Japanese tech giants hit by Korean competition
SONY and Sharp’s third straight quarters of losses underscore the challenges they face in flat-panel TV market as they struggle to compete with Samsung Electronics and other South Korean rivals benefiting from a weaker won.
And Nintendo reported a sharp fall in quarterly profit as sales of its Wii game console lost some steam and the stronger yen took a toll. It reiterated its forecast for profit to fall for the first time in four years.
Sony, which vies with Panasonic for the position as the world’s largest consumer electronics maker, is struggling to keep up with Samsung in LCD TVs and has been outmatched by Nintendo in video games.
In the portable music player market, which Sony created 30 years ago with the Walkman, it trails Apple’s iPod, while its mobile phone venture with Ericsson has been mired in the red and may need financial support.