Sony, Panasonic downgraded to “junk” status by Fitch

Definitely disappointing news for the two Japanese consumer electronics companies, debt ratings for Sony and Panasonic fell today due to poor performance.

Covered by Reuters earlier today, the Fitch ratings agency shifted the debt rating of consumer electronics companies Panasonic and Sony down to “junk” status. This marks the first time that either company has been downgraded to this status level. Specifically, Panasonic’s rating has been shifted from a BB status to a BBB- and Sony’s rating has moved from BB- to BBB-. These new ratings indicate that Fitch believes any form of economic recovery will be extremely slow in the coming years.

Within a press release regarding the change in debt rating, Fitch representatives stated “Fitch believes that continuing weakness in the home entertainment & sound and mobile products & communications segments will offset the relatively stable music and pictures segments and improvement in the devices segment which makes semiconductors and components.”

When combined with Sharp Corp., the total losses for the three companies over the past year is over $20 billion. Both Sony and Panasonic are currently changing organizational structure by cutting jobs as well as selling off assets. 

The decrease in the profitability of Sony and Panasonic is related to the slowing demand for new television sets, the strength of the yen and increased competition from Samsung and Apple in the consumer electronics space. With more people shifting to consuming entertainment on tablets and smartphones, it’s been difficult for Sony and Panasonic to compete in those spaces.

Over the last year, Sony’s stock has fallen by approximately forty percent and hit an all-time, 32-year low last week at 793 yen. Similarly, Panasonic’s stock hit a 34-year low on November 13 at 384 yen. It’s likely that this news could cause stock prices to fall even lower throughout the end of the year. Panasonic is in a slightly better position than Sony for economic recovery as the company isn’t as dependent on core consumer electronics like high definition televisions and home theater components. 

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Indie game AlphaJax being upgraded to Xbox LIVE status on Windows Phone

Achievement unlocked: Xbox LIVE upgrade enabled

Back in January 2011, we posted a rumor noting that the Scrabble-like game AlphaJax, one of our favorite indie games for Windows Phone, may be heading to Xbox LIVE.

Flash forward a mind-numbing 19 months later and we’re happy to report that indeed, AlphaJax will be coming to Xbox LIVE for Windows Phone in the near future.

Screen images from the upcoming Xbox LIVE edition

AlphaJax came onto Windows Phone launched with Windows Phone 7 back in October 2010 though we didn’t report on it until a few months later in January 2011. Since our coverage though, we routinely touted the game as one of our favorites due to the online multiplayer ability in addition to the excellent graphics and attentive development team behind the game. That team is based out of New Zealand and they have won numerous awards along the way for their efforts.

We're not sure what took so long but along with Wordament and Chickens Can’t Fly, they’re one of a very select few that have managed to get passed Microsoft’s infamously strict standards for Xbox LIVE status.

From the developer’s Web site:

“Marker Metro are pleased to announce that AlphaJax for Windows Phone will soon be available on the Xbox LIVE platform. AlphaJax is the first Xbox LIVE title to be developed by a Kiwi company for Windows Phone, and Marker Metro is proud to be one of the few companies able to meet Microsoft’s stringent quality requirements.”

“With its upcoming launch on the Xbox LIVE platform, AlphaJax users can enjoy all the great Xbox LIVE features such as achievements, leaderboards and in game avatars for the user and all opponents.”

No word on the exact release date but we’ll obviously bring more as soon as we can. Needless to say, we’re excited to see this game come to Xbox LIVE on Windows Phone and are thrilled for the development team behind the game.

You can pick up the current non-Xbox LIVE AlphaJax Free here in the Marketplace or get the non-ad version for $2.99 here.

Source: Marker Metro; Thanks, Xtramalt, for the tip!

     

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