Hirai aiming to 'quickly' break-even on PlayStation hardware, looking to double PSN sales

President and CEO of SCEI, Kaz Hirai, knows all too well the financial troubles plaguing Sony's Computer Entertainment division. SCEI posted an operating loss of ¥58.5 billion ($612 million) for fiscal 2008 and Sony admits it doesn't expect to turn a profit any time soon. But that's not going to stop Hirai from trying to change things. No, according to what he told Japan Today, it sounds like he already has a plan: "We need to quickly bring our PlayStation business on a break-even level and later to profitability."

So, he's laid out a set of milestones to accomplish, but how's SCEI going to get there? Hirai said Sony needs "a strategy where buying a [sic] hardware is not the endpoint but instead a starting point that can offer new experiences." This includes, according to him, bringing the PlayStation Network to traditionally non-gaming electronics like televisions and digital cameras -- shades of what Howard Stringer said weeks before. And speaking of PSN, part of the strategy is aimed at boosting digital sales from ¥20 billion ($209 million) last year, to ¥50 billion ($523 million). We guess this means expect a lot more content spread across a lot more devices.

[Via Kotaku]