Sony to raise $2.9B for electronics and gaming divisions
By Nilay Patel 
posted September 5th 2007 11:31PM
posted September 5th 2007 11:31PM
War ain't cheap, kids -- just take it from Sony, which is currently duking it out on both the PS3 and Blu-ray fronts. According to Bloomberg, the company is organizing a ¥332B ($2.9B) IPO of its insurance unit, and plans to funnel the cash back into its electronics and gaming divisions, which have been doing well, but not exactly blowing the competition out of the water. Pretty stuffed-shirt news, to be sure, but we're certain the Sony fanboys in the house can spin this into something bigger -- 3D Blu-ray license, perhaps?
"3D Blu-ray license, perhaps?"
I guess that would be Blu-Ray Profile 3.0?
sorry sir, Sony insurance does not cover rootkit damage.
oh snap!
Totally LOL'd at that
I had no idea Engadget was so anti Sony..? I know most readers are xbots but damn..
"we're certain the Sony fanboys in the house can spin this into something bigger"
How professional..
Maybe there's a reason. Maybe it's not that we like other companies as we don't like Sony. Maybe you should look at commenter number 2 for further guidance.
Engadget has to write to their readers, most of whom love snide wise-cracks. They do they same to Apple and Microsoft. And most others.
@ Martin
Classic idiotic response. Bring something or don't bother posting.
@ Van Daniel
While true, this seems a bit out of line. In the end the joke will be on the haters.
Bring something? What wasn't clear about my post? Here I'll make it a little clearer for you.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Sony_BMG_CD_copy_protection_scandal
http://www.betanews.com/article/Sony_President_Rootkit_of_No_Concern/1131475197
Then add in all the links from the battery problems and the PS3 stuff. Mix for about 30 seconds, or in your case about an hour.
Then try telling me I'm an idiot.
Let me ask you this, how much is Sony paying you?
@ Martin
Now both posts you've made here have nothing to do with the topic at hand. I didn't think I'd need to spell it out for you.. How much is Sony paying me? Oh please.. I guess you're just another harmless xbot.
My posts simply reiterated why people don't like Sony as a company and your use of the term "xbot" just reinforces how dumb you look defending a company that KNOWINGLY put viruses on your computer and doesn't care. I'm not a big fan of Microsoft or their Windows division, but I DO think that their Xbox division has done an EXCELLENT job (with a few exceptions).
All that aside, I noticed you brushed off my links. Apparently when we start talking about the truth you have a hard time responding. It's probably cause those Sony rootkits you have installed got exploited and installed viruses and spyware on there. You should get that looked at.
My posts simply reiterated why people don't like Sony as a company and your use of the term "xbot" just reinforces how dumb you look defending a company that KNOWINGLY put viruses on your computer and doesn't care. I'm not a big fan of Microsoft or their Windows division, but I DO think that their Xbox division has done an EXCELLENT job (with a few exceptions).
All that aside, I noticed you brushed off my links. Apparently when we start talking about the truth you have a hard time responding. It's probably cause those Sony rootkits you have installed got exploited and installed viruses and spyware on there. You should get that looked at.
@ Martin / CB17
Two usernames.. wow. As for your links, I'm not even going to bother because it'd be to easy. I'm not going to sit here and argue with some e-thug fanboy on Engadget. You're wrong, read over your reply and you'll see why. As for your M$ comments, sorry you feel that way.. Maybe when you get off Engadget you'll get a clue.
@ Martin
"I'm not a big fan of Microsoft or their Windows division, but I DO think that their Xbox division has done an EXCELLENT job (with a few exceptions)"
If you are cleaver enough to figure out that Windows and Xbox are under different division of Microsoft, is it really THAT hard to understand that Sony's electronics and gaming divisions (the topic we are on) are COMPLETELY SEPARATED from Sony music division/BMG (rootkit)?
Martin with the Sony fanboy defense. If anything, Engadget is usually Blu-ray biast, and that's made by ______. "Oh my gosh, my beloved Sony is being defamed with mean words!" Call a wambulance.
And, who came up with 'Xbot'? It's the stupidest f***ing thing I've ever heard. It sounds like the nerdiest kid in 10th grade came up with the term because he hated the pistol in Halo 1.
whoops, i meant JohnDoe303, you noob.
@ teej
No fanboy here, just an educated consumer. Who came up with xbot? The gaming community since most Xbox/Halo fanboys sound like tools. From wasting the time reading over your reply it seems the title would fit you well. noob? lol. get a life.
