Downgraded investment rating causes Sony stock fall

Oh Oh. o_o; um, if sony ever breaks...does that mean that no new games for playstation consoles will come out? Even if you already bought the console? D:

My faith in Sony is at an all time low too. My PS3 won't read any discs and they want $150 to fix it even though I've only had it a couple of months over a year. Hopefully disc cleaners and dusters will do the trick...

I was told there'd be no math.

I dont want to buy a certain red ringed box to replace my PS3! Not a day goes by when I dont switch it on and a part of me will die inside if sony goes down :(

MS stock is down 5.5 percent over the past week; No reports on 360 Fanboy about that one, eh?

Wow, I figured it would happen eventually but now that is actually is happening is kind of scary. Sony, your shortsighted greed has finally caught up to you. Howard Stringer, you maybe looking for a new job in these troubling times (drink)...

One thing Sony need to think hard about is how to make it more tempting to get another Sony product if you already got one. Currently there is no value-add in getting a Sony TV for use with my PS3 as opposed to getting a TV from Pioneer or Panasonic for instance.

I think a lot of people have at least one Sony product, but apart from knowing that they tend to be of decent quality there is nothing about owning a Sony product that pushes you towards choosing Sony for the next one.

Sigh, this sounds bias, but this is only because of the media avalanche around Sony. One thing you should never do is scare stockholder, they have the biggest mood swings.

Ok... this is bad news for Sony, never want your stock downgraded, but in my opinion I don't believe this will have any long term impact of the PS brand. the simple reality is that Playstation has the ability to make a ton of money if priced properly... this gen is a long list of Sony mistakes, but I can't believe that one generation will do any permanent damage to the brand.

I've yet to buy a PS3... The reasoning for this was when I got into this console Generation there were few games on the PS3 that were not on the 360... So the 360 was the logical choice. (I also Wire my network and have no interest in playing online... so the actual value for options I don't need was real)

After getting my Giant HD TV my PS3 itch has gotten mighty fierce... and with the release of some Spectacular looking exclusives I was ready to pull that trigger right after the holidays.

Now I'll probably wait. I've no interest in Dropping $400 on a console that may or may not have the longevity that was initially promised (I see them bringing out a PS4 quicker then otherwise now to offset the market loss and create new excitement for the brand... probably not to 2012 or so, but I don't buy electronics frequently)

I guess the end of it all is don't fret. Sony and the PS brand are not going anywhere. This isn't a company like Sega that had all their eggs in one basket. They've got a bun ch of eggs in a bunch of baskets, and whatever eggs can turn a profit (And the PS brand can even if the PS3 can't) will be preserved.

Glass half empty type of blog, which is exactly the negativity that Mr. Yoon enjoys posting, as of late. One thing to consider is that not one company is safe in these troubled economic times.

Why we should care about this. We already know all companies in the world have financial problems, including Microsoft. I’m sure you wouldn't read about it at the xbox360fanboy.com. This bias site always brings up negative review about scea. Few days ago this bias site place a poll result about home and the first paragraph start talking about d 25% of the polls. PS3FANBOY.COM another marketing tool paid by microsoft.com PR department. This copy and paste site dont have any respect for smart gamers.

WTF -- 'glass is half empty' ? Sony is in the worse shape of any videogame maker right now. Console price is a huge factor, no one really cares about blu-ray outside of an affluent niche, and people want to talk about how great Sony's 10-year-plan is just because Sony said it is.

RRoD is (pretty much) gone. But since it is "gone", more issues have taken the spotlight:

1. overheating and freezing issues.
2. I am scared to update the firmware on my Xbox... since so many die when that happens, happened to my 1st one.
3. Scratching disks when moved.

@scottishPRIK

not "only an idiot" would move a console while it is in use.
I move my ps3 while it is in use.. Do you think a game has been scratched yet?
A system that is supposed to spin disks at a high speed should be able to handle it.
They could easily "hack" (or mod) their own product, take an old crappy DVD drive and tweak it. Make it run faster than it was built for. Get it now?

Way to go M$! Show the world that half finished pieces of crap can win the market! M$ is doing to the gaming industry what they do to all other industries...

