Sony Q1 - Vita figures masked in latest financial report

Sony has released its first quarter financial report, burying details of Vita hardware and software sales in what appears to have been a rather sombre three months for the Japanese giant.

Overall, the company posted a poor quarter, with total revenues of $19,180, just a 1.4% year-on-year increase. Operating income was $79 million, a 77.2% decrease.

The Game division, which is now reported under its own heading, also saw general decreases. Overall sales dropped 14.5% year-on-year to $1,493 million, which Sony put down to "lower sales of hardware and software of the PSP and PlayStation 3, partially offset by the contribution of the PlayStation Vita introduced from December 2011".

That said, the company did not reveal sales figures for the Vita, choosing instead to lump together its two portable and home consoles as separate categories.

Hardware sales of the PS2 and PS3 totaled 2.8 million units for the quarter, down from 3.2 million the year before, while software was also down at 20.1 million as opposed to 2011's 27.6 million.

For PSP and Vita, hardware sales came in at 1.4 million, down from the 1.8 million PSP managed alone the year before. Software maxed out at 5.8 million, again, down from the PSP's solitary 6.6 million in 2011.

The division as a whole returned an operating loss of $45 million, significantly down from a profitable Q1 2011.

Imaging Services, Devices, Music, and Financial Services reported profits; all other divisions also reported losses, with the Game division the least pronounced of the under-achievers.