PS4 R&D losses weigh down PlayStation financials

Vita and PSP sales fall to 600,000 as PS3 and PS2 sales also slump before next-gen launch

A significant increase in research and development costs for the PS4 has resulted in bigger operating losses for Sony's games division in its latest financial results.
Operating losses for the games business rose to £98 million ($149m) for the three months ending June 30th, compared to £23 million ($35m) during the same period last year.

Sales for the PlayStation business were at £785 million ($1.2 bn), slightly down from the previous year. PS3 and PS2 sales sold a combined 1.1 million units, significantly down on the previous quarter in which 3.4 million units were sold.
Vita and PSP sales meanwhile fell again to 600,000, a drop of over 50 per cent from the three months prior. Despite the slump, Sony has not revised its forecasts and still expects to sell five million handhelds during the next fiscal year.
Software sales also dropped to 64 million, but with the PS4 set to launch in Holiday 2013, Sony still hopes software sales will reach 319 million by the end of the financial year.

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