Didn't Sony buy MGM for $5 billion 8 years ago?
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NY Times: Sony is in "the fight for its life"
- Thread starter shinobi602
- Start date
Didn't Sony buy MGM for $5 billion 8 years ago?
Combichristoffersen
Combovers don't work when there is no hair
They don't make CE cameras exclusively though, they make medical equipment under the camera division. Besides, didn't Kaz recently cite the camera division as one of the company's pillars?
yeah Sony Music. they got money for every Michael Jackson songs played in the radio stations
I never thought of sony video cameras as half assed. Anyhow look at all the standards throughout the years
Umatic (~1968)
Betamax (1975)
Betacam (1981)
Compact Disc with Philips (1982)
3.5 inch Floppy Disk (1982)
Video8 (1985)
DAT (1987)
Hi8 (1988)
MiniDisc (~1990)
Digital Betacam (~1990)
miniDV (1992)
DVD with others (~1995)
DVCAM (1996)
Memory Stick (1998)
Digital8 (1999)
Universal Media Disc (~2003)
HDV with JVC (~2004)
Blu-ray Disc with Panasonic and others (2006)
I guess now that everything is going to "the cloud", it's hurting them not to have physical media still be big. Personally I think streaming has a way to go.
Heck my internet speed has been the same for like 10 fucking years :\
no, that's just a temporary deal, I guess. Then MGM boards voted to become independent again
XiaNaphryz
LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
But Kaz has a strategy! Dunno if it will actually work given the talk in the article about infighting and people not wanting to work with other divisions:
entremet
Member
I see what you're saying. I'm a big Sony fan as well, well their PlayStation division, I do like how they manage to have a very diverse lineup in both retail and DD, but I think gaming is bigger than just one platform holder. Thankfully, though the PS3 was not well though out, I do think they'll learn with the PS4 and not sink tons of money from the get go.
I do think the Vita can carve out a profitable niche in time. It's doing respectably in the US at least.
To sum up, I do think gaming is the least of their problems. I do worry that the CE division may sink the company in the long run. They really need to drop tons of weight. But the whole Japanese corporate culture of being reticent to slash and burn departments may haunt Sony going forward.
test_account
XP-39C²
The article he posted didnt tell much about the company culture though.
I know. But i think his point was that even when they are down (financially), they are still the best, in his opinion.
It works for other companies...
Combichristoffersen
Combovers don't work when there is no hair
Which ones, Apple? That's because it's Apple, and they have successfully managed to sell their iProducts as not just tech gadgets, but lifestyle accessories that 'everyone' wants.
So it works? right?
Sony needs to figure out how to get people to want their stuff again. Come on Kaz.
Combichristoffersen
Combovers don't work when there is no hair
It works for Apple. It won't work for Sony in this day and age. The Sony brand doesn't hold the same respect it once did. Not even Nintendo managed to sell the 3DS at the original launch price, and the Nintendo brand is stronger these days than the Sony brand.
And it doesnt work for thousands of others.
dark_prinny
Banned
I´ll be sad if Sony doesn´t survive but then again It will be his own fault. Totally agree with the opinions wroten in the article. Thanks the OP for posting, and GAF for being GAF.
I think its pretty obvious at this point that it isnt working for Sony and hasnt worked for quite some time. If it did, they wouldnt be losing billions.
And how true is that now, anyways? The Apple tax has pretty much disappeared in the iOS space. Something like the ipad is pretty comical. You have people trying to compete with Apple while often charging more for similar specs. The worst example was HP and the Touchpad. Not only was it a generation behind tech wise, had a half-baked OS that was unresponsive and had little app support, but it was also priced more than the cheapest ipad. Unless you're really willing to go budget on the hardware, there is no Apple tax anymore. The competition isn't price beating them when offering similar hardware specs.
Cygnus X-1
Member
This is a joke indeed. Why exiting from one of the few divisions that are not losing money? I see only one section being shut down in the medium term and that would be the TV manufacturing.
