Waning PlayStation 2 hardware and software sales took their toll on Sony's gaming division during the company's past fiscal year, leading to continuing losses of ¥58.5 billion ($612.5 million USD) despite rising PS3 and PlayStation Portable sales.  More than ever, Sony Computer Entertainment chief Kazuo Hirai (pictured) is determined the division's major goal is "to quickly bring our PlayStation business on a break-even level and later to profitability."  The game division's fast-track back into profit will involve continued cost-cutting efforts, as well as the expansion of its gaming network services.

Because SCE appears destined to lose money on console hardware sales for the next little bit, Hirai explains the division will "need a strategy where buying a hardware is not the endpoint but instead a starting point that can offer new experiences to our customers."  We know that Sony Ericsson will introduce a cellphone later this year featuring Remote Play support for access to media stored on the PlayStation 3 console, which could be one example of bringing further connectivity to the PlayStation brand.  Hirai also spoke of taking the ability to connect to the PlayStation Network, Sony's online gaming service, to other Sony-branded devices like its televisions, cameras, and cellphones.