By Stevie Smith Feb 1, 2008, 10:50 GMT
Falling manufacturing costs related to the PlayStation 3 and strong sales of the PlayStation Portable have combined to help the overall PlayStation brand amass profit of $121 million USD throughout the third fiscal quarter, reports GamesIndustry.biz.
PlayStation brand is on the rise but Sony cuts fiscal year sales forecast of the PlayStation 3. Credit: MNGilen
A profit of any mind, not least $121 million USD, is likely music to Sony’s corporate ears, especially seeing as its gaming division returned a loss of $509 million USD during the same period in 2006.
However, despite an extremely strong third quarter and Christmas period, during which time Sony sold 4.9 million units of the PlayStation 3, the Japanese electronics giant has this week confirmed it is slashing full-year sales targets for its latest home-based console from 11 million units down to 9.5 million units.
In an effort to counterbalance that negative adjustment for the final quarter, Sony has bolstered the full-year sales target for the PlayStation Portable by a solid three million units, shifting expectations upward from 10 million to 13 million units through to the end of the fiscal year on March 31.
From October through December of 2007, the PSP outsold its powerhouse bigger brother, shifting an impressive 5.76 million units – an increase of 22 percent on the same period in 2006. However, software performance dipped by 14 percent with consumers plucking 18.3 million units from store shelves.
Finally, while increasing consumer interest in the PlayStation 3 is gradually taking its toll on the stalwart PlayStation 2, Sony has outlined that the greying console’s hardware and software is still managing to contribute to overall operating profits for the division
Your Talkback on this Story