It has worked for Apple. If it was so easy to copy do you think someone other than Apple would have replicated it by now? Apple is one in a million. They had the right products at the right time with the right marketing and the right leadership. That doesn't happen very often and you can't just go and replicate it easily.
Obviously it's not easy at all. But I don't think it's absolutely impossible for Sony.
Combichristoffersen
Combovers don't work when there is no hair
I don't think the iPads or iPods are really overpriced (dunno about iPhones), but their Macs are still overpriced compared to similarly specced PCs AFAIK.
H_Prestige
Banned
No they aren't. But I'd argue there is no similarly specced PC since a laptop is a lot more than just the processor and RAM.
SkylineRKR
Member
iPad isn't overpriced. I played with a lot of Android tablets that cost the same amount of money and they were just crappier. More lag, less streamlined. Just not as good.
I don't think Sony is THAT much more expensive but there surely are just better products around these days. Where Trinitron was really good, there are Pioneer, Panasonic and Samsung in the HDTV business now. For portable audio, iPod became the benchmark. In terms of phones, they did a great job during the mid 2000's with the k750 etc but their Androids were lagging behind the likes of Samsung and HTC. And Sony always had their proprietary shit on top of that as well.
I don't think Sony is THAT much more expensive but there surely are just better products around these days. Where Trinitron was really good, there are Pioneer, Panasonic and Samsung in the HDTV business now. For portable audio, iPod became the benchmark. In terms of phones, they did a great job during the mid 2000's with the k750 etc but their Androids were lagging behind the likes of Samsung and HTC. And Sony always had their proprietary shit on top of that as well.
dark_prinny
Banned
I´m happy with my Bravia and my PSVita too. Problems for Sony are not the quality of their products.
Sarcasm? I hope not, because Sega is probably second only to Nintendo for all time in terms of quality games.
dark_prinny
Banned
I´m surprised that nobody had mentioned one of the biggest problems of Sony: MARKETING.
For a long time, especially in the 90's Sony was quite a bit more expensive than their competitors. At the time, this price discrepancy was warranted more often than not because the Sony product was indeed better than the competition. Over time though, this line got smaller and smaller until they arent the clear cutting edge that they were. The issue is that Sony continued to price themselves like they were the top of the line when they werent.
H_Prestige
Banned
Yes it is. Their TVs are not as highly rated as Samsung or Panasonic. That's why they sell less.
Yet another 'tech writer' sucking on Apple's proverbial you know what. There is absolutely nothing amazing about Apple's phone, but that doesn't stop the 'press' from making the statement so matter of factly, with literally nothing to back it up. I guess popularity should always be equated with quality.
This makes Peyton Manning sad.
Combichristoffersen
Combovers don't work when there is no hair
Are you talking about design here? If so, I personally consider that to be more or less irrelevant compared to raw hardware specs for desktop/laptop computers.
dark_prinny
Banned
It´s more a matter of having too many models than a problem of quality.
dark_prinny
Banned
Since I´m Spanish I didn´t get the reference of a professional American Footbal player on this
Maybe next time I should say something like " It´s like el rebujito en la feria de Abril "I bought a Sony ES Receiver not too long ago. Maybe 3 years ago. It's funny how much hate they got once I ventured into the AVS forums. I wasn't aware. You know the product has worked out just fine but people are adamant that you aren't getting the product you used to get. Maybe it's true, I don't know. But I never felt I was buying over priced crap. I think the only Sony product that failed me was my first ps1. Even that worked on it's belly.
Also, it's not some formula that is easily going to work immediately. People seem to forget that Apple has been building on the success of iMac, iPod, iTunes, iPhone, and their OS releases for over a decade now. Cutting the fat will help profitability but what then?
H_Prestige
Banned
Design and usability. Apple's macbook design isn't just beautiful, it's functional. The trackpad in particular is pure genius. That's a lot more important than raw specs for most people. Most don't need much more power in a laptop than what Apple offers.
The other companies also have a bunch of models. Samsung has TVs coming out the wazoo and they sell more than anyone.
