When Sony cut the price of the PS3 by $100, and introduced the PS3 Slim for $299 this September, industry analysts were quick to predict a sharp increase in sales. Up until that point, PS3 sales were consistently falling behind competing consoles. According to Sony’s latest financial reports, a price cut and a cheap, introductory model is just what the doctor ordered.
During their 2009-2010 Q2, Sony sold an astounding 3.2 million units, worldwide. This quarter includes the PS3 Slim and the pricecut models. Worldwide, Sony has sold 27 million PS3 consoles.
Even with strong sales, Sony’s game division has been posting nasty losses. This year, the game division lost $654 million. The losses for the game division, for this generation as a whole, aren’t too bright. Since the initial PS3 launch in November 2006, Sony’s game division has lost $5 billion.
It should be noted that the appreciation of the Yen, versus the depreciation of the dollar accounts for some of their major losses. Not to mention the 9-year-old behemoth, also known as the PS2, sales are slowing down. Still, these numbers, especially the lifetime-to-date worldwide numbers are encouraging, considering some of the negative rhetoric when the PS3 initially launched.
Has Sony done a good job managing their game division, and subsequently, the PS3? Post your thoughts in the comments section below.
[Source]
