Call it an existential crisis, a harbinger of things to come, or the year from hell, but the past year at Sony has been what can only be described as a roller coaster designed to nauseate both PlayStation fans and investors.
On the surface things seem fine. Sony is not in financial trouble, it makes money, and it will be around for a long time. But there are underlying problems that have caused the stock to whipsaw. It’s down about 5% over the year while broader markets have risen nearly 40%.
Bad optics and weird decision-making are cause for concern about the direction of Sony’s movie and gaming divisions. There’s been a flood of downright disastrous news and announcements, a dredging of the bottom of the creative barrel for movies and games, and a slew of high-profile layoffs and retirements.
The case for this gruesome examination began a year ago, when Sony Interactive Entertainment laid off a hundred employees following its $3.7 billion acquisition of Bungie, the studio behind the legendary sci-fi shooter franchises “Halo” and “Destiny.” The reasoning came weeks afterward in a Bloomberg report that revenue was 45% lower than projected, which led to a culling of the talented staff Sony brought in just a year before. Buyer’s remorse?