Oh noes, a electronics companies rating has been downgraded in a global financial crisis. Didn't see that one coming :/

/sarcasim

When Sony first reduced the price I stated they needed to release a PS3 without the hard drive for 299. You can add your own HD to the PS3. That was over a year ago. Since then no price reduction. Have they not lowered the cost to make this machine yet. In 13 months. Come on.


In this economy they are going to have to come out with a base model to save this sinking ship.

It's the main reason they are getting killed this holiday season. They better do it soon because 2009 will be even worse for our economy. We have loss almost 3 million jobs this year. I just don't see how they can sustain at those price levels. It's better to sell something than nothing at all.

MS just started releasing there latest version of the 360 and it's cooler and cheaper to make.

Those commercials for 199 can't be helping Sony either. The better system does not always win.
See the Wii.

Remove Blu Ray and the gaming prowess of these two systems are not that much different. Getting a Blu ray for the 199 difference is a great deal. 25 dollars for a blu ray in this economy. I'll pass.

The economy is also hurting some game companies.

You can't tell me that 2k financial problems are not at the root of NBA 2k9 problems. No lobby. They could not get the lag right on the 2k Camera which made the game. Some of these things have been fixed but a lot of it seems like budget issues to me.

EA is laying people off and closing studios. Since it's harder and more expensive to create a game on the PS3 the economy may have an effect on the quality of games or studios jumping ship to the bigger base and more profitable system.



Sony seemed to believe and thought every parent who had a child with a PS2 were going to run out and spend 5-600 on a new system. Not.

Seems as though a lot of those parents brought a Wii or a 360.

There arrogance is killing this system.
Let alone there business plan was flawed form the start.

To be competitive they have to reduce the price with a Hard Drive to 329. Come out with a base model without the HD for 250-275. It's there only chance.

MS is not in finacial problems like sony, its all of sony thats going through hard times, almost all their divisions, remember with the ps2, how the videogame division was and became their bread and butter, well thats not happening yet with the ps3, and as far as i see, microsoft still holds a monopo whoa bad word holds a big chunk of the os market, as well as its other software like office, even its game division is pulling in small profits, oh and i dont own a 360 just a ps3, but i dont think we should flame microsoft because sony is not doing so well right now...certain parts have not been doing well for a long time with the exception of its games division with the ps1 and ps2

I think the head line is slightly misleading as I, and others in the comments read it as a downgrade in credit rating. That would have been bad news. This, not so much.

With all this PS3 selling at a loss and the current economic climate, is there a chance we could see the shutdown of Sony's gaming division? Just wondering :S

@ Deaftly, You truly are a tosser.

Do you actually go outside or do you just sit in your mom's basement trolling the comments on this site?

...get some sun on your skin mate, it might, you know, make you not a complete social reject.

Mana Knight
The reasons they cannot remove it is:
-Many games like DMC4, Lost Planet, Naruto: UNS, Warhawk, SOCOM, etc. REQUIRE a HDD. Patches to PS3 games can be as large as 800MB, so a HDD IS needed.

If you want to play those games then get a Hard Drive.
MS has certain games that need an HDD. It didn't stop them from selling a base model.

Prices are crashing this winter. I was just looking at a Jaguar XK8 2004 for $17,000. That's a $70,000+ car that has lost over 55,000 in value in 4 years. These cars were selling for $30000,-40,000 just last year.

I was looking at a 2001-2002. Now I'm ready to make my move. But I'm waiting because the economy is going to get worse. In a couple of months I'll be able to walk in and grab it for $14,000. The Ps3 will still be $400.

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail/photos/multiPhotoPopup.jsp?paId=293954826&tracktype=usedcc&isuper=true&aff=national#0

Not only was the business plan flawed there marketing plan may have been even worse.

Most people want to play games. I don't think I have ever used the DVD player on any gaming machine.

I would care less if my Atari would have given me an Am-Fm Radio.

I saw this post on another site and thought it made complete sense in understanding Sony's problem.

"They have made the classic real estate mistake. Don't embellish your home too far beyond the other homes in your neighborhood. you may have put $300k into your home you paid $100k for. but if all the other homes in your neighborhood are selling for $120k, you will NEVER sell yours for the $400k you need to recoup your investment."gstarr

They are in serious trouble.

They know the sweet spot for a system is $200.
If you price your system from $500-600 when did they ever think they would hit the sweet spot.