14 DAY TRIAL // Sony is apparently looking to invest heavily in expanding its PlayStation brand over the course of fiscal year 2015.
Sony's Chief Financial Officer Kenichiro Yoshida has outlined the company's plans for the coming fiscal year, projecting a decrease in the operating income of the Game & Network Services division compared to this year, due mainly to the company's plans to "aggressively invest" in its operations.
The Japanese corporation aims to make FY2015 an investment year, during which its console business will be the focus of its activity.
The company has reported that its network services have reached 65 million active users, with its PlayStation Plus service managing to exceed 10 million monthly subscribers, as reported by DualShockers.
Sony wants to increase the install base of the PlayStation 4 home entertainment system, which is currently doing very well and will be the main focus of its gaming efforts. The PS4 has surpassed 22 million units sold worldwide, and Sony wants to continue to aggressively push the console in the future.
The future is bright for Sony
One of the main ways through which the console business will be expanded is a considerable investment in first-party software development, but Sony also wants to offer compelling original entertainment through PS Vue, its attempt to redefine the way television content is consumed.
The company reports over 22 million PS4 and 80 million PS3 consoles being sold so far, which makes a pretty big install base for its TV streaming service.
PS Vue offers a mixture of live and on-demand content from various cable networks and also offers DVR cloud storage for its subscribers. The entire service is designed around the PlayStation user and is in line with Sony's investment plans for the coming year.
The company's gaming division is the biggest earner in terms of revenue, up by about a third year-on-year, and Sony is determined to further expand its scope.
The executive has mentioned that the corporation's efforts will also materialize into some new hardware, but for the time being, he has provided no information on its nature.
It's an intriguing notion, and Sony has promised to make the related announcements in the near future. With Project Morpheus underway and the PlayStation 4 on a roll, it's going to be interesting to see what kind of device Sony has in store for us.
The company's handheld sales have seen a notable decrease of around a third since last year, with the PSP and PS Vita managing to sell 3.3 million units in total. The Japanese software and hardware giant expects to sell another 16 million PlayStation 4 home consoles before March 31, 2016.