Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

Sony may be back on its feet, but the PlayStation business is still on the ground

Anthony John Agnello
By
playstation 3

Sony CEO Kaz Hirai was a man on a mission when he took control of Sony in 2012. “One Sony” was his marching order, trimming down the company’s sprawling operations and bureaucracy into the lean, mean consumer technology company that it once was. Within one week of taking control of the company, Hirai said his plan included reducing fixed costs in the struggling, crucial television business by 60-percent, flexible costs by 30-percent, cutting 10,000 jobs, an nearly halving the number of TV models in the company line.

The plan is working. Sony turned an operating profit in the October through December quarter, an impressive turnaround from the catastrophic losses of the last fiscal year and the losses of the previous two quarters. On Thursday, Sony reported a profit of $496 million, less than the nearly $773 million market analysts expected, but not a bad holiday all the same. It isn’t healthy, but it’s certainly healthier. The same can’t be said for the company’s PlayStation business, though.

Sony’s entire video game division pulled in roughly $2.9 billion in revenue, a 15-percent year-on-year drop.

Related

“In the game business, Sony is working to expand sales and operating income through the introduction of an attractive software lineup and through offering game software on mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets,” explained Sony during its briefing.

Its efforts are slow going. The company pointed to declining PlayStation 3 and PSP sales as the biggest cause of its holiday sales dip, but also singled out the PS Vita’s “slow penetration” of the market.

Sony sold a combined 6.8 million PS3 and PS2 consoles during the holiday quarter, only a small uptick from the 5 million sold the previous quarter, and a drop from the 7.4 million sold during the same period the year before. The introduction of a new PS3 model in October should have provided a stronger performance for Sony, but the company’s refusal to drop the price of the machine probably contributed to its weak sales.

PSP and Vita sales totaled 2.4 million over the holiday, down from the 2.7 million Sony sold during the same period the previous year. During that period, though, the PSP was still the driving portable force as the PS Vita had only been out in Japan for weeks before the close of the quarter.

Sony’s PlayStation brand needs new blood, and all signs point to a reveal of the next console on Feb. 20.

Editors' Recommendations

I’m already pining for PlayStation VR2 to get Half-Life: Alyx
half life alyx vr details feature

I haven't played Half-Life: Alyx, but I really, really want to.

Last month, I picked up the PlayStation VR2 as my first virtual reality headset and have been enjoying a wide range of games on it since then, from Zombieland: Headshot Fever Reloaded to Horizon Call of the Mountain. Although the lack of exciting new titles in PSVR2's launch window library doesn't bother me that much as this is my first VR experience, I do still recognize that there are only a couple of games that are pushing the PSVR2's technology and giving Sony's second VR outing a clear identity.

Read more
PSVR vs. PSVR 2: The difference between the Sony VR headsets
Playstation VR2 headset on a PlayStation-themed wallpaper.

Sony jumped in fairly early to the virtual reality market with its first PSVR unit in 2017. It was, and still is, the only console manufacturer to have dedicated VR hardware that uses the power of its systems to power its headsets. The PSVR, at the time, was the bestselling headset on the market, but this was many years ago.

Now that the PSVR 2 is on the market and promises to be an improvement over the first model in every way, many people might wonder just how much better it is. If you're curious how the original PSVR stacks up to the PSVR 2, here's a full breakdown.
PSVR vs. PSVR 2: Specifications

Read more
PlayStation VR2 is my first headset. Here’s what I think after one week in VR
A side view of the PlayStation VR2, which sits on a wood table.

Before my PlayStation VR2 arrived at my doorstep last week, my experience playing in VR was minimal. I'd reported on the industry and its games for years, but my actual playtime in a headset was limited to an Eve: Valkyrie demo at a GameStop ahead of PlayStation VR's launch, a couple of demos at trade shows, and one 15-minute session of Phantom: Covert Ops on Meta Quest 2 while hanging out with a friend. 
Despite claims by companies like Meta that VR would serve as the future of communication and entertainment, the technology seemed too scattershot and underdeveloped for my liking, with many competitors putting out underpowered headsets, many of which need a wire or two. That said, part of me still wondered if it would take the right headset with the right features and game library to transform the gaming medium forever. Although the Meta Quest 2 has tempted me for some time, it was the PlayStation VR2 that finally got me to bite the bullet and embrace VR.

PSVR2 is expensive at $550, but it appealed to me with its impressive specs and the fact that it only requires one wired connection to the PS5. That was all I needed to bite the bullet. Since it arrived, I've gone all-in on the tech to make up for lost time, trying out games like Gran Turismo 7, Horizon Call of the Mountain, and Zombieland: Headshot Fever Reloaded. Although I'm impressed by the headset's power and how comfortable it is, don't consider me a convert just yet. I can't imagine it replacing traditional gaming on my PS5 or becoming my preferred social setting anytime soon, and that leaves me to wonder how high VR's ceiling can actually go.
Strapping in
My first thought when I got my PSVR2 was that the package was much smaller and lighter than I expected. VR always seemed large and clunky from an outside perspective, so I was impressed by the sleek and easy-to-unbox packaging and the headset's manageable size. Next, I had to set up the headset, which was something I was dreading as a first-time user. Surprisingly, the setup process was pretty quick after I plugged in the headset.
Within about 15 minutes, I had completed the initial setup and was already familiar with the passthrough tool. It didn't dig into my head and nose like I thought it would, mercifully. The few times I've strapped on other VR headsets, they've always felt like they're squeezing my face. That was not the case here, as I easily adjusted the headset to my liking. Even the feeling of the wire quickly became a non-factor for me as I played more and more.

Read more