Merrill Lynch Forcasts $6.3 billion Loss For Sony

The Japanese arm of Merrill Lynch has forcasted an operating loss of $6.3 billion over five years for Sony as the PS3 begins to ship.

Due to manufacturing and sales costs for the PS3, Merrill Lynch has predicted Sony will incur heavy loses over the next five years. FISCO, a Japanese news service, reports Merrill Lynch’s target share prices for Sony have dropped from ¥4,700 to ¥4,000 ($40.05 to $34.09) as the PS3 prepares for a North American launch.

Only 80,000 units shipped in Japan last week, falling 20,000 short of what Sony estimated for the region. Sony currently hopes to ship 400,000 units in North America this Friday.

Source: Gamasutra