This year has not been kind to Sony, as the consumer electronics company’s stock has hit a 32-year low with a 7% decline – a low that the company has been teetering towards since 2008-2009. Not since the year 1980 has Sony seen such low shares, and experts aren’t expecting things to change in the near future.
Investors seem to be very pessimistic as to how the company will bounce back from this slump. The biggest factor to this lull would be Sony’s $6.4 billion in losses claimed for 2011 and the potential 10,000 employee layoff. Kaz Hirai, new CEO of Sony, admitted when taking the job that taking the reins and turning the company around would not be an easy task.
Getting hit from other angles besides the video game industry, Sony is also seeing roadblocks by the likes of Samsung and LG, leading the way in the TV markets with OLED displays. Times are grim for Sony – evident from the stock decline – and although there are forecasts that predict an optimistic future, that’s far from a confirmation that things are going to get better before getting any worse.
Deutsche Bank analyst Yasuo Nakane states that at this time, there doesn’t seem to be any “catalyst that might spur a sustained rally” for the company’s shares, while analyst Shiro Mikoshiba of Nomura Equity Research explains that uncertainty surrounding nearly every market Sony operates within makes any reliable predictions nearly impossible.
With their sights set on digital imaging, mobile, and video games, Sony looks to recover at least some of their losses. Hirai believes that Sony can increase smartphone sales by 11.5 million units, and double handheld sales by up to 16 million units.
Luckily for the games division at Sony, they might not even be hit with any layoffs. And with this new concentration on video games, specifically strengthening the position of the PS Move, perhaps Sony can at least bring back some sense of optimism. If Sony is to make a comeback, one would assume now would be the best time to invest with stocks reaching as low as 14 points.
As the saying goes, it is always darkest before the dawn, but how long will it take for Sony to see the light? Could the company sink any lower than it is at right now? What do you think Sony has to do to get out of this sticky situation?
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Follow me on Twitter @TyRawrrnosaurus.
Source: Yahoo!
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To Sony:
Sony, you need to stop trying to move in on the, already Nintendo-dominated, handheld market and focus on your gem, the PS3. One sees children with the Nintendo DS all over the place. This is because Nintendo aims about 99% of their games towards the younger audience. With parents becoming more and more aware of the rating system ESRB provides they’re not going to go out and buy a “T” rated game for their kid. They are going to stick with the E10 – E10+ rating. And with 38+ years of experience that Nintendo has of entertaining children and teens, there is just no way you, Sony, can make kid-based games the same way that Nintendo can.
In addition, most young adults (and adults in general) won’t carry around a PS Vita to play games. We have more important things to do such as going to school, working a 9-5 job, working an after school job, driving to and from work, pay bills, etc. Time is wearing thin for the “T” and “M” audiences to play video games.
Cut your losses, Sony. You should have learned from the ill-fate of the PSP. It was a good idea, but you are trying to spread yourself too thin. Keep your focus on developing top-notch PS3 games, and leave the handheld market behind, because at this rate, (and I say this with the saddest of hearts) you might not be around much longer to do so…
Uh what? The PSP has sold alot of units. And being the entertainment juggernaut Sony is, you will not see them going away anytime soon.
Actually the psp garnered very little sustained revenue. Nobody is really buying any of the new psp’s. Much easier to just buy tablets and other hand helds, cheaper too in a lot of respects. Probably less than 1% of my country’s population owns a psp. As opposed to the almost 30% that either owns a ps 1, 2 or 3 and in some cases all of the above.
Psp = Fail.
did you read the article about the head of the north american sony interview saying that the vita has met all their goals and has sold more than they had thought.
@Rainy: You can’t tell me with a straight face that they’re actually happy with the craptacular sales it’s getting.
Rabbit, did you read the article where that same head of North America of which you speak, Howard Stringer, stepped down from his post to let Kaz Hirai take his place?
Deric,
“A lot” of units doesn’t pay the bills.
I’m 22. I’d play a Vita during my trips to the In-Laws’ house haha
Hang in their sony, been a fan since i was a kid, with the playstation
ims sure you will pull through.
Dear Sony,
Don’t listen to that negative person up there. The best thing to do is stay positive and keep those new ideas rolling in. I don’t believe you are spreading yourselves “too thin.” Your just expanding your company. without expansion we wouldn’t even have the great playstation we do today. From what i have read sonys first product was infact a rice cooker. so a home console to a hand held isn’t that big of a leap, as going from a rice cooker to electronics, TVs, and game systems.
