Topic: Sony axes 16,000 jobs and shuts down plants

[NWR_Lindy]

Sony's core market is televisions - not exactly the most recession-proof device.

[BranDonk Kong]

I have an idea. Make a console that MAKES PROFIT.

But that would mean stripping out Blu-ray and HD, and Sony's out of touch hot-shot executives have egos that are too big to let those things go.

BluRay and HD-capable GPUs are pocket change nowadays (seriously, PC BD-ROMs can be bought for like $90 now, and there's still profit being made) - the high cost comes from the Cell processor.

[Kairon]

I... THINK... that Sony's game business is not in dire straits right now. Like the report said, it's their home electronics business.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

GO SAMSUNG

[stevey]

Every time when a sony employee is fired, an angle gets it wings!

[Chozo Ghost]

BluRay and HD-capable GPUs are pocket change nowadays (seriously, PC BD-ROMs can be bought for like $90 now, and there's still profit being made) - the high cost comes from the Cell processor.

$90 dollars for a drive is still a LOT. In comparison, a DVD drive probably costs $10-15 to produce. So just the drive alone on a PS3 is about $100.. that's just one component of many.

[Kairon]

GO SAMSUNG

I'm a Panasonic man myself.

[GoldenPhoenix]

I... THINK... that Sony's game business is not in dire straits right now. Like the report said, it's their home electronics business.

I don't think their gaming devision is healthy though. They still are in the hole with PS3. My guess is they are still losing a big chunk of cash on each unit sold with their drastic price slashing.

[Chozo Ghost]

Whether the PS3 is profitable or not is probably a difficult question to answer, because one cannot judge its profitability on sales figures alone. What I mean is, if it weren't for the PS3 then HD-DVD would probably have won the format war, and that would have probably cost Sony a lot more money than whatever they're going through now, but I could be very wrong on that...

Point is, even if the PS3 is never profitable for its own sake, it could still probably be thanked for making Blu-ray a "success".

[KDR_11k]

BluRay and HD-capable GPUs are pocket change nowadays (seriously, PC BD-ROMs can be bought for like $90 now, and there's still profit being made) - the high cost comes from the Cell processor.

Chips go down in cost fairly quickly once you hit mass production since they don't involve many exotic components like blue lasers or special motor assemplies.

[Plugabugz]

Sony are to increase the wholesale price, but play.com (i believe) have said the retail price won't increase.

I can't speak for outside the UK though..

[EasyCure]

GO SAMSUNG

I'm a Panasonic man myself.

Word. I've never had a Panasonic device fail me.

[oohhboy]

GO SAMSUNG

I'm a Panasonic man myself.

Word. I've never had a Panasonic device fail me.

Thirding that. Although I have a Sony TV now (I got it on really special special), Panasonic any other day. Having sold TVs and the like, Sony had always been over price here compared to the competition. Toshiba has some excellent LCDs for cheaper that most while maintaining quality. Panasonic is where it's at with the really large stuff which is 42inch or greater with their plasmas. However last I checked, Panasonic was still some what behind on LCD since they invested more in plasmas, but that might have changed a lot since I was last in the scene.

[Spak-Spang]

I feel very bad for all the people that will be losing their jobs.  Despite whether we like a company or not we should not celebrate people losing their jobs.

However, I can't believe Sony believes that in a time of economic struggle that raising the prices is the answer to increase sales and revenue.  Because right now, that is exactly what consumers and electronic stores need.  (Higher Prices and lower profit margins on sales.)

[EasyCure]

I feel very bad for all the people that will be losing their jobs.  Despite whether we like a company or not we should not celebrate people losing their jobs.

However, I can't believe Sony believes that in a time of economic struggle that raising the prices is the answer to increase sales and revenue.  Because right now, that is exactly what consumers and electronic stores need.  (Higher Prices and lower profit margins on sales.)

I don't think anyone was celebrating that, we just didn't acknowledge it (because its a downer)

I do agree with your second point though.

[vudu]

I don't really follow electronics outside videogames...Has there been a specific set of products that Sony has generally dominated?

Sony's core market is televisions - not exactly the most recession-proof device.

What Lindy said.  Additionally, they totally missed the boat on the portable mp3 player. 

Moreso, while most non-PS2 Sony products are very well designed and tend to hold up very well, they're over-priced.  Fifteen years ago Sony made products of much higher quality and they demanded a premium price for them.  Today, competitors have caught up on the quality (and even surpassed it in some cases) but Sony still tries to charge a premium price for products that are no longer considered premium.

