Joystiq

Sony's Q1 2012 results are grim, as gaming division loses $45 million

Ben Gilbert — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 09:15:00 EST

Sony's downward slide continues in the latest financial report from the Japanese multimedia company. A $312 million loss was recorded in Q1 2012 (April 1 - June 30, 2012) across many of Sony's divisions - music, film, televisions, mobile, cameras, and gaming - with only cameras and music pulling in any profit.

But hey, you don't care about cameras and TVs and stuff, right? Sony's gaming division incurred a $45 million loss - Vita's lackluster first year sales apparently weren't enough to counterbalance falling PlayStation 3 and PSP sales.

Worse, Sony doesn't see things looking up anytime soon, adjusting its fiscal year outlook downward due to an expected "severe operating environment," financially. "We have downwardly revised our consolidated results forecast for the current fiscal year, anticipating a severe operating environment from the second quarter onward resulting from uncertain foreign exchange rates and trends in the global economy."

Sony's Q1 2012 results are grim, as gaming division loses $45 million originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 02 Aug 2012 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Disney's Interactive Media division reduces losses in Q3

Mike Schramm — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 21:30:00 EST

Disney's studio shutdowns may have had at least some of the desired effect: The Disney Interactive Media Group reports that the third quarter has brought decreased losses for the division year-over-year. The group remains the only division in the company operating at a loss, but revenues increased (thanks to Lego Pirates of the Carribbean and Cars 2, according to the studio) and losses decreased to $86 million a year.

Disney still blames most of the losses on the acquisition of social developer Playdom last year, but good news is good news. Hopefully this means an end to all of the layoffs around the division.

Disney's Interactive Media division reduces losses in Q3 originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 10 Aug 2011 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ubisoft's first half 2010 financials show improvement, still in the red

Ben Gilbert — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 12:44:00 EST

The first half of Ubisoft's 2010-11 fiscal year (from April 1, 2010 through September 30, 2010) showed positive growth comparatively with the company's fiscal first half of 2009-10, with sales up 57 percent to €260 million ($354.25 million) over last year. Despite the increased sales, the French publisher still spent the first six months of fiscal 2010 losing money -- €89.8 million ($122.08 million) in total.

Accounting for an enormous chunk of the company's first-half loss was "studios' roles and operations reorganization," which we take to mean "we've been building and staffing up our new studio, Ubisoft Toronto." The recent closure of Ubisoft Brazil assuredly helped mitigate the expense of creating a new base of operation, though apparently not enough to keep Ubi in the black.

Also to blame: Tom Clancy's HAWX 2 and Ruse both performed below the publisher's expectations, in addition to "higher R&D [research and development] than expected." CEO Yves Guillemot also explained, "The market environment continues to be tough and, although our gross profit rose sharply, the increase was lower than we expected and we had to accelerate depreciations on certain released titles." But with Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Just Dance 2, and Michael Jackson: The Experience all scheduled for launch in the third quarter of Ubi's fiscal year, the publisher is confident that Q3 will be profitable.

Ubisoft's first half 2010 financials show improvement, still in the red originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 15 Nov 2010 12:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SouthPeak says CDV dispute is resolved, wasn't cheap

Mike Schramm — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 02:00:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

SouthPeak Games CEO Melanie Mroz told investors this week that the ongoing legal argument between her company and distributor CDV has been resolved, and while full terms of the agreement weren't released, SouthPeak attributes a solid chunk of its $5.8 million in losses to the legal issues. Mroz says "the litigation costs of $3.2 and 3 million" that the company had to pay "were mainly related to CDV."

Next up, the company wants to "put these matters behind us and continue to focus on our business and future growth," but not without My Baby. SouthPeak is still embroiled in the fight over that title with Nobilis and Majesco. Chairman Terry Phillips says that SouthPeak feels the My Baby title "is our series, so we're still hoping that that can happen."

SouthPeak says CDV dispute is resolved, wasn't cheap originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 15 Oct 2010 02:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tecmo Koei lowers profit forecast after Q3 losses

JC Fletcher — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 06:00:00 EST

Tecmo Koei has announced that it's lowering its annual operating profit forecast (essentially its guess for how much profit it will bring in before taxes) by a painful 95%. In addition, stock fell 9.5% to 630 yen ($7).

This comes after the announcement of disappointing third-quarter losses (PDF link) totaling 1.842 billion yen ($20.4 million), and after the announcement that two high-profile games, Quantum Theory and Trinity: Zill O'll Zero, have been delayed, thus eliminating whatever they would have contributed to the current fiscal year. Now it's all up to Dead or Alive: Paradise and the Western releases of Monster Rancher DS and Again.