I would not say that Sony's gaming division has been doing well. Far from it. I would say that the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars on the R&D for the PS3, and the complete lack of interest from the gaming community, would not be considered doing well.
Sony is getting slaughtered. Slaughtered by Nintendo and Microsoft. It's high time, too. Sony has been too confident in themselves, and they are now having to eat their words.
As far as the PS3, yes, there is a struggle. But the PS3 is not the only system offered by Sony. You have to take into account for not just the PS3, but the PS2 and PSP. Microsoft doesn't have anything besides the 360. The original Xbox is completely abandoned and dead.
To count the whole Sony gaming division, is to include those other systems.... and going by that, it is only getting slaughtered by Nintendo, not Microsoft...
Hundreds of millions of dollars spent is a lot. Though it is no where near the $1 billion+ spent by MS on its Xbox division. I would say that isn't doing well either.
Have you seen the loses the 360 is showing? You've got to be kidding me.. It crazy how little people know yet they still try and discuss the console ware. Considering the PS3's price point it STILL sold just as strong as the 360 at launch. All this while having competition on it's second year of software development! The 360 had a one year jump and while it grabbed some market share it turned red quick with the RLOD effecting over 30% of consoles. I'm not going to sit here and go back and forth about all this anyhow. The bottom line is things are over for the 360 with all the upcoming exclusives this holiday into next. Mark my words, 2008 will be the year of the PS3.
@JohnDoe303
"The bottom line is things are over for the 360 with all the upcoming exclusives this holiday into next."
Things wont be over for the 360 they just will start for the PS3
Yep I'm still trying!!
@ Kevin.
Yea but compare their overall track record to Microsoft that has lost $6 billion. At least Sony has made money off of PS1 and PS2 :x.
COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL.
I like Sony stuff, I've had it for a long time (an old component stereo system - 1988 - we were the first on the block with a cd player, not to mention a 5-disc changer), but I'm certainly no fanboy - who knew Sony had fanboys?
give me a PS3 with an 80GB hard drive or larger and subscriptionless HD-DVR functionality and some decent games + graphics actually better than 360 for $250 or less, and they'll make me a 3 system man (already got wii60). How long do u guys think that will take, or will it ever happen?
Whoops sorry about the double (now triple) post. I think it's time for a comment system change eh? Engadget? Why don't you just steal Joystiq's system?
We all know Sony is desperate for a 'standard' format that they can license and enjoy the royalties- they have been trying this for the past 30+ years (betamax, minidisc, memory stick, AIT, DAT, SACD, UMD, etc.) and this is why Sony is sinking so much money into their new format. Sony thought the momentum of the PSX/PS2 success would carry over into the PS3 and give them a sure-win in the HD format war as they were not really ready to enter when HD DVD came out (note that the new Blu-Ray set-top players have features that G1 players can never have). It appeared to work at first, but HD DVD has been fighting back (pretty dirty as well)...
Sony's short-comings were their arrogance and their mis-understanding of price to an normal person; right now they are asking WAY to much for a 'gaming console'- $600 is a LOT of money for the average Joe working a 9 to 5 job... Unless they get some GOOD exclusive titles, drop the price about $200 and get some software companies behind them the entire PS3 system will be an expensive fiasco- and the PS3 will be back to a glorified Blu-Ray player that can also play a few games (which was its original marketing at release).
MS is doing well with their new system and their new exclusive titles- like BioShock and Halo3- and presently I am getting ready to purchase a new xBox 360 system (I sold my old premium to a friend, looking at a new pro or Elite system with HDMI).
Would I ever consider a PS3? not for $600! I do like the integration with the PSP and 'Location Free' media playing, but I don't care about present PS3 titles or about HD discs (HD DVD or Blu-Ray). I am more than happy with the way standard DVDs look when up sampled to 1080i on my $60 Philips DVD player (and DVDs = $10 where HD discs = $20 - $30!)
Will Sony be able to turn the PS3 and/or BluRay into a profitable venture? or will this be the their 'GameCube' of 2007? My guess is Sony will abandon Blu-Ray and the PS3 in about 18 months, leaving their loyal customers with a shiny $600 upsampling DVD player... (if it isn't going to look profitable, the Sony stockholders will not keep sinking money into it- or into Sony Insurance!)
I'm wondering what Martin means by PS3 stuff. I've only read one post of someone experiencing problems with a PS3 and he received a new one from Sony in 9 days. I read that there is under 1% of PS3s that require repairs. On the flip side, I have read estimates of 33% of Xbox 360s needing repair, and of it taking up to 3 months for people to receive the repaired or a new one. I own both systems. I have gotten the red ring of death on my 360 and had to turn it on and off a few times to get it to work. The PS3 hasn't had so much as a screen freeze or even a hiccup.
