Entertainment

Putting the Sony Q3 FY15 Earnings Results in Context

by Sohrab Osati | Feb 1, 2016 | 1 comment

Sony Q3 FY15 Sales Chart

To better get a sense of the Sony Q3 FY15 earnings results, I’ve put together a few charts alongside official information to give you a better sense of how the company is doing. In short, things are much better compared to a few years ago and even last year when the company posted their first profit in nearly a decade. Sony Mobile, despite pumping out the fantastic Xperia Z5 family, continues to struggle. You can read more in depth about Sony Mobile and their results here.

A quick heads up. All charts can be clicked on to viewed in much more detail.

So, let’s start from the beginning again. For its Q3 2015 financial results, Sony posted a net income of 120.1 billion JPY ($1 billion) on total revenue of 2,580.8 billion JPY ($21.5 billion). That’s up 33.5% and 0.5% year-on-year. Operating income came in at 202.1 billion JPY ($1.7 billion), an 11% rise on the previous year. In short, Sony achieved $1 billion of net profits for the three months to end in December.

As you can see from the chart above, Game & Network Services (read: PlayStation), Sony Pictures, Sony Music, and the company’s Financial Services have been on the rise. Mobile is obviously hurting and in doing so, dragging down their ever-so-profitable Devices division where image sensor sales are accounted for. Here’s how the different divisions within Sony add up.

Sony_Q3_FY15_Sales_Segment_Chart

More info and charts pertaining to the Sony Q3 FY15 earnings results after the jump.

Sony Q3 2015 Results – PlayStation Up, Mobile & Image Sensors Down – But Profits Up

by Sohrab Osati | Jan 29, 2016 | 10 comments

Sony has just posted its Q3 2015 results and, as a whole, the company is doing much better. According to Sam Byford from The Verge:

third-quarter earnings up on those from a year ago, making ¥202.1 billion ($1.69 billion) in operating profit off ¥2.58 trillion ($21.5 billion) in revenue. Net profit between October and December was ¥120.1 billion ($1 billion), 33 percent higher than the same quarter last year.

A big reason for the income increase compared to last year is due largely to all the cuts Sony has been making across the company. This includes personal cuts as well as reducing product lineup (i.e. les televisions, phones, and cameras). Restructuring costs were also down 50% this year to $61 million.

Beyond the obvious nature of PlayStation doing great business with sales up 10.5%, reaching $4.9 billion, Sony Pictures did great business as well

with movies like Spectre and Hotel Transylvania 2 performing well at the box office to help the division make ¥262.1 billion ($2.18 billion) in revenue — 26.9 percent up on last year.

It’s no surprise that Mobile continues to be a sore spot for Sony but image sensors were curiously down as the two are linked. More Sony Q3 2015 results after the jump.

No 4K UHD Sony Blu-ray Players at CES 2016 & Why That’s Okay

by Sohrab Osati | Jan 11, 2016 | 7 comments

It almost seemed like a sure thing. After having 4K TVs on the market for over two years and announcing the impressive new 4K HDR X930D Android TV, surely Sony would also unveil a 4K UDK Blu-ray player. In fact just two months ago, Sony Pictures announced six 4K HDR Blu-ray titles for 2016 which require the new UHD players for playback.

Alas, it’s not meant to be as no 4K UHD Sony Blu-ray players were announced at CES 2016. More on this after the jump.

Sony Pictures to Put Hacking Debacle Behind Them With $8 Million Employee Compensation

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 27, 2015 | 1 comment

Remember the whole Sony Pictures hack that took place nearly a year ago which was supposedly due to North Korea being pissed about The Interview? Well it seems like Sony is finally able to put things to rest by compensating employees with an $8 million fund.

Sony agreed to pay current and former staff up to $10,000 (£7,000) each to cover costs related to identity theft.

The settlement agreement calls for a $4.5m (£2.9m) fund to reimburse the complainants, and up to $3.5m (£2.3m) for legal fees. In addition, Sony would provide identity protection to former employees for two years.

Something still doesn’t feel right about this.

Rdio’s Bankruptcy Will Cost Sony Millions

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 18, 2015 | 0 comments

Running a profitable streaming music business is hard. Just ask Sony, a company that, on paper, was perhaps best set up to run such a business. After all, Sony sells millions upon millions of pieces of hardware each year that’s capable of running a music streaming service, commands one of the largest music libraries in the world under the Sony Music/BMG label, and is a technology company. These three ingredients should have made Sony the leader in music streaming but after renaming Qriocty (which I thought was a fine name) to Music Unlimited (which I found atrocious), Sony would eventually secede from the streaming business and hand control over to Spotify.

Now Rdio has joined the latest casualty list and declared bankruptcy and with it, will cost Sony millions of dollars.

Sony Pictures Announces Six (4K) UHD Blu-ray Titles With HDR

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 11, 2015 | 0 comments

A few months back, Sony Pictures revealed a few titles that would be released in 4K HDR. Now we have our first official look at the retail packaging which sports the new UHD Blu-ray logo and color. Sharp-eyed readers will also notice the HDR tag at the bottom which will not be universal across all movies. Much like how all 3D Blu-ray titles also offer a 2D version, all UHD Blu-ray movies will also come with a 1080p disc as well for more flexibility. Sony Pictures hopes to bring their movies to market in early 2016 though it’s worth noting that Sony Electronics currently does not offer a 4K Blu-ray player. That will likely change in January when CES 2016 will be held.

More details, including title availability after the jump.

