Sunday Herald Doubts Sony’s Future

The “Sunday Herald“, Scotland’s independent newspaper, has released a rather lengthy article that questions Sony’s capability to continue.

The practices that once made Sony an entertainment superpower back in the 80’s and throughout the 90’s have placed Sony in a position where it has to face an “uphill struggle to capitalise on the games console range.” Basically they say that things look bad for the corporation.

It cites Sony Connect, the corporation’s attempt to enter the download generation, as example. It was supposed to work like any other online music service. The problem is that the company decided to ignore the universally accepted MP3 format. It came up with its own unique and completely incompatible audio format. It didn’t turn out too well for them.

Some would argue that this isolationist policy of Sony is what helped get it started. It helped create the transistor radio and the walkman. The paper asserts that today “it seems more of a hindrance than a help.”

The paper continues by saying that Sony has “squandered the market advantages it once enjoyed.” Francis Stewart a technology brand consultant had this to say: “The strange thing here is that Sony is actually very good at manufacturing slick, attractive devices that work well. If they had just stuck to doing that and avoided tying themselves in knots over industry politics, then I very much doubt that thereÂ’d have been even the slightest doubt about the companyÂ’s future.”

But the company itself seems untroubled. The company is still an industry leader, and it claims that it will continue to be one. Sony continues to be confident that the Blu-Ray format will be a huge success, and that months after the PS3’s release it will reassert its position as king of the hill.

The “Sunday Herald“, Scotland’s independent newspaper, has released a rather lengthy article that questions Sony’s capability to continue.

The practices that once made Sony an entertainment superpower back in the 80’s and throughout the 90’s have placed Sony in a position where it has to face an “uphill struggle to capitalise on the games console range.” Basically they say that things look bad for the corporation.

It cites Sony Connect, the corporation’s attempt to enter the download generation, as example. It was supposed to work like any other online music service. The problem is that the company decided to ignore the universally accepted MP3 format. It came up with its own unique and completely incompatible audio format. It didn’t turn out too well for them.

Some would argue that this isolationist policy of Sony is what helped get it started. It helped create the transistor radio and the walkman. The paper asserts that today “it seems more of a hindrance than a help.”

The paper continues by saying that Sony has “squandered the market advantages it once enjoyed.” Francis Stewart a technology brand consultant had this to say: “The strange thing here is that Sony is actually very good at manufacturing slick, attractive devices that work well. If they had just stuck to doing that and avoided tying themselves in knots over industry politics, then I very much doubt that thereÂ’d have been even the slightest doubt about the companyÂ’s future.”

But the company itself seems untroubled. The company is still an industry leader, and it claims that it will continue to be one. Sony continues to be confident that the Blu-Ray format will be a huge success, and that months after the PS3’s release it will reassert its position as king of the hill.