Ben-DutkaSo how is the PlayStation brand doing these days?
Those nasty record losses came to light during Sony's fiscal statements , but we also received sales updates for their gaming consoles, including the recently released and oft-discussed PlayStation Vita.
Sony says the new portable has sold 1.8 million units worldwide thus far, and they anticipate selling another 10 million in the current fiscal year. New Sony president Kaz Hirai said right now, overall Vita sales are on par with expectations. "As a starting phase, I think it was a good start," he said. They revealed that the Vita had sold 1.2 million in February, which means March sales came in at around 600,000, higher than what some were expecting.
Hirai added that "software is the key to success" for the Vita, which which nobody will disagree. As for the PlayStation 3, the flagship console sold 13.9 million, down slightly from the 14.3 million it sold in the previous year. The PS2 moved 4.1 million units, down from the 6.4 million in fiscal 2010, and the PSP sold 6.8 million, down from 8.0 million. So hardware was down but current software was up – which tends to happen when the generation gets a little long in the tooth – as 156.6 million PS3 titles were sold worldwide, up from 147.9 million recorded the previous year.
For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012, revenues for the company's Consumer Products and Services division (which includes the game business), dropped 18.5% year-over-year to 3.14 trillion yen ($39.4 billion). Net losses hit 229.8 billion yen ($2.88 billion), which is in stark comparison to profits of 10.8 billion yen ($135.5 million) brought in last year. However, all this being said, Sony expects a return to profitability this fiscal period.
I bet Sony announces 10 new Vita games at E3 that get people pumped. This is the first holiday season it'll be available in the states, I'm sure they'll give a bunch of reasons to buy one.
God I hope so. My collection of Vita games hasn't grown since launch.
Holy crap, they expect to sell TEN million that fast! There must be a silver bullet coming.
Maybe they'll lower the price for the holidays or sooner.
Book on a Vita COD playable at E3 with a release date in fall….
They'll sell 10 million. Remember, the 10 million expected this fiscal year is April 2012 through March 2013. It includes a complete holiday buying cycle and there will almost certainly be a) far more games, b) PS1 classics, c) more PSP compatibility, d) firmware updates galore and e) a timely price cut prior to the holiday buying season.
Sony has a pretty good history of pitching sales targets for PlayStation products that get met or exceeded.
Highlander I think you'll be right about that, but there will still be a big hurdle in the form of gamers disinterested in handhelds beyond their smartphones and tablets. Vita has great gadgetry too but I haven't seen the gadget community go wild over it, unless I just missed something. (That's more your area anyway).
I agree with McGee. If they release a decent portable COD, where kids can get their COD fix on the move… the sales of Vita will increase tenfold. Combine this with a price cut, and hopefully no other hardware competition of similar quality and spec… then imagine the sales possibilities?
And what if you could "transfar" between COD Vita & COD on ps3 / 4 ?
I know I'm being shallow to make such a huge correlation between Vita sales and COD, but that's exactly what the gaming industry is turning into.
Sucks doesn't it?
I think a $100 price cut, and some good titles could make this happen, but I'd imagine at best we're only going to get $50 off, and maybe 1-2 good titles, and perhaps a bundle or 2.
Phoenix, the thing costs $250 now. They won't cut that by $100, that'd be a 40% cut. They'll more than likely drop it by $50, or about 20%, and drop the price of the memory cards by about the same amount.
well, according to $onys own sales site thats a crock of sh*t!
good old $ony, only you could try to convince your loyal fans a out house is the taj mahall!
sorry $ony but that is just NOT true!
the ps3 released at a much harder to justify price, 600+ bucks depending where you live, we got the slog at 1000!
with so few games.
with more expensive games.
and had so much strong competition.
not to mention 3+ years after release it was still regularly struggling with inferior ports.
hell, still is!
not to mention the ps3 released around april where allot of people have already spent their chrissy money, loose change or whatever.
first 2 months of the year are always spending season.
where as the vita released around feb where chissy money/ loose change is burning holes, so if anything the vita had yet another advantage!
advantage, advantage, advantage, advantage, advantage, advantage, and it sold ONLY .1M less than the vita at this time frame!
1.7M instead of 1.8!
considering how many advantages it had over the vita, at least SIX, shouldent it of sold way more?
vita just out selling the ps3 at the same lifespan by only .1M units is pretty pathetic!
especially considering how many advantages it had.
the vita released at a high but not outrageous price like the ps3, with HEAPS of titles unlike the ps3!
heaps of accessories, heaps of third party titles.
every problem the ps3 had the vita has not had, and its only managed .1M better within the same time frame!
hows that "off to a good start"?
sigh, will $ony ever be honest with their fans?
once just once id like to see $ony be honest about something!
not be the politician and put a spin on it.
i dont like people crapping in my hand and telling me its home made chocolate!
*Scratching his head* I just don't get why you come here. LOL. SOunds like you absolutely hate sony altogether. Ridiculous…