Two divisions of Sony are in deep trouble, their mobile phone joint venture with Ericsson, which has seen a 23% sales slump, and their Playstation division. From being runaway leader in the last console generation Sony are now running third and last in this generation with nothing in sight that could improve matters.
The Company that has been kicking Sony's backside is Nintendo because they have done what Sony could have done but failed to so because Sony engineers are more interested in grunt and performance than something as simple as family entertainment and a device that is exciting to use and cheap to produce.
So as games like Wii Fit and the Wii interactive sporting games clean up sales because of a simple interactive controller Sony is still contemplating what to do next.
This is not the first time that this has happened, Sony engineers did a great job of designing the walkman until Apple came along and gave them a software lesson that was more about designing an IPod that was consumers friendly and easy to use than the Walkman. Now Nintendo has done the same but this time in the gaming market.
The fact is that you don't have to be a rocket scientist to work out why the Nintendo Wii is not only highly successful as a gaming console but highly profitable for Nintendo. And you only have to look at the $14 Billion in cash reserves on Nintendo's balance sheet or the $19 Billion in reserves on Apples balance sheet or the $1.8 Billion in Apple profits for the last quarter to work out that Sony is facing a very, very bleak future.
This is a Company that is living off yesterday's products and a brand that is looking sicker by the day. One also has to wonder whether they have the resources necessary to produce the Playstation 4 or even the people that are smart enough to actually deliver a breakthrough product that will get them out of the mess they are in.
