The power of the Playstation brand? A myth*. Nintendo and it’s “GameCube 2.0” have eaten the monolithic heat sink for breakfast, and then some, said a bunch of analysts contacted by Bloomberg.
Losses from games probably drove net income down to 84.1 billion yen ($691 million) in the three months ended Dec. 31, from a record 168.9 billion yen a year earlier, according to the median estimate of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Sales at Tokyo-based Sony, which reports earnings tomorrow, probably rose 9.6 percent to 3 trillion yen.
The results may highlight Chief Executive Officer Howard Stringer’s failure to fend off Nintendo, whose $250 Wii console outsells the PlayStation 3 by two-to-one. Sony may still exceed its full-year profit target because of a weaker yen, sales of Bravia televisions and growth at its movie unit.
Yeah, yeah, I know. “It’s still early.”
* According to me, and only me.