The Ledger
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Lasky: Sony's resistance to cross-play will hurt it over time
“I think it's going to come back to bite him in the ass over time.”
Rosenthal: Without Sony and Morita, Apple would not have created iPhone
“And I think you know, no Morita, no Sony, no iPhone.”
Sony cannot build great software and services to differentiate its hardware
“They don't know how to build fantastic software and services that differentiate their hardware. They just make great hardware.”
Apple built history's greatest business while Sony became relatively undifferentiated
“Apple by shifting down to just a few product lines and focusing on the integration of hardware, software, and services, not to mention pseudo monopolistic distribution channels like the app store have just built
Like the greatest business in history and Sony …”
Microsoft will never completely take Sony's gaming market share
“I don't think Microsoft is going to like completely take the market from them now or possibly ever.”
Sony fails at product categories once they converge into general-purpose computers
“I think Sony doesn't know how to make computers, and as things become computers, they lose.”
The shift to game subscriptions will erode console platform moats
“If the industry moves much more to subscription dynamics, I do think a lot of this power goes away. Switching costs become a lot lower. Network economies become a lot less powerful.”
Sony co-founder Akio Morita wanted a studio because Betamax lost to VHS
“Mr. Morita came to see me and wanted to buy, get into owning content because he was upset that Betamax, which was a superior technology to VHS, was losing to VHS. So he wanted to own a studio”
Sony commands roughly 50% of the global image sensor market share
“They have something like 50% market share in the image sensor market broadly.”
Sony Financial Group drove 63% of Sony's operating profit in 2014
“In 2014, 63% of Sony's total operating profit was Sony financial group.”
Akio Morita rejected Bulova's 100,000-unit OEM order to protect the Sony brand
“We want to place an order for a 100,000 units that we're gonna bring over to America and sell through our channels... We want it to be the Belova TR-SI. We want to put our brand name on it, and I think Marita would later say that this was the single, like, big…”
Sony lost $5 billion on the PlayStation 3 in its first three years
“Sony loses five billion dollars
On the PS three in the first three years.”
Company culture and values mean nothing until they are tested
“Company culture and company values don't mean anything until they're tested. And when I don't think he used the phrase direct to consumer, but when they sort of decided they wanted to be a direct consumer company, that's cute and all until someone offers you a…”
Sony will continue to outpace competitors in mobile image sensors
“I think they're going to continue to have unbelievable gains above anyone else in the mobile imaging space. And I think that's going to only get more and more important.”
CBS/Sony Records quickly became the most profitable division for both parent companies
“CBS Sony records. Which is the Japanese distribution arm of CBS's recorded music in Japan, becomes such a cash cow that within just a few years, it is the most profitable division for both Sony and CBS.”
Sony retains perpetual Spider-Man rights by releasing movies every 5.75 years
“Sony has the right to produce Spider-Man movies forever. Yes, in perpetuity, as long as they release one every five years and nine months.”
Only around 10% of Sony gaming sales come from console hardware
“Within gaming, most of the sales are actually coming from digital software and add-ons, which is related to the PlayStation Network. Only, like, ten-ish percent is selling hardware”
Akio Morita pledged to resign if the initial Walkman production run flopped
“The sentiment on the board and in the company against Merida, Merida at this point is The CEO of Sony was so strong that he had to make a promise that if the initial 30,000 unit production run didn't sell by the end of the year that he would resign from Sony.”
Rosenthal: IPL Shared 80% of Central Revenue With Teams in Year 1
“Of the central media rights revenue, the broadcast deals like they've just done with WSG and Sony, and also the central sponsorship deals, 50%, one half of that, will get distributed out to the collective eight franchises to be distributed equally. But, here's…”
Sony agreed to a 10-year, $2.4 billion renegotiated IPL broadcast deal
“Sony is now going to directly do a ten-year deal with the IPL for 2.4 billion dollars. So two hundred and forty million dollars a year. Quite a bit more than the sixty million dollars that they had paid for year one.”
Sony has five business units each generating double-digit revenue percentages
“I mean, the craziest thing to me is if you look at the business as of the time we did the episode, they had five separate business units, all of which did a double digit percentage of their revenue. So it's super diverse and all of which did a double digit per…”
Rosenthal: Japan's 1946 GDP per capita was $17
“The GDP per capita in Japan in 1946 was 17 dollars. Not 17,000 dollars, it was 17 dollars.”
Sony is the world's largest video game console company and publisher
“They're the largest video game console company and the largest video game publisher in the world.”