I feel far more secure with the construction quality of the PS3. I have owned Sony products for almost 30 years now and have never regretted any Sony purchase. I don't have rootkit experience as I buy Ipods for portable music. One of the few areas of electronics where I don't feel that Sony is tops. Car audio is another. For home elec. Sony is at or near the top across the board.
The PS3 is not expensive. PS3 games are on blu-ray discs. 50gb blu-ray movie discs are now being released. Sony has created 8 layer 200gb blu-ray discs, not marketed yet. Xbox 360 discs are a puny 7gb. PS3 has built in wi-fi. $100 + tax to make the 360 wireless. The PS3 has FREE online play. Xbox charges by the month for online play. The PS3 has rechargeable batteries and comes with a cord to recharge the controllers. The Xbox 360 controllers eat batteries like they were popcorn. The PS3 has built in internet browsing.
I am not a "fanboy" as I own both. I had an original Xbox but no PS2 as I felt it was inferior. I now feel that the PS3 is vastly superior but had to buy the box for Halo 3.
If you add the monthly online charges and the huge number of batteries for the Xbox controllers then the PS3 is the better deal even if it weren't for the blu-ray drive.
@ richard
Ok, where to begin?
"The PS3 is not expensive."
To who? You? To the average person, it sure as hell is expensive!
"50gb blu-ray movie discs are now being released. Sony has created 8 layer 200gb blu-ray discs, not marketed yet. Xbox 360 discs are a puny 7gb."
What is the point in having all of that extra space? So developers can create endless games? Do you seriously expect them to make an unbelievably massive game in a short period of time? And since when has the size of a game disk limited the developers? Games like Halo 3 and Gears of War fit perfectly on the "puny" 360 disks. And recent games that have had simultaneous launches on both systems, such as Madden '08, have proven to play better on the 360.
"PS3 has built in wi-fi. $100 + tax to make the 360 wireless."
I agree with this point; it was idiotic of Microsoft to not include it. Even the Wii has built-in wifi. And I can't stand hearing the excuse that "Wifi is unreliable," because it isn't. Most instability will come from whatever speed of connection you have.
"The PS3 has FREE online play. Xbox charges by the month for online play."
Xbox Live is quite an amazing system, and well worth the money, but I will say that the price could use a drop sometime soon.
"The PS3 has rechargeable batteries and comes with a cord to recharge the controllers."
Your controllers will eventually have to be replaced, as the battery inside was not meant to be taken out. As far as 360 controllers go, get a rechargeable pack, it's easy as hell.
"I am not a "fanboy" as I own both. I had an original Xbox but no PS2 as I felt it was inferior. I now feel that the PS3 is vastly superior but had to buy the box for Halo 3."
Obviously you aren't a "fanboy", you seem to just buy whichever console is the most powerful, or is "superior". And it is absolutely hilarious that you have obtained a 360 just to get Halo 3. What did you buy the PS3 for? It would seem from your post that it isn't for the games. I don't even own either system, but I can easily tell you which has more strengths over the other, and until Sony gets a grip on what consumers want in a gaming console (like, games), Microsoft easily takes the upper hand.
Damn, that was a good rant.
i only used the term fanboy because it was used above.
you bring up 5 disc blade runner as if you have a point. use reason man. it is an extremely expensive box set where price of media is irrelevant because the price is set so high in the first place. tell me why they didn't just stick it on a single bluray disc? that is the advantage you are touting yet they didn't even bother. if they did stick it on an 8 layer disc they wouldn't lower the price anyways, and it doesn't give much of an advantage to usability on that box set regardless, so theres really no point to it. why didn't they lower the number of dvd discs required by using 2 double sided double layer dvds? less discs is an advantage right? because as i said, such discs are not anything more than marketing material and fodder for fanboys.
as for the cost of the ps3, you are playing the bluray game again. factoring in features most don't care about as if it makes it a great deal. you could plate the thing in gold and claim that it was a great deal for $1000 dollars. if you don't want to play the format war and just want the games, then sony is forcing you to dump money for no reason. microsoft at least gives you the choice if you want it or not. same with the live function, you don't need live to play most games, so pretending it is a required cost is dishonest, you might as well claim everyone needs to buy guitar hero if they buy a ps3. but live! is definitely a superior service and experience to sonys cobbled together web experience, which is why they can get away with charging for it.
frankly sooner or later players will cost less than 100 dollars and the whole issue will be pointless except for the fact that gamers were forced to pay extra years before for a feature they didn't really want or use.
