A Reuters report claims that US and Japanese arms of SCE could also see redundancies. This follows the 160 jobs shed in the UK, with most of the job losses taking place at UK-based Sony-owned studios in London, Cambridge and Liverpool.

According tech site Beyond3D, 50 staff are to be lost from Liverpool Studio, 20 from Cambridge Studio and 50 from London Studio. 30 of the Sony Territories staff (dedicated to distribution and publishing) are to go as well.

The Reuters report states that SCE spokesman, Satoshi Fukuok, has told media that "potential job cuts are not the result of the PS3's slow start, but a response to changes in the game industry, including a shift to online distribution of software from packaged software sales."

It continues "Its (SCE's) game business is estimated to have made a loss of more than 200 billion yen ($1.7 billion) for the year ended March 31, making the PS3 the biggest risk factor for Sony's earnings growth, although it is not unusual for game makers to rack up a substantial loss in the initial phase of a console launch."