Sony to Focus More on PlayStation, Less on Televisions and Mobile

It’s no secret that Sony has been struggling for nearly a decade. Thanks to mismanagement and miscalculations, Sony was unable to capitalize on the transition to LCD televisions and was equally late to mobile. In their most recent earnings guidance, Sony predicts that come March, the company’s mobile division will mount a $1.7 billion loss for the year. With television sales having reached a saturation point and 4K television sales though healthy, not enough to make up for an otherwise sluggish division, Sony knows that it can’t rely on mobile which was to be one of the three pillars that would help turn around the company. When even Samsung has seen their mobile division fall apart with sales declining by nearly 60% laster quarter, what can Sony do to compete and even thrive?

One word it seems. PlayStation.

Hiroki Totoki, Sony’s newly appointed mobile division chief recently told investors that

We’re not aiming for size or market share but better profits,

According to Totoki, Sony is going to focus less on mobile and televisions and more on PlayStation where the company has seen significant growth and momentum, thanks to PlayStation 4. Over the next three years, Sony will slash its mobile and television lineup to offer fewer products that can deliver greater profits

even if sales slide as much as 30 percent.

With less of a focus on marketshare and more on profits, Sony now hopes that PlayStation, along side their image sensor businesses will help the company pivot back to profitability. Under the new three year strategy, Sony hopes to boost sales of the PlayStation Division ‘by a quarter to as much as 1.6 trillion yen ($13.6 billion).’

If that projected increase wasn’t enough, Sony is even more bullish when it comes to their image sensor division where they believe sales could increase 70% to as much as 1.5 trillion yen ($12.7 billion). Sony image sensors have been utilized by a number of companies, including Apple since iPhone 4s. Sony saw its shares rise by 6% after this new initiative was revealed.

It’s worth noting that Sony isn’t looking to close down their television or mobile division and instead, streamline the number of products each division provides. Apple famously has a very slim line of products which are profitable with high sales figures. Sony on the other hand has more or less conceded that they will never be a larger player in TV or mobile but that at least they want the products they do sell to help boost the bottom line and not be a loss leader in hopes of increased revenue and down the line profitability.