PlayStation Hardware Sales Drop, Software Sales Soar
PS4 hardware sales dropped year-on-year in Q3 2017, but software sales more than made up for the decline.
Announced in Sony's latest earnings report, the games division as a whole earned ¥718 billion ($6.5 billion USD), a 16.2% rise. That led to ¥85.4 billion ($778m) in profit - a 50% increase on last year.
Software made up ¥300.4 billion ($2.7 billion) of that number, making a 71% rise on last year. Hardware sales dropped from 9.7 million to 9 million, resulting in ¥270.6 billion ($2.5 billion) in revenue.
Sony as a whole has had a good quarter, earning ¥2.7 trillion ($25.5 billion) revenue - an 11.5% increase - but turning that into an enormous 1407% rise in net profit year-on-year.
Kaz Hirai Stepping Down as Sony CEO
Kaz Hirai will step down as Sony CEO after a successful six-year reign. The move was proposed by Hirai himself, who will take on a new role as Chairman. It follows the departure of PlayStation CEO Andrew House last October.
During his time as CEO, Hirai instituted the "One Sony" strategy, which saw the company sell off its Vaio laptop business, revamp its TV business, and prioritise its gaming division.
The PlayStation business has been credited with revitalising Sony's business, with huge hardware sales driving increasing profits for the company as a whole.
Kaz Hirai Stepping Down as Sony CEO
Kaz Hirai will step down as Sony CEO after a successful six-year reign. The move was proposed by Hirai himself, who will take on a new role as Chairman. It follows the departure of PlayStation CEO Andrew House last October.
During his time as CEO, Hirai instituted the "One Sony" strategy, which saw the company sell off its Vaio laptop business, revamp its TV business, and prioritise its gaming division.
The PlayStation business has been credited with revitalising Sony's business, with huge hardware sales driving increasing profits for the company as a whole.
Overwatch Lunar New Year Event Return Announced
Blizzard has announced when the Lunar New Year event will return to Overwatch this year.
The Year of the Dog will kick off in Overwatch on Thursday, February 8, Blizzard confirmed today in a new tweet.
Overwatch Lunar New Year Event Return Announced
Blizzard has announced when the Lunar New Year event will return to Overwatch this year.
The Year of the Dog will kick off in Overwatch on Thrusday, February 8, Blizzard confirmed today in a new tweet.
One-Punch Man Artist Working on Back to the Future Manga
Yuusuke Murata, the manga artist behind One-Punch Man, is working on a manga series based on the original Back to the Future movie.
As reported by Comic Natalie (via Anime News Network), Bob Gale, the screenwriter of the classic 1985 film, is supervising the production of the manga. It's worth noting that while the series is said to be based on the first Back to the Future movie, the preview illustration (below) also features characters from the sequel films.
One-Punch Man Artist Working on Back to the Future Manga
Yuusuke Murata, the manga artist behind One-Punch Man, is working on a manga series based on the original Back to the Future movie.
As reported by Comic Natalie (via Anime News Network), Bob Gale, the screenwriter of the classic 1985 film, is supervising the production of the manga. It's worth noting that while the series is said to be based on the first Back to the Future movie, the preview illustration (below) also features characters from the sequel films.
See If Your PC Can Run Final Fantasy XV
Final Fantasy XV has almost made its way to PC, arriving on March 6 along with all its previous updates and DLC.
Ahead of its launch, Square Enix has released a free benchmarking tool that will let you see how well your PC will run the game. It’s a non-playable demo that runs through a few different game scenarios, including using a summon, riding a chocobo, and cooking some food.
Here’s a video of the benchmark at 4K and High quality:
Pokemon Go Developer Buys AR Company Escher Reality
Pokemon Go developer Niantic Labs has purchased augmented reality company Escher Reality.
Niantic announced the acquisition in a post on its official blog, publicly welcoming Escher co-founders Ross Finman and Diana Hu and their team to Niantic.
"The addition of the Escher AR technology is incredibly exciting to us at Niantic as it significantly accelerates our work on persistent, shared AR as part of the Niantic real-world application platform," Niantic founder and CEO John Hanke said in the post.
The Pokemon Go developer plans to broaden the availability of its cross-platform AR technology to developers later this year, and will share more information on this front in the future.
Batman and Catwoman’s Wedding Date Revealed
Ever since Catwoman accepted Batman's marriage proposal last year, fans have wondered when (and if) these two characters would actually tie the knot. That event will unfold this July in the pages of Batman #50, but the two lovers will have some hurdles to cross before they can finally walk down the aisle.
The countdown to the big day will begin in DC Nation #0, a budget-priced one-shot hitting stores in May. Writer Tom King and artist Clay Mann will reunite for a story that explores what happens when Joker learns about Batman and Catwoman's impending nuptials. Needless to say, he won't be pleased.
DC Nation #0 cover by Jorge Jimenez. (DC Entertainment)