UK games company Eidos has blamed a shortage of Sony PlayStation 2
consoles for a warning that profits for the year ending March will
be significantly below expectations. Meanwhile, Sony today cut in
half its net profit forecast, in part blaming PS2 production
problems for lower than anticipated sales. Sony is also suffering
huge losses incurred by Aiwa, its electronics subsidiary.
Sony’s games division lost almost £82 million in its latest
results, compared to profits last year of around £337 million. The
company has said it will double production to 20 million units next
year.
In November, Eidos announced interim losses of £37.9 million.
Its latest profits warning comes despite better than expected
Christmas sales. In response to uncertainty over PS2 distribution,
Eidos has said it will delay three new releases for the console
until next year.
