Sony to bolster marketing spend for PS4
Sony has signaled plans to increase the marketing spend for its Playstation 4 (PS4) console after posting better than expected sales in its third quarter.
Sony said the “better than expected” launch of the console across Europe, North America and Latin America in the period boosted sales of its games division by 64.6 per cent year-on-year to 441.8tr yen (£2.7bn).
To maintain the momentum, it is planning to increase the activity behind the PS4 brand claiming “it is not yet time to ease on the marketing spend” in a conference call with analysts earlier today (6 February). Sony has already shifted from targeting gamers to using more high-impact, traditional channels to reach a wider audience.
PS4 and strong smartphone sales helped push revenue up by 24 per cent to 2.4tn yen (£14bn) in the three months to 31 December.
The business revealed plans to beef up the support for its smartphones and tablets after revealing “strong” sales of the devices. Sales from its Mobile Products and Communications division, which houses smartphones jumped 45 per cent to 461.5tn yen (£2.8bn) in the period.
Smartphone sales offset a significant decrease in unit sales of PCs, which sat in the division. Sony is in talks to sell its beleaguered PC division to investment fund Japan Industrial Partners. The sale is part of a wider plan to slash expenditure by 100bn yen (£605m) that includes 5,000 job cuts and the spin-off of its TV business.
Sony declined to confirm where the majority of jobs would be lost but added it was important to protect the marketing and sales functions for future growth. It also suggested that some business functions could be outsourced or merged with other parts of the group.
