What does one do when facing a projected $6.4 billion net loss and a possible round of layoffs numbering as high 10,000?
Why, you turn to video games, among other things. In the face of the financial downturn, Sony has announced a new business initiative entitled "One Sony," which focuses on three core elements of the company: Digital imaging, game, and mobile. With this, Sony hopes to generate about 70% of total sales and 85% of operating income by fiscal 2014.
For the game part, Sony says they will continue to focus on giving gamers "exhilarating experiences" for both the PlayStation 3 and Vita, and they also intend to add new titles and subscription services to the PlayStation Network. The PlayStation Suite devices and content will be amped up as well and overall, Sony wants their game business to bring back 1 trillion yen ($12.33 billion) and an operating income margin of 8% by fiscal 2014. Beyond the gaming world, Sony plans to increase sales by "restructuring its television sector, expand its business opportunities in emerging markets, create all-new businesses, realign its portfolio and optimize resources."
There is no mention of the PlayStation 4; some analysts believe it'd be a bad idea for Sony to risk new hardware at this juncture, especially when the PS3 is finally starting to be profitable. Besides, they've got the Vita to focus on now, and most gamers say they'd be happy with the PS3 for quite some time. But Sony still doesn't want to fall behind Microsoft in the next console race, so… Maybe "Orbis" will be revealed soon.
