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Sony's gaming arm recorded an operating loss of 800 million yen ($8 million), according to its latest financial results for this quarter ending Sept. 31, 2013 (PDF), reporting a decrease in sales for PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable offset by an increase in PlayStation 3 sales.
Sony attributes the period's difference in operating loss — compared to operating income of 2.3 billion yen ($23.39 million) of the same quarter of the previous fiscal year — to the price reduction of the PlayStation Vita and unfavorable impact of exchange rates.
The company's game sector reported sales revenue of 155.7 billion yen ($1.58 billion), a 5.1 percent increase over the same period of last year's 148.2 billion yen ($1.5 billion). Sony reports that the decease in sales of the PS2 and PSP were offset by an increase in PlayStation 3 sales.
Combined sales of PS3 and PS2 for the quarter were 200 million units, compared to 110 million units for the previous quarter. Combined sales PS Vita and PSP units hit 80 million for the period, compared to last quarter's 60 million.
Overall, Sony reported 1.78 trillion yen in operating revenue ($18.1 billion), a 10.6 percent year-on-year increase, largely due to strong smartphone sales and favorable currency shifts. Operating income saw a year-on-year decrease to 14.8 billion yen ($151 million) caused by the poor operating results of its pictures arm, offset by the rise in smartphone performance.
Sony decreased the full-year net profit to 30 billion yen ($305 million) down from its last estimate of 50 billion yen ($509 million). The company expects to take an unspecified loss on PlayStation 4 systems when the hardware launches next month, according to senior vice president Masayasu Ito, but will quickly regain ground on the sale of games and PlayStation Plus subscriptions.
In September, president and group CEO Andrew House said Sony Computer Entertainment has a sales target of 5 million units for its next-generation console by the end of its current fiscal year.
