculous. Too bad they have closed a few studios and don't support the Vita.
 

Shantom

Member
I have always been a Sony fanboy since...well My Fist Sony. So in an age where they seem to be getting out of hardware, I am glad to see something like the PS4 thriving.



Seriously? Sony has been nothing but fan service central since PS4 launch. Taking massive financial risks on Shenmue, The Last Guardian, whatever Kojima is up to, and (for you racing fans) Gran Turismo 7.

They closed Evolution, a studio that only made WRC, Motorstorm, and Driveclub. You should be happy Sony gave them an opportunity, it's not their fault it was squandered.

Sony aren't investing anything in Shenmue 3 Edit: I'm wrong, but I doubt Sony are investing much in this. A new Kojima game is technically a risk, but I'm sure very few people see it that way, since it's very likely to sell well. A new GT is about as far away from a massive risk as possible.
 

BumRush

Member
Someone explain this to me in real numbers like MAU. None of these other numbers matter.

Also, damn. Another thread said PSN made more than the whole of Nintendo which is ridiculous. Too bad they have closed a few studios and don't support the Vita.

As someone who plays videogames, I hate these things you listed as well. But it's a business and (realistically) they're smart decisions. It makes them a more healthy company, which is great for us in the long run.
 
Opiate.

Doesnt seem to post much in these threads anymore. Nor do the "Im totally a PC gamer" Nintendo guys, who were doing pretty much the same thing.

Opiate's assessment is still correct. The long term viability of a traditional console market is still shit. If you can't see it, all of the current players certainly do. Hence the way it's evolving beyond generations in front of your eyes. Or is it that you can't see the forest from the trees?

Sony liverpool I understand. Wipeout, even not a great seller, could be made cheaply by a small studio.

But Evolution, nah man. They fucked up royally and paid the price. The fact they were keep around to krank out so much post launch content shows that Sony really did try to give them a chance.

Yup, that's about right. Nobody should readily defend any studio closure for the sake of the mother corporation.
 

rambis

Banned
That's excellent, right? I feel like they've turned into healthy company now (especially vs. where they were 2-3 years ago)
Its good for Sony. If Samsung/Apple reported these numbers the sky would be falling.
Someone explain this to me in real numbers like MAU. None of these other numbers matter.

Also, damn. Another thread said PSN made more than the whole of Nintendo which is ridiculous. Too bad they have closed a few studios and don't support the Vita.
Almost poetic that these roles were reversed a few years ago.
 
Said this yesterday. Will say it again. $1,300,000,000 in profit and didn't have the decency to spend $50 million keeping Evolution Studios alive.

I used to like Sony a lot, but they have turned into a company that puts profits over their consumer which makes them just like any other corporation.

Have turned into? 😂😂😂😂😂 That's what they've always been. If anything you got a dumb idea in your head that they weren't a corporation.
 
Its good for Sony. If Samsung/Apple reported these numbers the sky would be falling.

Almost poetic that these roles were reversed a few years ago.
Which just goes to show how fickle money is. Sony were in every position to be Samsung right now. Got out marketed and outclassed in tech in one of there biggest markets.
 
Said this yesterday. Will say it again. $1,300,000,000 in profit and didn't have the decency to spend $50 million keeping Evolution Studios alive.

I used to like Sony a lot, but they have turned into a company that puts profits over their consumer which makes them just like any other corporation.

Their console is providing more content than the competition. What are you even talking about?
 

JP

Member
Said this yesterday. Will say it again. $1,300,000,000 in profit and didn't have the decency to spend $50 million keeping Evolution Studios alive.

I used to like Sony a lot, but they have turned into a company that puts profits over their consumer which makes them just like any other corporation.
They're a public limited company, they're legally obliged to make as much money as they can for their shareholders. That's the same for all publicly limited companies.
 
Said this yesterday. Will say it again. $1,300,000,000 in profit and didn't have the decency to spend $50 million keeping Evolution Studios alive.

I used to like Sony a lot, but they have turned into a company that puts profits over their consumer which makes them just like any other corporation.

Which consumers? The consumers who didn't buy Evolution Studios stuff for like a decade?
 
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