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Sony to debut 3D BRAVIA TVs by end of 2010, also eyeing 3D VAIOs, Blu-ray films, and PS3 games?
The Financial Times has it on good word what the major unveil in Sony chief Sir Howard Stringer's keynote tomorrow at IFA 2009 will, so much so that it's quoting him with phrases he hasn't even said yet. According to the report, the company is making a huge push into the third dimension, with 3D BRAVIA HDTVs hitting the retail channels by the end of 2010. Also on the menu is 3D-compatible PlayStation 3 titles (which we've kind of heard before), VAIO laptops, and Blu-ray movies, but it's unclear from the article if they shares the same 2010 timeline. Polarized glasses will be required for use, but hey, just consider it a fashion statement. We're now very anxious to see how close Sir Stringer sticks to this purported script for tomorrow's big event.
Sony Ericsson head talks PlayStation phone, mythical beasts
Okay, okay, we're just kidding -- he doesn't talk about any mythical beasts. But he may as well be, when speaking about the oft rumored, never going to happen "PlayStation phone." Telling the Financial Times (requires subscription), "If we do not adapt to this new technology or new market environment, we're going to lose," Sony Ericsson's president, Hideki Komiyama, has seemingly resurrected the rumor from its smoldering ashes. Though Sony allegedly has said in the past that a PlayStation-branded phone could only exist independently from the mobile phone maker, the statements made by Komiyama seem to paint a different picture. Though we'll call it unlikely at best, it is possible we'll hear more about this partnership at next month's E3 -- but we're not holding our breath.[Via CVG]
Report: Stringer wants Sony focusing on software, 'old guard' resisting
Sony is reportedly planning to announce details of a restructuring scheme soon, confirming its first operating loss in 14 years. According to previous reports, the manufacture consider closing plants and, possibly, whole divisions. According to the Financial Times, Sony CEO Howard Stringer is facing serious resistance from the 'old guard' in Japan to fix (or save, depending on your perspective) the company. Certainly one of the more interesting pieces coming out of the alleged plan is Stringer's goal to shift Sony's focus from hardware to software. If true, the PlayStation brand, along with Sony Computer Entertainment, would presumably be the main benefactors of such an upheaval.Source - Sony to announce restructuring details soon: FT (Reuters)Source - Stringer battles Sony 'old guard' ... (FT.com, registration required)
Nintendo's 'profits per employee' are higher than Goldman Sachs
If there was ever any question as to how obscenely rich Nintendo is, the Financial Times has crunched some numbers to show the cash flow, per employee, at the House of Mario. The newspaper estimates that Nintendo produces more than $1.6 million per employee -- that's more than investment bank Goldman Sachs' $1.24 million per employee during its best year in 2007.There are some caveats to the information, most of which revolve around how much outsourcing the Big N does. Nintendo makes so much money for having so few employees (3000 full-time), because many of the company's necessities (external development, manufacturing, public relations, etc.) are handled by outside companies. Also, don't think this means that Nintendo is compensating its full-time employees too generously. Goldman's average (by mean) employee received $660,000 in 2007, while the average salary at Nintendo was $90,900.[Via GameDaily]
Rumor: Apple to offer iTunes subscription model
According to the Financial Times, Apple is (still) considering an "all-you-can-eat" subscription model, which is strange, because why would anyone want to eat digital music? They must mean "listen." Yes, as speculated before (in order to figure out what Jobs will be doing in a year, just listen to what he says he won't do now, apparently), Apple might come up with a plan where you would pay either a monthly fee or a lifetime subscription to download music from iTunes presumably straight into your iPod or iPhone. Supposedly what's holding the deal up isn't the price negotiation between consumers and Apple, it's between Apple and the record companies. Nokia, which is planning a similar deal, is reportedly happy to pay $80 per device to the music companies for the rights, but Apple is only offering $20.Which makes sense -- Apple is the 800 lb. gorilla in the media device market, and so they have the ability in most cases to pay what they want or not bother. If the two sides do come to a deal, however, even the terms of property are still up in the air. A few ideas being bounced around would let consumers keep a certain number of songs even if they changed devices, while some deals would only allow access while the subscription was active.What this may mean for us as consumers, at least, would be that Apple is planning to bring the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store to even more devices in the iPod line (or at least expand the capacity of the iPod touch to hold a subscription collection like this). If Apple really is planning to open up their library to a subscription, they should make it as easy as possible to obtain the music on demand.
Paramount following Warner out the HD DVD door?
The Financial Times is reporting that Paramount is preparing to use a get out clause in its HD DVD exclusivity deal, and go back to Blu-ray, about 4 months after ending its dual-format release schedule. The move would be a result of Warner's switch to Blu-ray, using a "get out" clause in Paramount's promotional agreement with the HD DVD camp. No details on what it might take to rip up the contract and make Michael Bay very, very happy, but if the rumor proves true this could make the slow death he predicted for HD DVD a very, very fast one.
Google almost certainly creating multi-user virtual world
World of Googlecraft? GoogleQuest? Pirates of the Google Sea? No, really. It could happen. Sort of.Apparently Google isn't satisfied with how massive it is already; the tech juggernaut might be developing a virtual online world. Okay, so it probably won't really be an MMORPG per say, but it could be something similar to Second Life. Rumors of the project have been gaining momentum for a while now, and we here at Massively are laying out all the evidence right here for you to see.
Apple video rental service coming in autumn?
Apple is back in the news this morning with more salacious tattle. This time, it's none other than the lady in pink herself -- London's Financial Times -- wagging her tongue about a supposed video rental service due out this autumn from Apple. One studio exec is quoted by the FT as saying that the service would "compete against cable companies and anyone else offering VOD into the home." The $2.99 downloads would be viewable for 30 days and playable on at least one other device like an iPod or iPhone. No mention of AT&T's involvement with the service. Nevertheless, we were already wondering what we'd do with all the capacity on Apple's recently updated, 160GB Apple TV. Maybe, just maybe, we'll hear a little somethin' somethin' about this during Steve-o's keynote later on today. Stay tuned, as they say.[Via MacRumors]
Sony considers incentives for commercial PS3 use
Tired of wasting all those idle PS3 clock cycles curing diseases for the benefit of all humanity? Wish you could sell off your extra processing power for prizes and free stuff instead? Sony knows how you feel, and is reportedly looking into a program that would let you do just that.Sony Computer Entertainment CTO Masa Chatani told the Financial Times that they are in discussions with a number of companies interested in using the parallel processing power of the PS3 network for their own research. Chatani realizes users might be hesitant to simply loan out use of their $600 living room computer to a commercial enterprise, so the company is considering offering incentives such as free products to users who would aid in such research.This sounds like a win-win-win situation to us: Sony gets a new revenue stream; small companies get their research done relatively cheaply; and PS3 owners get free stuff. Of course, every PS3 running one of these commercial projects is one less project running the potentially life-saving Folding@Home. OK, so maybe it's win-win-win-lose. Still, three out of four ain't bad.