[EasyCure]

I don't really follow electronics outside videogames...Has there been a specific set of products that Sony has generally dominated?

Sony's core market is televisions - not exactly the most recession-proof device.

What Lindy said.  Additionally, they totally missed the boat on the portable mp3 player. 

Moreso, while most non-PS2 Sony products are very well designed and tend to hold up very well, they're over-priced.  Fifteen years ago Sony made products of much higher quality and they demanded a premium price for them.  Today, competitors have caught up on the quality (and even surpassed it in some cases) but Sony still tries to charge a premium price for products that are no longer considered premium.

I've had bad luck with Sony products then, because nothing ever held up (thought they were usually nicely designed as long as we're speaking in terms of looks).

CD Players (portable) would get sticky buttons and eventually stop working, headphones would blow out constantly or get damaged easily. The one Sony tv my family ever had crapped out on us. The old VCR was **** too. When the first reports of PS2s failing came out, it was no surprise to me.

[vudu]

Up until last month I was using a 12-year old Sony TV that still worked perfectly.  I just replaced it with a 4-year old Sony TV that also still works perfectly.

[UltimatePartyBear]

Moreso, while most non-PS2 Sony products are very well designed and tend to hold up very well, they're over-priced.  Fifteen years ago Sony made products of much higher quality and they demanded a premium price for them.  Today, competitors have caught up on the quality (and even surpassed it in some cases) but Sony still tries to charge a premium price for products that are no longer considered premium.

I've had bad luck with Sony products then, because nothing ever held up (thought they were usually nicely designed as long as we're speaking in terms of looks).

CD Players (portable) would get sticky buttons and eventually stop working, headphones would blow out constantly or get damaged easily. The one Sony tv my family ever had crapped out on us. The old VCR was **** too. When the first reports of PS2s failing came out, it was no surprise to me.

Sony was once known for quality electronics, but they sacrificed their reputation to get costs down enough to appeal to less affluent customers.  Any Sony product with moving parts became a ticking time bomb of failure.  Sony only really remained a leader in the display market, but they also still charged a premium in that market (actually, they still made solid stuff in all categories at premium prices).  The march of progress solved most of the quality problems, but it also brought all the competitors' quality up, too, so Sony squandered the power of their brand name for nothing.

Of course, there's more to it than that.  The other big problem Sony has is that it's also a content owner, and that side of the business puts pressure on the electronics half that compromises everything they do.  If you'll forgive the buzzword, it is the exact opposite of synergy.  For example, it prevented Sony from protecting the portable music market it basically started with the Walkman from the iPod.  More recently, it saddled the PS3 with Blu-ray.

[ThePerm]

i don't think sony is going the way of acclaim, i think they will bounce back. I like Blue-Ray although i know one day some solid state technology related to sd cards will **** Blue-Ray over, but until that time i will continue to buy moviesl ike the dark knight on blue ray.

[GoldenPhoenix]

i don't think sony is going the way of acclaim, i think they will bounce back. I like Blue-Ray although i know one day some solid state technology related to sd cards will **** Blue-Ray over, but until that time i will continue to buy moviesl ike the dark knight on blue ray.

Yeah I like my blu-ray player, I mean blu-ray player that happens to play games (aka the PS3). In fact I have a pretty big collection now and I like how durable the disks are.

[NWR_Lindy]

I don't touch Sony TVs these days.  If I'm buying a Plasma I'm buying Panasonic, and if I'm buying LCD I'm buying Samsung.  Sony's equipment has been overpriced for a LONG time, and their build quality isn't even that great any more.  Ironically, for all of the sh*t the PS3 gets, it's one of the best pieces of hardware that Sony has ever produced in terms of its build quality and capabilities.

Whether it's losing money or not, the Playstation brand and the PS3 is the best thing that Sony has going right now.  It's the one area of their business that still creates a buzz.  Nobody cares about their TVs any more, the Walkman brand is dead, and Blu-Ray generally gets a big shrug of the shoulders from most people.

[vudu]

I care about their TVs.  Then again, I get them for free. 

[Kairon]

Man, Sony WAS great back in the day though. My family used to have a Sony TV from like the '80s... thing lasted like, TWENTY YEARS before it finally broke. *sniff* Sony Trinitron, rest in peace old buddy.

[NWR_Lindy]

The 80's were Sony's golden years for sure.  Their build quality was off the charts and their stuff was reasonably priced.