Sony: Game Biz To Be Profitable By 2011

Sony's games business still faces losses, but Sony Corp CEO Howard Stringer says the company's restructuring is progressing well -- and that the segment of its business that houses the PlayStation 3 should achieve profitability by March 2011. "Our work is already bearing fruit," said Stringer, discussing the company's turnaround strategy in Tokyo, according to the Associated Press. In the last fiscal year, Sony as a whole reported a ¥98.9 billion ($1.1 billion) loss -- its first in 14 years, and the second loss ever in its existence. Improving sales and aggressive restructuring contributed to the company's narrower-than-expected loss of ¥26.3 billion yen ($289 million) in its July-September quarter. But the company is projecting a ¥95 billion ($1 billion) loss for the current fiscal year ending in March 2010 -- "We still have more work to do," Stringer said today. But he says Sony is ahead of schedule on its restructuring, saving ¥500 billion ($5.6 billion) in procurement costs and cutting 12 percent of its total workforce, or 19,500 jobs, over the last year -- more than the company initially announced when it revealed the extent of its anticipated losses close to the end of its last fiscal year. Part of the presentation included more information on the 'Sony Online Service' (working name), which is intended to use PlayStation Network as its base and encompass games, video, music, and ebooks across all Sony devices, from TVs to game consoles and far beyond. Company executive VP Kaz Hirai also demonstrated the company's Amazon Kindle-like e-reader and its PS3 motion control wand as examples of its new initiatives.