At a recent investor briefing, Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai (commonly known as “Kaz”) commented on Playstation Plus, stating that half of all PS4 owners have Playstation Plus, and that the total number of active users between the Sony Entertainment Network and Playstation Network is above 52 million worldwide. While that may sound like fantastic news for Sony, the reality is that the company is facing major financial trouble. In 2013, Sony lost $1.2 billion, that’s roughly the same amount that Nintendo lost this past year. Unfortunately, things aren’t going to look much better for 2014, according to Kaz. Hirai stated,
“As explained at last week’s earnings announcement, we recorded a substantial net loss for the 2013 fiscal year. Looking to fiscal 2014, due to the delayed recovery of our electronics business, and the continuation of our comprehensive restructuring program, we are again anticipating a net loss, of 50 billion yen. In particular the fact that we have recorded a net loss for two successive years is something I take very seriously, and being unable to meet the expectations our stakeholders is something I deeply regret.”
50 Billion yen, it doesn’t take a mathematician to see that’s a huge loss for Sony. Of course, the rise in Playstation Plus subscribers is nothing but good news, however, we’re still unsure how much of an impact that will have on Sony’s profits, if any at all. So it seems that although the Playstation department of Sony is doing very well, Sony Corporation as a whole seems to be struggling heavy with their various other products. Could the Playstation 4 alone save Sony? Probably not since Playstation is far from the only thing that Sony develops. What are you thoughts on the situation? What do you think Kaz and Sony need to do in order to turn the company around and start making profit? Let us know in the comments what you think.