Sony stocks lose billions after PlayStation reevaluation
The gaming industry's whole deal right now is getting flushed down the toilet, and there's not an awful lot that we can do about it. Layoffs over the last couple of months have rivalled 2023 in its entirety, and the industry's credibility as a place that looks after its teams have finally seen the end of its disintegration.
Game development is a sad ordeal these days, forcing crunch and underpayments that don't even guarantee a safe job. CEOs are getting greedy, and times are getting tougher.
If mass redundancies weren't enough of a bitter pill to swallow, it's starting to reflect in the numbers, as the failures of the industry are starting to reflect in stocks.
Sony's stocks have slumped
Click to enlargeImage via Sony
Click to enlargeA new report from CNBC has revealed that the Sony stocks have taken a nosedive, which has amounted to a huge $10 billion loss in value.
Even though players have wondered if this has something to do with PlayStation reevaluating its sales goals after a quieter year for sales than they'd hoped, analysts claim that the predominant reason for the drop is the company's operating margins.
The margins in December stood at 6%, which comes to a drop of over 3% from December 2022. The margins are being called "near decade lows," with the news coming just as Sony reveals that it doesn't have plans for its larger franchises in the next year.
It's a bad look for the company, especially as its reputation seems to pale in comparison to Xbox making an attempt to spread its games to all players everywhere. Both Sony and Microsoft have their faults, but right now, Sony looks like a gatekeeper - and chances are it's going to reflect further in its sales.
Does Sony need to embrace Xbox's new approach?
Click to enlargeXbox has seriously ruffled some feathers by revealing that a small collection of its games (so far) will be spread across the industry to PlayStation and Nintendo consoles, and it's expected to help Microsoft out with its post-Activision money troubles - so is it time that PlayStation took notes?
Chances are, it won't, especially given that Sony considers its first-party output to be of a more premium quality, and with its release dates being more spread out than Xbox's, it'll be taking a bigger risk. Still, letting Xbox players try the Marvel's Spider-Man games would turn profits on their head. Go on, Sony, consider it.