Quadrangulum
Banned
Sony's televisions are just as good as, many would say superior to, Panasonic and Samsung LCDs. Along with Sharp, who only makes two ultra expensive niche halo sets, they are the only producers of local dimming LCD TVs this year.
edit: Last year I should say. I forgot it was 2012. I have only the vaguest idea of what any company is doing this year.
SkylineRKR
Member
I own a Panasonic V20, which was a highly rated Plasma TV when it came out, but I have to say I was very impressed by the Bravia my friend bought at the same time. It seems to have an even better picture during gaming.
Yes every tech writer in the world has been brainwashed.
yeah, their marketing is weird, quirky or edgy (at least trying hard to be, and most of the time ending up in the wrong way of edgy)
but even with all their wrongs, I like Sony gaming more than the other two, their style just suits me, so please don't die Sony. GAMING NEEDS YOU
H_Prestige
Banned
Who? Any legit review site has Panasonic or Samsung plasmas at the top. Even CNET which is the most mainstream doesn't have Sony anywhere near the top of their best HDTVs list. You can't really just divide plasma from LCD, it's all the same HDTV market.
I bought a Samsung TV over Sony because of value. Really, based on reviews and all that it's not as good as what Sony offers. But for the price I thought I was getting a lot of TV. I never thought I would see the day I would buy a TV that wasn't SONY but it happened. Again, I don't consider SONY TVs bad at all. For the longest time I considered it the only thing worth buying.
I'm a little sad because my Trinitron has to go. It just takes up too much room.
Quadrangulum
Banned
Sony doesn't make plasma sets.
Whoops, sorry I missed your edit. For the purposes of this discussion, I say you can because 1) there are reasons for picking a LCD over a plasma and 2) the plasma segment is actually losing marketshare to LCDs. This was at least true in the past couple of years.
I bought a Samsung TV over Sony because of value. Really, based on reviews and all that it's not as good as what Sony offers. But for the price I thought I was getting a lot of TV. I never thought I would see the day I would buy a TV that wasn't SONY but it happened. Again, I don't consider SONY TVs bad at all. For the longest time I considered it the only thing worth buying.
I'm a little sad because my Trinitron has to go. It just takes up too much room.
I agree. Sony's contending with an environment where they are no longer the indisputable leaders. I'm just saying they're still in the thick of it where quality is concerned.
lolz at that strategy
What Kaz needs is a pair of balls to the make the decision to cut the arms that are sinking the company the most, or massively change them up. Samsung crushed Sony in TV sales because they offered roughly the same quality at much lower prices. What is Sony's TV branch up to these days? Still premium-priced, and the TVs have nothing that makes paying extra worth it.
That's good for you but there is a reason why so many other people think it's overpriced. Fair or not, that's perception majority of the consumers have for Sony and they are not willing to overpay for Sony's products anymore.
MrCunningham
Member
You know, Apple was in the same boat during the 90's too. They too were facing bankruptcy, due to too much R&D spending, releasing too many products at once and confusing consumers. What happened? They brought Steve Jobs back. He fired a whole bunch of people, canceled a whole bunch of projects, went back to the Macintosh philosophy of keeping it simple. Released the iMac G3 and iBook. Drove the company into a direction of making easy to use computer devices for everyday use. Now they are the biggest company on the planet.
Say what you want about Jobs, but it takes serious leadership balls to make such drastic changes without upsetting the shareholders. I think Kaz needs to learn a few things here. Gradual changes won't do anything in their position now. I think.
Things are difficult without a strategy, while you're competing with a company with the slickest marketing machine out there and another which has enjoyed an unlimited line of credit from its government and all sort of other perks. All the while your currency is sky high.
I'm sure they'll be fine when they slim down their product line and have more time to spend on making the products that they do produce good.
I'm sure they'll be fine when they slim down their product line and have more time to spend on making the products that they do produce good.
Good post. Sony obviously needs drastic changes. Whether that means restructuring or hacking off limbs entirely, I couldn't say, but they're effectively "too big to function."
The fact that they have zero hit products at the moment is a huge problem.