Sony is placing all its bets on PlayStation in its new three-year financial plan.
In a new financial plan for the next three years that will help the company back to profitability, Sony is citing the PlayStation brand as its main focus.
During a corporate meeting, Sony announced plans to give its divisions more control over their finances, which should help the company reach 500 billion yen in earnings by the 2017 financial year.
The plan is to split the Sony business into three categories: “growth driver”, “stable profit generator” and “area focusing on volatility management”.
The Game and Network Services business, which obviously includes PlayStation, is now categorised as a growth driver. Because of this, Sony intends to drive the expansion of the PlayStation userbase on consoles and PlayStation Network.
Related: PS4 FAQ – Everything you need to know before you buy
The TV and Mobile Communications division, on the other hand, is now categorised as “volatility management”.
“Sony will place the highest priority on curtailing risk and securing profits in its operation of these businesses,” Sony said in a statement.
“Since both markets are experiencing intense cost competition and commoditization, Sony will strive to further increase the added value of its products by leveraging its in-house technologies and component devices. By carefully selecting the territories and product areas it targets, Sony will seek to limit its capital investment and establish a business structure capable of securing stable profits.”
With more than 18.5 million PS4 consoles sold to date, we don’t think Sony will have an issue increasing the PlayStation userbase over the next three years, especially if it continues to deliver.
According to Sony’s official figures, 4.1 million of those PS4 sales came from the 2014 Christmas period – between November 23 to January 4 2015 alone in fact.
As of January 2 2015, Sony revealed it has 10.9 million PlayStation Plus subscribers.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