Sony Life has historically contributed over 50% of Sony's operating cash flow
“Like in some years, in, in recent years, as other Sony businesses have stumbled, the life insurance business is contributing like 50% plus of their operating cashflow.”
Sony is the largest music publisher and second-largest record label
“They're the largest music publisher and the second largest record label”
PlayStation accounts for the top three best-selling video game consoles ever
“If you look at the top game consoles ever sold, PlayStation has three of the top three, with the PS two is the best selling of all time, then the PS four, then the original PlayStation.
They also have four of the top six because in the number six slot is the …”
Sony owns the world's third-largest Hollywood film studio
“And they have the third largest Hollywood film studio on top of all of that.”
Sony's television division lost money for eight straight years in the 2000s
“So for eight street years in the mid 2000, the television division, which was once, you know, one of the main crown jewels of Sony ends up losing money, like bleeding cash for eight years.”
MCA sued Sony for copyright infringement over Betamax in November 1976
“So November in 1976, MCA files a lawsuit. Against Sony for enabling copyright infringement.”
Gaming accounts for 30% of Sony's total revenue and profit
“30% of both revenue and profit right now come from gaming for Sony and that's at risk.”
Sony sold 250 million Walkmans over the product's lifetime
“All in Sony sells a quarter billion walkmans in the life of the product.”
Sony was the first Japanese company listed on the NYSE in 1970
“The first of which was in 1970, they became the first Japanese company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.”
Every Sony business segment accounts for at least 10% of total revenue
“Out of all of their segments, games, music, pictures, electronics, images, or imaging, and sensors, and financial services, there are zero single digit percent business lines in revenue or profit.”
The Tesla brand and customer experience resemble 1990s Sony
“I feel like the Tesla brand and the experience and all about it is just like Sony back in the nineties.”
The Morita family made an initial 190,000-yen investment in Sony
“They get the blessing and a 190,000 yen investment in the new startup company. And over the next couple of years, the Morita family would put a little more money in over time and eventually own 17% of the company.”
Apple's revenue grows at 30% annually compared to Sony's 15%
“Apple is also growing their revenue twice as fast, even with the crazy high numbers that they have today at 30% per year versus Sony's 15% per year.”
The Morita family held 10% of Sony in 1999, worth $5 billion
“As of 1999, the family controls a 10% share, which at the time was worth roughly five billion dollars.”
Sony retained 95% of revenue from $1.7B-grossing Spider-Man: No Way Home
“And if you look at the performance of Spider-Man No Way Home, the one that just came out, that already grossed worldwide 1.7 billion in revenue. Remember, Sony is keeping 95% of that.”
The original Sony PlayStation sold over 100 million units
“The original PlayStation sells over a hundred million units, and they win over all the major third-party developers to come over.”
Akio Morita aimed to transform 'Made in Japan' into a quality mark
“Cause famously, Akio Morita's goal with Sony was to transform made in Japan on a product from, oh, this is of low quality to, oh, this is of high quality.”
Sony's TR-63 transistor radio sold 1.5 million units at $25 each
“Ultimately, the TR-sixty-three ends up selling 1.5 million units at 25 dollars each”
Sony's founding prospectus stated its mission was creating a stable workplace
“So he creates a founding prospectus for the company, which starts out that the purpose is to, quote, establish a stable workplace where engineers could work to their heart's content in full consciousness of their joy in technology and their social obligation.”
Sony lost its television market share lead in 2006
“In 2006, they lose the number one market share lead in televisions for the first time.”
The PlayStation 2 is the best-selling console ever at 150 million units
“And then the PlayStation two becomes the most successful console of all time. Over a hundred and fifty million units sold worldwide.”
Sony launched the first commercial CD player in 1982
“In 1982, Sony brings the first CD player to market, and then lots of other manufacturers follow suit. And the great thing is Sony and Phillips are getting royalties on all the hardware and all the discs being sold out there.”
Sony held the number one global TV market share for decades
“For Some ungodly amount of time, like decades from when the Trinitron TV comes out. Sony is the number one by market share TV manufacturer in the world.”
Sony is Japan's second-largest company by market cap behind Toyota
“They are the second largest Japanese company by market cap behind only Toyota.”
Sony paid roughly $6 billion total to acquire Columbia Pictures in 1989
“Now, of course, we're talking about Sony buying Columbia pictures in 1989 for 3.2 billion dollars, but that was the equity purchase price. Ultimately, when they assume debt and a few other things, they spend about six billion dollars to buy Columbia pictures.”