Sony Slumps, PlayStation Remains Strong

Sony Corp. announced Wednesday that its earnings fell 5.4 percent in the first half of fiscal year 1998-99, hurt by falling prices in the consumer electronics market. It also revised (and lowered) its profit forecast for the year due to the Japanese yen's regained strength against the dollar and the ongoing global financial crisis.

Sony says that for the first time in six years it is expecting to post a loss for the fiscal year ending in March 1999. It predicts a parent operating loss of 37 billion yen (US$313 million) for the six-month period.

However, the PlayStation continues to enjoy success with strong sales both domestically in Japan and in the US and Europe. Exactly how long that will last, with increased competition from Sega in the Japanese market and stepped-up efforts from Nintendo in the US, remains to be seen.