Sony 'Confident' In 13 Million PS3 Target This Year, Plans Online Services

Sony's shooting to hit 13 million PlayStation 3 consoles sold worldwide this fiscal year, says Sony executive VP Kaz Hirai, and he tells media outlets he's "confident" the company can achieve its target. The company has been discussing its strategy for the year ahead in some depth lately, including its plans to achieve profitability by March 2011. To that end, Sony's undertaking cost-cutting and investing in new technologies, notably with a focus on 3D entertainment and gaming -- Sony recently said that all PS3 consoles are firmware-upgradeable to 3D. If achieved, the 13 million target that Sony has been touting would represent a significant gain over the company's fiscal 2008, which saw 10.1 million units sold. Sony's fiscal year ends in March 2010. According to the company's own numbers, it's sold a total 4.3 million consoles in its first and second quarter together, which means it will need to sell nearly double that many units over its second half -- which will include the key holiday season. At the same time, according to a new Reuters report, Hirai said Sony will launch a new online content service that will distribute media like books, movies and music to network-capable devices as a value add to its hardware portfolio. This move was also referenced in Sony's turnaround strategy presentation in Tokyo yesterday. The 'Sony Online Service' (working name) is intended to use PlayStation Network as its base and encompass games, video, music, and ebooks across all Sony devices, from TVs to game consoles and far beyond.