as for harddrives, it doesn't matter if games and movies aren't released on such drives. the fact is sooner or later you'll be able to rip to such drives. one major point people like to push is that the bluray storage will be important on the pc, thats the point i was addressing, not that movies and games should be sold on such media. that being said games are already being pushed through the internet on service like steam, never mind all the film streaming going on already. the point is that touting blurays size advantage is really pointless in the long run, disc media isn't as important as it used to be. we've learned that lesson well with cds now now being nothing more than a source to rip to ipods and other drives. theres just no significance in the minor size difference between the formats.
and well the simple fact is that sony is the RIAA/MPAA rolled up into one little bundle of evil. morally one could have problems with supporting such a company. never mind their obvious history of anti consumer behavior.
"
"50gb blu-ray movie discs are now being released. Sony has created 8 layer 200gb blu-ray discs, not marketed yet. Xbox 360 discs are a puny 7gb.""
so irrelevant and shows how short sighted sony and their fanboys are.
first of all, whens the last time you've seen a 4 layer dvd? its in the spec, you can have double sided double layer, but like the 8 layer bluray, it is vaporware. there is no need, a second cheap 2 layer disc suffices, and for such an expensive box set type release that would require such space, people would probably prefer multiple discs anyways. i'm hardly inconvienced by multiple disc tv season box sets. frankly i like having multiple discs considering what they charge. and you can bet sony wouldn't lower the price anyways, because one, they are greedy, two, such discs are much more expensive to create as said. its always cheaper to just split it up onto more standard discs.
we already have cheap 500gb+ external harddrives, flash drives aren't far behind. by the time there are bluray burners and cheap media their capacity will be laughed at by the flash memory on your keychain. disc media isn't as important as it used to be. we now have fast cheap alternatives.
^ You call me a fanboy, but you are obviously one yourself if you would say that you would rather change discs than have it all on one. Talk about nonsensical. The price is not an issue as the 5 disc Blade runner on blu-ray is the same price as many of the 1 disc movies. You talk without facts 8 layer blu-ray is not "vapoware" it has already been created. There just isn't reason to release it yet.
Mr Fong says that PS3 is so much more expensive. $150 more for PS3 over Xbox, but if you add wireless to the Xbox and one year of online play the cost is the same. PS3 $499, Xbox 360 $349 + $100 wifi, + $50 Xbox Live service = same cost. Yet PS3 has 60gb compared to Xbox 20gb, PS3 comes with blu-ray built in, if you want hd-dvd on Xbox you have to pay another $180. If you don't believe that hd-dvd is inferior to blu-ray than you are thinking emotionally and not factually. By the time Microsoft has nickle and dimed you to death you end up paying more for the inferior Xbox, and Fred calls ME shortsighted.
"Fanboy" and "shortsighted" thrown at me. When you're argument is not based in fact or reason people often resort to name calling and diversionary tactics.
Fred, yes some hard drives are larger than blu-ray discs. Movies and games aren't going to be released on little hard drives any time soon. Hard drives are not displacing discs why do you think computers have disc drives? Software, movies, games all sold on discs. Saying that disc capacity isn't important is like saying having a 4 cylinder engine in your car is the same as having an 8 cylinder one.
Mr Fong said I just buy the more powerful system but I stated that I own both. He even brought that fact up. Mr Fong says he doesn't own either system who's opinion should you take. Someone who owns both or someone who doesn't own any. I'll let you decide.
I am just trying to help people who aren't in a position to buy both to know which one is the better investment. It seems as though Fong + Fred are coming from an emotional point of view. Check it out, they're commenting on a Sony thread when they obviously don't like Sony.
One last thing I forgot. Fong says Microsoft knows better than Sony what people want in a game system. That being the case, how do you explain over 120,000,000 PS2s being sold compared to 30,000,000 Xboxs being sold?
well if you are going to bring up the ps2's success as sonys genius you could also bring up ps3's failure as sonys inadequacy. not sure what point you are trying to make. ps2 sold on the games and the momentum of ps1, not because of sonys genius.
Don't you think the PS3 will sell off of momentum of both the PS1 and the PS2? This will be the first holiday season where PS3s will be in stock in stores when people are doing their Xmas shopping. Numerous highly anticipated games are going to be released in the next few months. Even with the shortages of systems available and almost no big ticket games released the PS3 has sold approx. 6,000,000 systems so far. Be patient bro. The PS3s going to be busting out like Paris Hilton on ladies night.
Could the $2.9B be partly for the development of a totally new and less expensive gaming system? HHMMM...