Is Sony Actually Turning Things Around Now?

from the given-enough-time,-anything-is-possible dept

Sony's attempts at a turnaround have been pretty slowgoing, but their latest quarterly results -- showing profits double last year's -- generated some enthusiasm that things were on the right track. Although some parts of the company's business have picked up, the biggest factor in the increased profits was a weakening yen, which boosted the value of overseas sales. Investors shouldn't discount the currency effect, but they do have some other reasons to be upbeat: the company's movie unit is doing well, and its Sony Ericsson mobile phone joint venture continues to grow its market share. While the electronic business overall is looking healthier, Sony's TV unit is still underperforming, and the gaming business is still in the can. Sony's video-game unit boosted its sales by 60 percent over the same quarter last year, which is great, except that its losses grew as well, partly because it's still selling the PS3 for less than it costs to build. The game unit got a new boss a little while ago, but it doesn't yet look like he's making a lot of progress. Sony announced a price cut for the US on one PS3 model, and also said it will deliver a new high-end version and a load of new games. But it's hard to see those small changes making a big difference in terms of getting the mass market to buy into the PS3, particularly when you contrast Sony's strategy to that of Nintendo, whose business is booming. Still, Sony's problems are far from solved -- but it is showing some signs of life.

Filed Under: electronics, japan, ps3, video games
Companies: sony

Sony CEO Accuses Steve Jobs Of Being Greedy

from the pots-and-kettles dept

Speaking on a recent panel, Sony CEO Howard Stringer lashed out at Steve Jobs, calling him greedy and accusing him of wanting a world where only he gets to make money. Considering the relative performance of Sony and Apple of late, Stringer's frustration is understandable, though his specific charges are pretty rich. Sony, of course, is legendary in its insistence on using closed, proprietary technologies, whose only purpose is to keep customers locked in. Talk about wanting to be the only company making money. Of course, this strategy has badly backfired, as it usually just keeps customers away. Ultimately, every company wants to make as much money as it can, something that Apple's been quite good at. But Stringer's comments suggest he feels entitled to some cut of the action, even if Sony hasn't done anything to deserve it. Thinking you deserve something for doing nothing -- now that's what's really greedy.

Companies: apple, sony

74 Percent Of Nothing Is Still Nothing

from the hot-air dept

The group behind the HD DVD format in Europe claims that it has 74 percent market share of the next-gen DVD market in a handful of western European countries. Of course, they're not including Sony PS3s, which have a Blu-ray drive, in their count, but the bigger point is that they're claiming 74 percent of a miniscule market. This contrived stat, like Toshiba's claim of 60 percent share of the US market, glosses over the problems that are holding it back: DRM that breaks legitimate customers' players, low perceived benefits and high prices. Apparently, though, the HD DVD folks would rather claim to have a big share of a tiny market than to have any share in a market that's actually meaningful. Update: Just in case anybody cares, the Blu-ray people say they're actually the market leaders.

Filed Under: dvd, entertainment
Companies: blu-ray, hd dvd, sony, toshiba