The Sony Corporation reported today that its profits doubled, to a record, in the October-to-December quarter as sales of its PlayStation 2 video games and a string of hit movies offset lukewarm demand for its electronics.
Potential losses in business operations, Mr. Tokunaka said, could be offset by the yen's slide against the euro and cutting production costs.
The larger concern, though, is whether PlayStation 2 can continue its torrid run. Sales soared in the second half of 2002 after Sony cut the price of its game console by one-third, to $199, in the United States. But the move cut into Sony's profit margin on the sale of each machine. Another concern is that Sony's PlayStation 3 console is unlikely to hit the stores until 2005. To steal market share, Microsoft may release an updated version of its X-Box console first.
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