How The Tech Parade Passed Sony By

New York Times:

Sony, which once defined Japan’s technological prowess, wowed the world with the Walkman and the Trinitron TV and shocked Hollywood with bold acquisitions like Columbia Pictures, is now in the fight of its life.

In fact, it is in a fight for its life — a development that exemplifies the stunning decline of Japan’s industrialized economy. Once upon a time, Japan Inc., not to mention Sony itself, seemed invulnerable. Today, Sony and many other Japanese manufacturers are pressed on all sides: by rising Asian rivals, a punishingly strong Japanese yen and, in Sony’s case, an astonishing lack of ideas.

Read the whole story at New York Times

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Comments

[CroatianCritter]

10:38 PM on 04/16/2012

Sony has been on a downward spiral since the middle of last decade. This is a great example of a philosophy that I have promoted since the 1990s, large mega-corporations are too big to be managed even by a board of directors. This is a problem that the United States has never come to terms with because the rich elites in this country only want more power and wealth. But like government, religion and any other entity that becomes too big to manage, Sony is now suffering the consequences of its largesse. When you throw in investors who want returns on quarterly profits, you see why Sony makes issues of things like piracy and monopolistic ideals like limiting all Sony Pictures films to Blu-Ray which cost them a lot of money a few years back. Companies that focus on these issues outside of their control instead of innovation are truly out of ideas (See music industry and Napster. The music industry made more profits back then despite that service.) You throw in the massive failure that is 3-D television and Sony is in a lot of trouble. Maybe they should contemplate dividing the company up into four separate entities. It may help them in the long run.

[SueZbell]

07:42 PM on 04/16/2012

Sony shareholders were too greedy for profits to reinvest in the company -- now they pay for that serious error in judgment. No pity.

[MichaelMcKLA]

06:02 PM on 04/16/2012

"But Sony’s recent leaders have had trouble wielding authority over the sprawling company. Sony remains dominated by proud, territorial engineers who often shun cooperation."

That's what Steve Jobs said in his official autobiography and that is what allowed the iPod to succeed.

[Linda from Deerfield]

05:19 PM on 04/16/2012

It is rather shocking to see the Sony reality, in light of the wrenching pain they inflicted on U.S. high tech, yet we can hardly gloat, since Apple mostly does not employ Americans, and the search engine and social network enthusiasm is probably unwarrented, not providing all that many jobs either.

[red wolfe]

04:40 PM on 04/16/2012

Not that I think a Huff Post posting gets corporate attention, but here it goes, Sony could help itself by:

1. Re-commit to the professional production market where some quality and market competitiveness remains. This was a core part of Sony's success in developing reputable consumer products. Sony has slipped here and already lost ground to its classic competitors like Panasonic but also to upstarts like Red.
2. Get out of the content creation part of the business. Manufacturing companies can support the creative industries but rarely make good decisions regarding actual creative products. Sony Films and Sony Music were mistakes and over-reach.
3. Yes, definitely streamline the consumer lines. I've seen such a legacy of waste with so-so camcorders, audio decks and still cameras. A model comes out for six months and is gone. How can that be efficient?
4. I'm not sure Sony should be in the game business. Again, too much development time needed for a product that is not core to Sony's electronics manufacturing strengths.
5. Stop being a closed, proprietary system. Why did it take Sony so long to adapt to SD cards rather than those annoying memory sticks that nobody else uses?

So there.

[peterhenry]

02:40 PM on 04/16/2012

Sony self-destructed.

If you anger all of the techies in all of the markets, you don't sell products.

Think Sony Rootkit
Think Sony PS3 OtherOS disabled.

Their marketing strategy was to offend their current and potential customers. All else they needed was the proverbial footgun.

[john262]

01:52 PM on 04/16/2012

I still have an 80s vintage Trinitron TV that still works just as good as new. I doubt if it will ever die. It's been moved to my basement and it's connected to an SD satellite receiver. Just out of respect for its longevity and its quality I refuse to let it go. Back when I bought that TV people paid extra to get a Sony because they knew it was a quality product. But recently when I bought a new flatscreen for my family room I passed on a Sony and got a Samsung which was cheaper and got better online reviews than comparable Sony's.

[El Chingaso]

12:57 PM on 04/16/2012

Just the name "Sony" these days conjures up so many like it from the past...RCA, Philco, Zenith, Westinghouse, et al...

You know, makers of those retro AM/FM radio/LP-type stereos embedded in particle board "walnut" cabinets...with 8-track players.

Yep, it's over, man.

[RecreationalPilot]

11:27 AM on 04/16/2012

If the rumors are correct... NO PS4 in our house.

He have a Sony PS2, PS3, PSP, Bravias and a VHS player (yes, that too).

===

The rumor is that the Sony PS4:

1) will not be downward compatable with PS3 discs.

2) you don't own the game - you own a single machine licence to play the game on ONE box.

After the kids spend $50 for the game (and another $20 for the extended downloadable content that makes the game worth playing- stuff that used to be included as the base game)... you can't resell it, take it to a friend's house or trade it in for credit on new games as easily. If someone gets the game disc, they have to buy a new license key to play it on their machine.

My kids, as they are teens, mostly buy their own games, sans holidays. When they see a $70 bill for a game, they actually think about just saving the money and downloading a free game app on their cell phone or laptop instead.

In the old days, it would take weeks to defeat a game. Now, they are written to be 'won' in 4-6 hours, $70 for two days of playing. Then you can't recoup part of the cost.

Sorry Sony, if those rumors are true, we are not buying into your profit paradigm.

[VioletGrey]

10:14 AM on 04/16/2012

This company has been coasting on it's name for a long time now. It's far too big to react quickly to shifting trends and it's insular approach to technology has made it, literally, incompatible with most peoples lives. I think Sony's decision to begin reducing it's number of TV models is a step in the right direction. I have never been a fan of companies who produce a product to meet a market segment to the detriment of it's overall quality and Sony has been one of the worst offenders. If you're going to be a premium then be a premium brand. Don't waste resources creating for a market just so you can claim a share. If you're going to exist on name recognition then be sure that name stands for something.

[Samuel Bun]

10:06 AM on 04/16/2012

I always thought the Sony business model was off. Sony has always wanted to be an entity unto itself. If it is not Sony's way then it's the highway.