SONY drops price of PS3 $100 BEFORE lauch

[rainless]

I don't think anyone is arguing that Sony doesn't have lots of valuable assets because they certainly do. But, assets by themselves don't guarantee a profit. Businesses do exist for the purpose of making money, unlike the U.S. federal government.

MS did lose significant money overall on Xbox1, but as a company they still made massive profits because they have a core business that is an absolute cash cow. And, MS has stated in the past that Xbox1 in their business strategy was just them buying a ticket into the console market.

Debt is a way of life on personal levels, business levels, and government levels in many ways. However, even though businesses regularly operate with debt and losing quarters, they still survive in the long run on at least having the ability to turn a profit, that is take in more money than they spend, at least occasionally.

Even with all their great assets, Sony has been struggling to obtain even the occasional profit in most areas of their business. They have typically had isolated bright spots such as Trinitron tube TV's (which they have since failed to jump on the LCD and plasma panel bandwagon), certain movie titles that have kept their movie division numbers good, Playstation 1 & 2, and even Everquest in the past. Things like Trinitron CRT tubes and Playstation doing well are a big deal and can help keep the company floating as a whole. Things like the occasional blockbuster movie and Everquest are kinda more small potatoes and don't do a whole lot in the overall picture.

If Sony lost Playstation as a profit heavy group, or even worse, turned it into a long term overall loss, it will be a big hurt to the company. Would they go out of business all together? Probably not, but much more conceivable would be massive restructuring in order to lean out their business. Sell or trash chronic money losers, trim back at the profitable ones... Basically, shrink their business and scope, layoff, sell, close... That's the more likely thing.

What you said is a lot more in tune with reality. I simply took exception to the idea (which was stated as if it were FACT) that if the PS3 failed Sony would go under. AND that Sony was saved by the friggin' Da Vinci Code. (Please oh PLEASE don't get me started on that.)

 

[OC Noob]

Eh, when was the last time the United States of America turned a profit? If I recalled correctly after the most astonishing series of boneheaded economic maneovres (damnit... can't spell words of French origin in English anymore!) any country has made since Mussolini's Italy, America had a 13 trillion dollar deficit. This was eventually balanced somewhat, but now we're headed right back (trying to keep this economic and not political). Yet the country remains open for business. Why is it? Because America, as a whole, does not NEED to make a profit. It is merely the sum of all of its parts. Many of which are doing spectacularly well.

Sony, and any other corporation, operates on more or less the same principle. The key difference between Sony and almost every other corporation is that Sony has many more parts that are doing pretty well, and underlying patents for most of them.

Sony invented... something (I can't remember) that lost to JVC's DV cassette (which JVC/RCA/Victor owns a patent for). This doesn't matter because I believe most DV camcorders (including the new HD DV camcorders) use Sony's patented tape-loading system. In edition to the Music publishing rights that I named Sony has been in the software business for years. They own Vegas (the post production editing software) and a variety of corporate-level applications. I think they even sell film stock on top of having sold the cameras that made Run Lola Run, Dogville, and a number of films belonging to Columbia picture's competitors.

An endless amount of revenue streams will beat any person's one year net profit any day. It's like mortal wealth versus a fountain of youth... or Vampiric powers.

You are so full of excuses i am begining to think you are a Sony plant or something.

What does stupidity in the US have to do with Sony's finances. Comparing a corporation to a country? You are just grasping at straw.

Speaking of boneheaded countries, why don't you just surrender? When in Rome...

 

[iaacp]

$100? http://www.ebgames.com/default.asp?sect=1284

 

[Oni]

$100? http://www.ebgames.com/default.asp?sect=1284

In Japan only. Read the thread, please.

 

[rainless]

You are so full of excuses i am begining to think you are a Sony plant or something.

What does stupidity in the US have to do with Sony's finances. Comparing a corporation to a country? You are just grasping at straw.

Speaking of boneheaded countries, why don't you just surrender? When in Rome...

Surrender? I'M HERE TO TAKE OVER!

