Sony fears that the appeal of its ageing Playstation 4 is fading for players of games such as Evolve as it prepares to release its successor, PS5, possibly this year FREDERIC J. BROWN/Getty ImagesA mixed trading update reinforced concerns yesterday about Sony’s ageing Playstation console business and the wider slowdown in the global smartphone market. The Japanese technology company’s Playstation 4, released in 2013, has been a big driver of its profits, but the device’s popularity is waning. Sony, which is also a leading supplier of image sensors used by smartphone makers, such as Apple and Huawei, began as an electronics shop in a Tokyo department store in 1946. It is now one of the world’s biggest entertainment companies, boasting a market value of 6.4 trillion yen and with a range of consumer products spanning the Playstation computer console and its Xperia smartphone. The smartphone market has come under pressure from the economic slowdown in China, the trade…

Source: The Times February 05, 2019 00:04 UTC