Sony game unit sales fall

Sony's game unit continues to slide. The company reported sales for the quarter ended September 30 today, revealing revenue slipped 15.8 percent year-on-year from ¥176 billion ($2.2 billion) to ¥148.2 billion ($1.9 billion), with operating income also falling from ¥3 billion ($37.5 million) to ¥2.3 billion ($29 million).

Sony attributed the downturn to "lower" sales of PlayStation 3 and PSP hardware and software, though the company said this was partially offset by contributions from PlayStation Vita. Additionally, profits were down due to the slower sales, as well as "unfavorable" foreign exchange rates.

As for specific sales figures, Sony sold 3.5 million combined units of the PS3 and PS2 compared to 4.9 million during this time last year. The PSP and PlayStation Vita moved 1.6 million units during the three-month period, down slightly from the 1.7 sold year-over-year. Of note, this time last year, the PS Vita had not yet gone on sale.

Concerning software, the PS3 and PS2 accounted for 41.4 million combined unit sales during the period, up compared to the 40.2 million sold a year ago. The PSP and PS Vita added 8.7 million units, up year-over-year from 8.2 million. Again, the latter figure only accounts for PSP sales.

In all, Sony posted revenue of ¥1.6 trillion ($20.1 billion) for the quarter, up from ¥1.57 trillion ($19.6 billion) hauled this time last year. Losses for the period came in at ¥15.4 billion ($192.4 million), better than the ¥26.9 billion ($336.2 million) hit the company took last year.