Source [PDF]

Tecmo Koei lowers profit forecast after Q3 losses originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Losses, layoffs in EA's Q2 earnings report

JC Fletcher — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:50:00 EST

EA announced a net loss of $391 million in its Q2 2010, which ended September 2009. The losses have increased from last year's $310 million. In addition, sales, at $788 million, are down $106 million in Q2 2010 from the same period last year. EA CEO John Riccitiello remains positive about EA's outlook, explaining, "EA is performing well, with quality, sales and segment share up so far this year." CFO Eric Brown echoed Riccitiello with his own confusingly half-upbeat statement, saying "We met our second quarter expectations and delivered a record quarter for revenue. Today we are announcing a significant cut in our operating expenses and the acquisition of a leader in social games, Playfish."

Those cuts, revealed earlier today, will result in the loss of around 1,500 jobs by March 31, 2010. Last year's restructuring planned only 1,000 layoffs. EA estimates that the restructuring plan will save around $100 million after about $130 - 150 million of restructuring costs. We hope that, this time, the company arrives at a structure that works.

Losses, layoffs in EA's Q2 earnings report originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PS3 has lost Sony $4.7 billion, may be profitable next year

Griffin McElroy — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:15:00 EST

First the bad news: Sony's recently released FY Q2 2009 financial report included some pretty upsetting figures for investors to witness -- namely, that the company's "Networked Products and Services" division, which includes video game hardware and software sales, reported a ¥58.8 billion (or $654 million) operating loss during the quarter. The drop off was attributed to "a decrease in PS2 hardware and software unit sales, and the impact of the appreciation of the yen." Indeed, the PS2 took a hit this quarter to the tune of 600,000 units year-over year.

Now, the worse news: The financial report included enough data for various GAFers and VG247ers to slap a number on the amount of money that the PS3 has lost Sony: $4.695 billion. Sure, that number seems outrageously high -- because, well, it is -- but it's hardly an apocalyptic loss. Actually, it's reminiscent of losses incurred by Microsoft with the release of the original Xbox, which drained the company of $4.202 billion over a similar four-year period.

Finally, the good news: Shortly after the financial report was published, Sony CFO Nobuyuki Oneda claimed the PS3 was getting cheaper to produce, stating, "the difference between sales and materials cost has been reduced to between 10 and 20%. Within the year, it could be in the single digits." He later added, "we'll be able to reach profitability at some point in the next term." Considering PS3 sales jumped 800,000 year-over-year with the launch of the Slim, we've got a bit of advice to aid in this endeavor: Keep making it skinnier.

PS3 has lost Sony $4.7 billion, may be profitable next year originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SouthPeak doubles game sales in 2009 amid dropping profits

Ben Gilbert — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:30:00 EST

Though SouthPeak is keen to point out that its net revenues rose from last year by $7.2 million, the company's profits for the year remain firmly in the red, with a $12.1 million posted loss for the 2009 fiscal year ending June 30. SouthPeak's loss report comes confusingly paired with a 100% increase in units sold from fiscal year 2008 (from 1.2 to 2.4 million units) -- 2009's posted $12.1 net loss gets explained away by "approximately $12.5 million invested in game development and intellectual property for future title releases," among other things.

The report also allows "$1.6 million of expenses relating to the Gamecock acquisition," hopefully some of which went to paying Gamecock debt now owed by SouthPeak -- this on top of another $4.6 million or so for "charges relating to write-downs on software values and sequel right values to certain titles." Unsurprisingly, the publisher hopes that upcoming titles Two Worlds 2 and My Baby: First Steps, as well as a "highly-anticipated sequel to Dementium," will bolster its next fiscal year. We're just hoping the games the company does sell will actually garner some profit this time around.

SouthPeak doubles game sales in 2009 amid dropping profits originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony reveals restructuring plans to retaliate against massive losses

Joystiq Staff — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 08:35:00 EST

Filed under: News

Sony has stated (via Reuters) that it expects losses from its entire corporation to equal around 260 billion yen for the fiscal year ending March 2009. According to GI.biz, the games division is expected to post increased losses of 30 billion yen ($337 million), though there's no mention of what that's an increase from.. This is in stark contrast to last fiscal year, where Sony posted a profit of 369.4 billion yen. Of course, the economic downturn is predominantly blamed. As a result Sony has revealed accelerated restructuring plans for the remainder of the fiscal year.

According to Reuters Sony plans on cutting costs by 250 billion yen by the end of March by consolidating all TV design and production into a single factory, closing another. There will also be a 30% headcount reduction within the TV division. LCD TVs and batteries will be consolidated and managers and directors will receive a paycut. Overall it looks like the games division has remained largely unscathed. Hopefully the measures that are taken prove effective and Sony ends up posting a profit for FY 2009.