Sony Pictures Reveals Their 4K HDR Films, Includes ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’

by Sohrab Osati | Sep 16, 2015 | 8 comments

Sony Pictures and Sony Electronics have been quietly setting the stages for a future of 4K HDR content. In just the past week, Sony Pictures announced a partnership with Dolby Vision which would help the Hollywood studio master 4K HDR movies for release as physical media and digital download. Following that announcement, Sony Electronics revealed to our delight an expanded firmware update that would bring HDR compatibility to a far larger number of televisions than previously revealed.

Now we’ve learned some of the first titles that will be getting the 4K HDR treatment from the Sony Picture catalogue which can be found after the jump.

Dolby Vision Brings 4K HDR to Sony Pictures Flicks

by Sohrab Osati | Sep 11, 2015 | 0 comments

Dolby Vision has announced a partnership with Sony Pictures which will see the Hollywood studio incorporate their tech in their upcoming releases. With Dolby Vision, movies are to be brighter and offer higher contrast which can be utilized in physical media or digital downloads.

Some more details after the jump.

Uncharted Movie Delayed By Another Year

by Sohrab Osati | Aug 7, 2015 | 2 comments

In the next 6 months, we’re going to be getting a whole lot of Uncharted love in the PlayStation world. Come October 9th, Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection will land on PS4 where we get to revisit the first three chapters of the franchise in glorious 1080p/60fps. On top of that, expect new difficulty modes and balancing tweaks to the game.

Though delayed till early 2016, we’ll soon enough be getting our hands on Uncharted 4 which is already looking sublime. Unfortunately for us, that’s all the Nathan Drake we’ll be getting for some time as the previously scheduled Uncharted movie that was to land sometime in 2016 has been delayed.

Sony Pictures Pondered Purchasing ‘Fast Lanes’

by Sohrab Osati | May 12, 2015 | 0 comments

As it stands, net neutrality has prevailed for the better in the US. While that doesn’t mean corporations like Verizon and Comcast won’t do everything in their power to derail it, it’s been a victory for those of us who understand the power of an open and fair web. Still, it’s hard not to see why companies such as Sony Pictures and others would have liked a world without net neutrality and unlike the basis that drives Verizon and others (greed), their thoughts behind it actually make some sense.

Sony Removes Music from SoundCloud

by Sohrab Osati | May 11, 2015 | 0 comments

Over the weekend, users of SoundCloud were presented with fewer artists to choose from. Sony Music has slowly been pulling its artists from the service, including Adele, Hozier, Miguel, Kelly Clarkson, Passion Pit, Leon Bridges, and MS MR after failing to reach an agreement with SoundCloud on streaming royalties. It’s believed that Sony decided to pull its artists due to SoundCloud not providing enough options for them to make money.

More details after the jump.

‘Powers’ Holds the Key to Original Programming on PlayStation

by Allegra Osati | May 8, 2015 | 0 comments

By now, we’re all familiar with the idea of a superhero show. Whether your favorite focuses on a singular character, like Smallville did, or follows a team based in a super world, like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., we’re inspired to believe that our world really could be filled with superheroes – and we just don’t know it yet. What makes Powers stand out from the likes of these is not its content so much as its platform; as PlayStation’s first push into original programming, and with the fact that it’s available exclusively on PlayStation Network, this is one unique show.

Star Wars Episode 1-6 Come to PlayStation Video

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 16, 2015 | 0 comments

Not to be left out of the celebration, PlayStation Video on the PlayStation Network will also be where you can get your Star Wars fix. Specifically, you can now purchase Star Wars Episode 1-6 as part of the Digital Movie Collection which features never-before-seen special features. Unlike traditional movie collections, users can opt to purchase all 6 movies or individually pick the titles they like.

After the jump, pricing details and what you can expect from the special features on Star Wars: The Digital Movie Collection.

Joel Dale – The “Fifty Shades of Grey” Edition

by Joel Dale | Apr 3, 2015 | 0 comments

I have seen Fifty Shades of Grey. There were forces in my life which drove me to this decision. A former editor of good ole SonyRumors requested on Twitter that I do a piece entitled “Why You Should Not See ‘Fifty Shades of Grey.'”An intriguing idea for comedy but ultimately putting the cart before the horse because I should not claim an opinion of a film I had not seen. As a statement to understand that I too have biases, let’s be clear: I had no desire to see this film. I never watched/read/partook in any way/shape/form of the Twilight series. And this whilst living mere minutes from Forks, Washington and the rainy areas where the books take place. So fan fiction based on the Twilight series is even less likely to get my attention. The onslaught of mentions the Fifty Shades books received made me twist an eye to the phenom that is pop culture and almost not like it for that reason alone.

How to Enjoy ‘Dead Rising: Watchtower’ in 5 Easy Steps

by Allegra Osati | Mar 27, 2015 | 1 comment

Whether you have barely heard of Dead Rising or you’re a die hard fan of the game franchise, clear your schedule for tonight. Set the DVR to catch the Parks and Rec marathon later and look up from Bloodborne for just a minute – or, 125 minutes, to be exact. You heard me. You have a zombie movie to watch. For free!

Now, I know you like free stuff, and I’m willing to bet that you like movies. That’s why we’ve compiled this list to prep you for an epic night in – just you, Jesse Metcalfe, Meghan Ory, and some zombies (Oh, and Rob Riggle as Frank West. Did I forget to mention him?).

So grab your favorite device, boot up Crackle (it’s the orange one!), and find Dead Rising: Watchtower on the Featured Movies list. If you’re not sure which of your devices has the streaming service (hint: it’s probably all), check out our list here. Before settling in for the newest action horror zombie flick that doesn’t take itself too seriously (for the better!), make sure to grab these 5 things on your way to the couch. PS – you have our distinct approval to laugh, scream, and high-five your bros or girls. Or your cat. Gently.

After the jump, watch the Dead Rising: Watchtower trailer to see what you’re in for… and find out how to prep!