A median estimate from news agency Bloomberg has prognosticated that Sony's third quarter results could see profits fall by a full 50 percent. The Bloomberg survey reveals that the game division, Sony's second-largest by revenue, lost US$ 418 million during the quarter compared with a profit of US$ 557 million a year earlier, after sales fell seven percent. It is reasoned that this is due to the slower than expected sales of Sony's PlayStation 3 console.

Earlier predictions from Japanese analyst group, Nomura Securities suggested that Sony will only reach 75 percent of its fiscal year sales target for PS3 consoles, with estimated sales up to the end of March 2007 lowering from an expected 6 million to only 4.5 million.

The new estimates suggest that Sony will see group income fall to US$ 689 million for the three months ended December 31st.

It is interesting to note though that the major reason attributed to the shortfall is the success of the Wii, and not the direct competition from the Xbox 360.

As grim as this may be, Bloomberg does add that, as a whole, Sony may still exceed its full-year target due to a weaker yen, Bravia HDTV sales, and growth at its movie unit.