Sony reveals restructuring plans to retaliate against massive losses originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 22 Jan 2009 08:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony reveals restructuring plans to retaliate against massive losses

Jem Alexander — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 08:30:00 EST

Filed under: Business, News

Sony has stated (via Reuters) that it expects losses from its entire corporation to equal around 260 billion yen for the fiscal year ending March 2009. According to GI.biz, the games division is expected to post increased losses of 30 billion yen ($337 million), though there's no mention of what that's an increase from. This is in stark contrast to last fiscal year, where Sony posted a profit of 369.4 billion yen. Of course, the economic downturn is predominantly blamed. As a result Sony has revealed accelerated restructuring plans for the remainder of the fiscal year.

According to Reuters Sony plans on cutting costs by 250 billion yen by the end of March by consolidating all TV design and production into a single factory, closing another. There will also be a 30% headcount reduction within the TV division. LCD TVs and batteries will be consolidated and managers and directors will receive a paycut. Overall it looks like the games division has remained largely unscathed. Hopefully the measures that are taken prove effective and Sony ends up posting a profit for FY 2009.

Sony reveals restructuring plans to retaliate against massive losses originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 22 Jan 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sega Sammy losses bring layoffs, arcade closings

Kyle Orland — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 10:40:00 EST

Filed under: Arcade, Retro, Business, Casual

Life comes at you fast if you're Sega Sammy. Just a couple of years after increased profits had the company rolling in money, the company today announced that it plans to lose a whopping 26 billion yen (approx. $230 million) this fiscal year. Compared to the previous projection of a billion yen profit for the year, the turnaround comes as a bit of a shock.

The main culprit behind the downturn seems to be the pachinko side of the business, which saw a predicted 85 percent fall in profits, and arcade sales, which switched from a slight profit last year to a 11.4 billion yen loss this year (damn that popular Wii).

To staunch the bleeding, the company will be offering early retirement to 400 employees and closing 110 unprofitable amusement parks and arcades around Japan. Hard to believe the previous incarnation of this company once held the lion's share of the home video game market.

Sega Sammy losses bring layoffs, arcade closings originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 08 Feb 2008 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Xbox 360 still bumming cash from Microsoft

Justin McElroy — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 10:24:00 EST

Filed under: PC, Microsoft Xbox 360, Business

Further cementing its image as Microsoft's loser brother who just needs a few bucks until "the band really takes off," the Entertainment and Devices Division of the company lost $315 million in the third fiscal quarter. Meanwhile, Microsoft's overall earnings rocketed up to $14.4 billion, a 32 percent jump from last year, thanks to the release of Vista.

Revenue for the EDD (Zune, Xbox 360, PC gaming, etc.) also took a hit, dropping from $1.2 billion this same time last year to $929 million, a 22 percent change. Microsoft blames the loss on lower Xbox 360 sales, which seems pretty logical, seeing as the console has some new competition this year. They estimate shipments of 500,000 consoles this quarter, compared with 1.7 million in Q3 2006. Revenue in games also dropped on the PC and 360 by 44 percent, or around $393 million.

On the plus side, EDD losses were an improvement from $402 million last year, which is sort of like earning $87 million! Or at least that's what EDD tells Mrs. Microsoft as she stands in the living room just out of the children's sight, nervously watching her husband peel off $20s. "I just need something to get me through the weekend. I'm seeing a new girl and I just want to show her a good time," EDD says, the faintest hint of whiskey on his breath. "I swear, Angela, I'm going to be profitable in fiscal '08, you'll see, you'll all see!"

Read -- Microsoft Reports Record Profits (press release)
Read -- Q3 Revenue at Xbox Division Falls on Slow 360 Sales (GameDaily BIZ)

Xbox 360 still bumming cash from Microsoft originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 27 Apr 2007 10:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Analysis: Sony losing $240+ on every PS3

Kyle Orland — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 16:55:00 EST

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Business

Market research firm iSuppli has determined that Sony will lose about $240 on every 60GB PS3 and roughly $305 on every 20GB system they sell at launch. The determination comes from iSuppli's cost analysis of the parts inside the system -- which includes a $125 Blu-Ray drive and a $129 Nvidia "Reality Synthesizer" -- and does not include additional costs from packaging, cables or the SixAxis controller.

The finding puts Sony in stark contrast with Nintendo, who said their Wii console would be profitable at launch, and Microsoft, which iSuppli determined is now making roughly $75 in profit for every Xbox 360 premium pack it sells.

While the report reveals that Sony is charging a more than fair price for what iSuppli calls an "engineering masterpiece," we have to wonder how long it will take for game and download sales to make the system even reach the break-even point financially.

[Via GameDaily]

Analysis: Sony losing $240+ on every PS3 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 16 Nov 2006 16:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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