Michael Pachter told GamesIndustry.biz that Sony's inclusion of Cell and a Blu-ray drive in the PLAYSTATION 3 may have been "overly ambitious" and says that consumers are "balking" at the machine's high price. Balking? He must be referring to dropping sales of the PS3, which sold just 82,000 consoles in April according to NPD sales data released yesterday and the downward trend in weekly Japanese sales. The fix? Price drop! Pachter told GI "It's more likely than not that they will break with tradition and cut prices below manufacturing costs." Lordy. All this talk of gloom, doom and price drops. Can Sony get enough of the games shown at this week's Gamers Day and find room financially for a price drop before the console reaper takes it to videogame heaven? Wait a second, Pachter, weren't you just pegging the PS3 to be the "dominant console" based on the inclusion of a Blu-ray drive? My head is spinning!
Comments (1) | Permalink

Also: 15 of the PS3 titles will be exclusive. PSP redesign is expected later this year, and a video download service will be made available for PSP. PSN has 1.5 million users, with 6 million content downloads to date.
Comments (1) | Permalink

Sony has also issued their official statement in regards to this month's NPD sales, which saw PlayStation 3 sales dip about 37%, down to an all-time ebb of just 82,000 units.
Comments (1) | Permalink

A Full Transcript of Sony's 4th Quarter Fiscal Year 2006 (Qtr End 3/31/07) Earnings Conference Call.
Comments (0) | Permalink

Sony is to partner with semiconductor manufacturer Infineon Technologies subsidiary Qimonda in a new Tokyo based venture meant to reduce development and manufacturing costs in its consumer electronics division, improving the profitability of the PS3 and other products. "This allows Sony to cut costs in chip development," quotes Bloomberg of analyst Naoki Fujiwara. "It is also good for Sony to expand [its number of chip suppliers]".
Comments (0) | Permalink

Following the departure of Sony PR head Dave Karraker, the company has announced that former Sega marketing VP Scott Steinberg will be taking up the newly created role of its North American product marketing vice president.
Comments (0) | Permalink

In addition to a English Dolby TrueHD track, which Sony has already introduced on a couple of notable previous Blu-ray releases
Comments (1) | Permalink

Big news for SONY as one of the major consumer rental companies declares that they will not be renting HD DVD and will be exclusively Blu-ray.
Comments (3) | Permalink

As many as 100 employees were laid off in Sony Computer Entertainment of America's headquarters in Foster City. According to SCEA spokesman Dave Karakker, this was done "[i]n an effort to accurately align the company to meet the changing needs of our consumers and of our industry." This was preceded last month by the company's European counterpart's own massive layoffs.
Comments (1) | Permalink

This feature analysis and talks about the recent release of Sony's fiscal year 2006 financial report that shows large losses int he video games division. It talks a bit about how Sony plans its consoles for the next ten years, so looking at losses now should not be taken at face value.
Comments (1) | Permalink