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Sony Triples PlayStation 4 Profit, Struggles In Mobile

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Sony's financial report for Q1 2015 (which ended June 30) revealed a healthy $780 million profit for the company, which is 39 percent more than it was the same quarter last year.

The big surprise was the PlayStation 4 division, which managed to increase its profit by 350 percent; that's more than triple last year's profit for Q1 2014. The company's revenue for the last quarter was $14.8 billion, which is 0.1 percent less year over year.

The company showed strong growth in its gaming, image sensor and music businesses. Sony’s Game & Network services, which includes the PS4, saw $2.3 billion in revenue with a much-increased $160 million in profit, compared to the same quarter last year. Sony claimed that this is due mainly to PS4 software and peripheral sales, as well as a reduced cost of production for PS4 units.

The PlayStation 4 sales have also passed 25 million, which is significantly more than what both the Xbox One (13 million) and the Wii U (10 million) have managed so far, making the PS4 the uncontested leader in the console market.

The company's revenue in mobile fell 16.3 percent year over year, down to $2.3 billion. Sony said that this is mainly due to the company's efforts to increase profitability by reducing the number of smartphone models it sells.

Sony may prefer to focus on fewer and higher-end models, but so far it hasn't been doing that too well, either. For instance, the company's latest flagship smartphone, the Xperia Z3+, has little changed compared to last year's Xperia Z3.

This sort of strategy will inevitably lead to fewer sales and likely less profit if the company ultimately decides to cut its prices to sell more units. At a time when devices such as the OnePlus 2 and the new Moto X series are available with great specs for significantly less money than what a Sony flagship costs, selling a rehashed version of last year's high-end model for similar pricing is not going to do well in the market.

Sony's TV and home AV business saw a 13.8 percent decrease in revenue as well, which the company blamed on poorer performance of mid-range LCDs and a contraction in the market.

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Lucian Armasu
Lucian Armasu
Lucian Armasu is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He covers software news and the issues surrounding privacy and security.
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7 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Xc311
    there is a rumor that depending on its tvs sells this year 2015 sony may and may not sell its bravia tv division
    as they did with vaio ... a sony rep in sony world said that ....
    Reply
  • spentshells
    Strangely I love their phones. I prefer them to samsung and apple. I however can not afford the high end models thus my last Sony phone was an xperia play which was an amazing lil piece of hardware.
    Reply
  • Rogue Leader
    Strangely I love their phones. I prefer them to samsung and apple. I however can not afford the high end models thus my last Sony phone was an xperia play which was an amazing lil piece of hardware.

    I have to agree, I had an Xperia Play and it was awesome. Just got an unlocked Xperia Z3 and it is unbelievable. I compared it to my brother in laws S6 and its faster, thinner, awesome battery (2 days!), great features, waterproof too!
    Reply
  • jrharbort
    As an owner of an Xperia Z3 compact, I can safely say that Sony's biggest mistake in mobile is their lack of marketing. Almost uncontested battery life, water proof, front-facing stereo speakers, great camera, etc... All in a package that very comfortably fits in one hand or your pocket. They've also already pushed out a 5.1.1 update for it. I wish more people knew how great these phones were.
    Reply
  • Nashten
    I got an Xperia Z3 the other day as an upgrade from my Nexus 5. While I do love the pure Android experience, the Xperia Z3 is incredible. The battery life is phenomenal as well. And my friend of whom I go hiking with a lot was jealous of it being water proof as I took a video of a creek by submerging it in. :P

    I do quote someone though: "Wait, Sony makes phones like that?" They really don't advertise their phones much indeed.

    Very happy thus far.
    Reply
  • MidnightDistort
    Would love to get a Sony smartphone, would prefer this over Samsung or iPhones.. but i'm on a strict budget and i really only use my phone for internet, calls and texts. I'm also using Virgin Mobile where i only have to pay $35 a month and if i don't have the money i can delay the payments. I have been saving up for a PS4 though (haha sort of lol), but i'll need to get a new ethernet router.. ugh.. otherwise i'll have to swap through my PC and PS4 if i want to be online.
    Reply
  • Dagstar
    As an owner of an Xperia Z3 compact, I can safely say that Sony's biggest mistake in mobile is their lack of marketing.
    I totally agree with this statement. I can't remember the last time I saw a Sony phone commercial yet within an hours worth of tv at anytime you're almost guaranteed to see multiple spots from Apple and Samsung. Hard to compete when few know you're playing.
    Reply