I am a 18 year old female who has loved video games all her life and i have never played a hand held that i actually liked. I never got into gameboys even as a young child. but when i first played a PSP i thought it was great, and now with the vita out, haveing graphics as good as the console and gameplay the same as a console is remarkable. something Nintendo can say about themselves.
I can tell you that there are hardcore gamers out their who will make time to play their favorite video games. The ps vita just makes it even easier with the ” on the go ” playing. The vita is what gamers want.
plus the security of the vita makes hardcore gamers, and casual gamers feel better about buying a vite. knowing that ! the system will likely work for years if taken care of. 2 that you’er not just going to come out with a new handheld in a few years, forcing people to buy a new one anytime soon. 3 that their are gonna be great games, quality, and plenty of updates to keep people happy with the money they spent.
So do not get your hopes down Sony, you have fans out there who know what you can do and who can see your potential. Fans who are waiting eagerly to see your next move. Fans who know that if they spend their hard earn money on your product they will be happy and be getting their moneys worth. So i say thank you for all you have done.
A fan of yours.
Rainy Barton.
somthing nintendo “cant” say about themselves
Not being negative. I love Sony! I’m a bit supporter of them. I’m not going to explain my loyalties here, since no matter what I say, people will think what they want.
Rainy Rabbit, maybe some more research is needed. Sony started off as a Telecommunications company that repaired, and later built, transistor radios for the Japanese public after the end of World War II. Masaru Ibuka’s rice cooker was a failure prototype and was never released to the public due the unregulated electricity current running through people’s houses (as well as the factory itself) and varying styles of rice available. The learned that they should get out of the rice cooker market and focus on what they were great at. Current Sony execs could learn a thing or two from Ibuka.
“plus the security of the vita makes hardcore gamers, and casual gamers feel better about buying a vite. knowing that ! the system will likely work for years if taken care of. 2 that you’er not just going to come out with a new handheld in a few years, forcing people to buy a new one anytime soon. 3 that their are gonna be great games, quality, and plenty of updates to keep people happy with the money they spent.”
Rabbit, your argument is already flawed. Don’t you remember the original PSP that came out? Then the redesigned, slimmer version, then the PSP GO. No, you weren’t forced to necessarily purchase another handheld. You were just forced to re-purchase, in digital format, the games you already purchased in the UMD format.
well im not talking about the psp am i im talking about the vita. so your argument is flawed. im talking about the info given to me from the interview with matt levitan ( http://gamerant.com/sony-matt-levitan-interview-vita-jw-139442/ ) if you read they are very happy with the vita and how it is selling. they have faith in it. so this has nothing to do with the psp. i was relating to more like when buying a computer it seem like 6 months later theres already better ones out. that a person doesnt have to worry about that with the vita. that sony is sticking with it.
2end. I looked it up and saw the rice cooker, but if you actually read what i was saying it really didnt have anything to do with the rie cooker. i was mearly showing that sony didnt start out with home consoles. that they had to work and expand to get there. and that what their doing with the vita. to say their spreading themselves too thin is like saying the same thing to microsoft for going into the game console business.
so there fore i was saying sony is expanding their business like a business should and that their not going leaving anytime soon.
3erd there was alot of replys, and im just a big sony fan saying my opinion from what i read. so im not gonna reply to all of em.
Rainy,
I wasn’t stating that your argument about security was aimed at the PSP. I was just stating that it is still too early to say whether or not Sony is going to make drastic changes to anything having to do with the Vita. They might decide to axe it all together in the next couple years. Who knows. Then what? Your security would be gone… :/
Actually, talking about Sony going from Rice cooker to the handheld business would be more comparable to Microsoft going from computers and software (because they were already experienced in software development. It’s not like they didn’t know anything about it.) into the digital music player business like they did with their now discontinued Zune. Nintendo did not start out as a console manufacturer either. They produced playing cards. They also worked to get where they are. They also have a better business model that appeals to the masses (even though it is a business model made up of re-hashing & revamping old Nintendo games with enhanced graphics or new features).
As I said before, I am ALSO a big Sony fan. But numbers don’t lie.
To end my rant on this Gamerant, I will conclude with the following:
“1st” – They’re vs. Their vs There
“2nd” – No need to add “end” & “erd” after numbers 1 & 2.
“3rd” – GOOD NIGHT EVERYBODY! I’M OUT AND DONE WITH THIS POSTING!
