Strong sales of the PlayStation 4 have helped Sony reach a better-than-expected profit during the quarter ending 30th June 2014, the company reported today.
Sony's Game and Network Services division--of which PlayStation is a part--posted a profit of 4.3 billion yen ($41.8m, £24.7m), compared with a loss of 16.4 billion yen a year earlier. That's an impressive 96 per cent increase on the same period last year.
Overall, net profit was 25.7bn yen ($249.8m, £148m), up from 3.1bn yen a year ago.
Sony attributed its successful financials to strong sales of the PS4, as well as a "significant increase" in network services revenues (which includes PlayStation Plus). Sony Pictures also helped boost the financials, posting a profit of 7.8 billion yen ($75.9m, £44.9m) compared with earnings of 3.7 ($35.9m, £21.3m) billion yen a year earlier.
While Sony didn't break out individual sales figures for its consoles, combined, 3.5m PS3s and PS4s were shipped during the quarter. This compares favourably to the 1.1m combined Xbox One and Xbox 360 units Microsoft shipped during the same quarter.
Combined, the PSP, PS TV, and Vita shipped 750,000 units, which is up on the 600,000 reported last year. 85m games were sold during the quarter, up from 68m.
Despite all the good news, Sony still expects to post a net loss of 50bn yen ($486, £287.5m) for the financial year through March 2015.
What does one do to complain about the lack of truly insightful articles regarding the PS4 available for public consumption? Take to your Twitter account to protest, of course!
And thats exactly what led Motoi Okamoto, a former director at Nintendo and current CEO and founder of Entersphere Co., Ltd., to go on a short Twitter rant over the span of about eight minutes.
"With the recent uproar over network stability due to the hiccups when the Destiny beta launched, the PSLS staff weighs in with their thoughts on the current state of the PSN, and one of us even digs to the more technical side of things." - PSLS
Playstation Blog: I love great video game stories. Today, the narrative potential of our medium has never been greater. The best video games blend world-class acting, writing, music and gameplay to create art that rivals the best works in other entertainment mediums.
To celebrate that point, Im excited to announce an experimental project Ive been working on with Naughty Dog and PlayStation.
**Update: Tickets to attend the show in person have sold out. Thanks for your enthusiasm! That doesnt mean you cant watch though tune in July 28th on Twitch, YouTube, or PSNs Live Event Viewer to be a part of this one-time-only event.
WCCF: Here is something you have probably never seen before. The PS4's GPU pit against the Xbox One GPU (with and without eSRAM) and bench marked. We have also thrown in Next Generation Consoles Vs. PC benchmarks too.
Sony has revealed two special edition PlayStation 4 consoles that will be available for purchase in Japan. The first is a Destiny-branded machine that looks a lot like the white one we're getting in the west; however, the game's logo is actually slapped onto the top of the console itself.
PSLS - With only a day to go before the Destiny beta kicks off, the Bad Gamers crew of Dan and Chandler announce a Destiny beta code giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is send in some hate mail, yes hate mail. The funniest few entries we will win a code, so make sure to enter soon, as the beta starts tomorrow. On top of that, your hosts also discuss season one of The Wolf Among Us in a very spoiler filled discussion, so make sure to tune in.
PSLS - With only a day to go before the Destiny beta kicks off, the Bad Gamers crew of Dan and Chandler announce a Destiny beta code giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is send in some hate mail, yes hate mail. The funniest few entries we will win a code, so make sure to enter soon, as the beta starts tomorrow. On top of that, your hosts also discuss season one of The Wolf Among Us in a very spoiler filled discussion, so make sure to tune in.
Sony has revealed two special edition PlayStation 4 consoles that will be available for purchase in Japan. The first is a Destiny-branded machine that looks a lot like the white one we're getting in the west; however, the game's logo is actually slapped onto the top of the console itself.
