Sony PlayStation Sales Slump OZ Profits Plunge 48%

As at April 2013 SCE reported that profits had fallen from
$3,516,000 to $1,743,000 a decline of $1.7M.

Documents lodged with the Australian Competition &
Consumer Commission reveals that Sony Computer Entertainment appears to have
not been subject to an Australian Tax Office transfer pricing probe that
resulted in Sony Australia being hit $53M in penalties and back taxes.

In Australia SEC executives are banking on sales of their
new PlayStation 4 to boost revenues however speculation is mounting that the
price of the new console could rise due a falling Australia dollar. In the USA
Sony said that their new PlayStation 4 will be $399 price, compared with $499
for the Xbox.

Analysts claim that Sony’s strategy to shield its
PlayStation game unit from a strengthening yen is backfiring as the currency
heads in the other direction this year, leading to losses ahead of the new
console being launched in November due to rising component costs.

“It’s going to be tough for Sony’s game business this fiscal
year if the yen continues to get weaker, Hideki Yasuda, an analyst at Ace
Research Institute in Tokyo told Bloomberg. 
“Selling fewer PS4s this fiscal year would mess up its plan for the
coming five years.”

Sony Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai is banking on
turning around Sony’s struggling electronics business off the back of the PlayStation
4 launch.

The PlayStation 4 is a crucial element in Hirai’s plan to
revive Sony, which lost its lead in video games in the last generation of
consoles. The new player has drawn attention from billionaire investor Daniel
Loeb, who has unsuccessfully sought a partial sale of the company’s
entertainment unit Bloomberg said.

Earlier this month Sony reported that their game unit posted
an operating loss of $149 million in the quarter ended June 30, Sony said.
Revenue, including inter-segment revenue, was little changed at $1.19 billion.