Dear Game Rant:
Seeing as everybody else is doing this, I guess I should follow suit.
Can we have Sony is doomed articles now?
Sincerely
-GameCollector
Where did they go wrong?
The PSP, PSP Go, the PS Vita, and the PS3′s lacking an Emotion Engine chip.
Thanks to that image i am never visiting this website again
SONY=FAIL. I have a Sony PS3, and most of the time I am online…but compared to the Xbox360 and the Nintendo Wii, I could be less online cause of the updates / patches Sony brings (sometimes unannounced). Sony…never again. Wii U here I come!
*Wii U here I come* HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Have fun with that buddy.
Dear Sony,
Your failings are a direct result of your conceited complacency. At the very bottom of the problem, you have your Ps3 controllers. The 6-axis integration was a great idea but the fact that your controller itself is about as ergonomic as a block of wood doesn’t do anything justice. You had the chance to redesign your controller on the Ps3′s launch but nay, for whatever reason; cost, laziness, arrogance in thinking that you would lose a brand item, whatever, you were doomed from the start by making people play with analog sticks that were nothing more than an add-on 10 years ago. Compare this with Microsoft who has, throughout the years, updated theirs continuously with the people that purchase the consoles in mind. Then you bring out the move, which is far more accurate than the Kinect, but with one drawback: again your over confidence has failed you in that you expected people to use your motion controller when people’s fascination with the Wii was already sputtering. You actually expected people who want to be lazy when playing games to suddenly not be lazy with the move? Then you expect people to pay up to a hundred dollars PER CONTROLLER? Well, the kinect has got you beat there too. You buy one piece of equipment and up to 4 people can play for free.
Tack on the fact that you expect to be disingenuous with your customers, allow yourself to be hacked despite clear warnings that it was completely and easily possible. Then you lock the same people you betrayed, your loyal customer base, out of the loop? Your arrogance is appalling and it’s about time that people begin to abandon you.
Essentially Sony, what you’ve been shoveling the past 5 or so years has been this: Give the customer what they already have, make it 50% better than what they have, then charge them 200% more for it. That’s a business model that was doomed from inception but since you had the market share, you felt justified by it. You dropped the underdog mentality (give the consumer something 50% better for 50% cheaper) for your current one that has clearly ran you into the ground and all of your high priced haunchos can’t tell you why. Consider this your wake up call: as long as you become complacent and arrogant, you will fail, just like every other business with that mentality has done before it but this time, the government won’t be there to bail you out.
I really enjoyed your letter to sony, and im very curious as to whats wrong with the controllers? i’ve always enjoyed them and prefer them to the xbox controllers.
The move, im too poor atm to buy one but i do want it. i see it as an option from the normal controller, giveing their costumers a choice, and i really havent heard anything bad about it. but the kniect ( the modified eyetoy) well i was really impressed by it at E3. but ive been hearing alot of bad things about it. which it would fall into your expecting lazy gamers to just not be lazy anymore and play with it, flaw.
but to say to abandon sony, well then you should say that people should abandon xbox as well. they both have their flaws.
yea psn was hacked, i havent read any reports of any identitys stolen from that. but people shouldnt put their credit card info and other info like that online.
took microsoft several tries to get rid of the red ring problem. i know lots of people who still have one in their closet that they paid full price for and cant play it due to microsoft over looking a problem several times.
I dont know what you mean about playing online alot on the ps3. i dont see whats so bad about that. you dont have to play online.
xbox charging for Live each month is over kill in my opinion. i already pay for my internet and my wifi, why should i pay per month to use it on my xbox? not only that but to run a movie off of a thumb drive you have to be connected to live and if you disconect it turns off your movie. i dont see why they did that.
so what im saying is they’er both flawed. so if we are to abandon sony we should also abandon microsoft. the one thing that i love about sony is their dependable, i know if i but their product ill be able to keep it for years cause i know its gonna work. not counting the small few flukes.
im really curious what you said about the controllers. im looking forward to your comment.
People going on about Playstation, but that is a very strong brand. The real reason is Sony has their hands in to many pies. They make laptops, mp3 players, stereos, dvd players, recorders, tablets, phones ect. But really there best brands are their TV line, cameras, and to some extent the Walkman, if only for a superior audio sound. They just need to cut back on whats not doing well, and focus on what is!
Thank you, Kyle. That is exactly what I’m talking about. They are spreading themselves too thin.