Edit: BTW, the guy a couple of posts above you (you know, the smart one?) correctly understood that I was making the comparison between corporations and governments because they operate on more or less the same principles. Though he was correct in pointing out that governments don't necessarily need to be profitable because a government doesn't have any shareholders, but this was beyond my point, which was that companies, corporations, and individuals continue to function all the time, even when not being profitable, and even when in debt. I just get tired of doomsday internet economists constantly screaming that the sky is falling.

 

[Xtreme Barton]

at what rate of speed id ask

 

[FudgeNuggets]

Rainless, you're twisting people's words around to make your own propeganda. NOBODY said the DaVinci Code SAVED Sony. I stated that if it weren't for the massive amount of money made by the Spidey movies, DaVinci and the Playstation line then Sony would have had to file BANKRUPTCY. Bankruptcy does not mean they are going out of business. It means that they would probably sell off their highly unprofitable movie divisions outside of maybe one division like Columbia or Tristar, the sell off their HIGHLY unprofitable music division, eliminate making game consoles and finally probably stop making stuff like portable radios, disc players and things like that. This would likely cause them to increase quality and reduce pricing thus making them more like a Samsung or Panasonic, good quality and reasonable prices unlike now where they are low-to-medium quality and high prices.

 

[rainless]

Rainless, you're twisting people's words around to make your own propeganda. NOBODY said the DaVinci Code SAVED Sony. I stated that if it weren't for the massive amount of money made by the Spidey movies, DaVinci and the Playstation line then Sony would have had to file BANKRUPTCY. Bankruptcy does not mean they are going out of business. It means that they would probably sell off their highly unprofitable movie divisions outside of maybe one division like Columbia or Tristar, the sell off their HIGHLY unprofitable music division, eliminate making game consoles and finally probably stop making stuff like portable radios, disc players and things like that. This would likely cause them to increase quality and reduce pricing thus making them more like a Samsung or Panasonic, good quality and reasonable prices unlike now where they are low-to-medium quality and high prices.

If I recall correctly... you said that Dan Brown himself went down to Sony headquarters and said: "You're going belly-up. And I'm the only man who can save you. After watching grown men and women pay thousands of dollars for 'Tickle Me Elmo' I came to the conclusion that idiots would buy into anything the media told them was good... and that most people are idiots. So I mixed Harry Potter with Leonardo Da Vinci, with Leonardo from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, with the Knights Templar, with the Masons, with Dungeons and Dragons, and an old pre-Hollywood Nicole Kidman skin flick, and I came up with a manuscript that just couldn't lose. Now... what you, SONY will do for yourselves is get Ron Howard to..."

"RON HOWARD?!?! What the F..."

"Yes. Get Ron Howard to direct a movie with Tom Waits (failing that, get Tom Hanks) and the chick from Amelie. No particular reason. I just like French chicks. And together we can watch the whole of society dip assbackwards into the abyss as momentary stock values SOAR!"

Or maybe that wasn't you... Whatever.

 

[OC Noob]

Surrender? I'M HERE TO TAKE OVER!

Edit: BTW, the guy a couple of posts above you (you know, the smart one?) correctly understood that I was making the comparison between corporations and governments because they operate on more or less the same principles. Though he was correct in pointing out that governments don't necessarily need to be profitable because a government doesn't have any shareholders, but this was beyond my point, which was that companies, corporations, and individuals continue to function all the time, even when not being profitable, and even when in debt. I just get tired of doomsday internet economists constantly screaming that the sky is falling.

Unfortunately we can't forclose on our governement

But I agree, losing money doesn't mean they will go under, but I am repeating my self as I too often do:

"Sony reported Thursday that losses for the January-March quarter widened to 66.5 billion yen ($581 million), worse than the 56.5 billion yen loss it marked the same period the previous year. Massive restructuring costs, as well as research and development costs for its usually profitable game division, were behind the red ink."

From:

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.asp?feed=AP&Date=20060428&ID=5674055

You put way too much stock in patents and royalties. To top it off the first few years of the PS3 launch Sony will lose billions on the it alone.

Losing money doesn't mean they will fold, but they aren't doing very well, at all.

I agree, not doing well does not mean dooms day.