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Sony's Stringer to retire in June
Sir Howard Stringer announced that he will retire from his position as Sony's chairman in June. Stringer told a Japan Society lecture Friday that the move would allow him to pursue "new opportunities I've been presented with lately," according to the Financial Times.Stringer stepped down from his role as Sony's president and CEO in February 2012, when he was replaced by Kaz Hirai, before he became the company's chairman of the board of directors in June 2012.
Kaz Hirai drops some titles at Sony, still president
One morning, Sony president and CEO Kaz Hirai woke up and said, "I probably have too many titles." Beyond being the president and CEO of Sony Corporation (the umbrella parent company of PlayStation, Bravia, and many other Sony brands), Hirai is also "representative director" and "chairman" – until today, that is. Hirai is relinquishing his responsibilities and titles for both his positions as representative director and chairman of Sony Corp.Hirai is dropping both titles and responsibility in today's move, only remaining on Sony's board in a "part-time capacity." He became president and CEO earlier this year, taking over former CEO Howard Stringer's spot in early February. Sony Computer Entertainment president Andrew House is taking over the vacated chairman position, effective this month, and former Sony Corp. head Howard Stringer is also exiting his board seat.In case the bizarre-looking hierarchy isn't clear enough, this means that Andrew House – the guy who runs the PlayStation brand – is the head of Sony Corp.'s board, followed by eight Japan-based Sony Corp. employees. One of those is his boss, Kaz Hirai. Yup.
Sony appoints Kaz Hirai to prez and CEO, replacing Sir Howard Stringer
After a bout of he said / she said earlier this year over the possibility of executive deputy prez Kazuo Hirai becoming president and CEO of Sony Corp., Sony has decided to make the news official this morning. As of April 1, 2012, Kaz will step up to the job of current CEO Sir Howard Stringer, effectively kicking off two months of vacation for Stringer before he becomes chairman of the board of directors in June 2012."I look forward to helping Kaz in every way I can so that succession leads inevitably to success," Stringer said in the announcement press release. Kaz was ready with the back patting as well, as he said, "Challenging as times are for Sony now, were it not for the strong leadership of Sir Howard Stringer these past seven years, we would have been in a much more difficult position." Hirai is known for having lead Sony Computer Entertainment through its most successful years, as well as being the guy who says "Riiiiiiiidge Racer!" really enthusiastically.Stringer's appointment to the board of directors in June awaits final approval during the annual shareholders meeting in June. If confirmed, he will replace retiring chairman Yotaro Kobayashi, though he will in no way match Kobayashi's totally sweet name.
Sony confirms Kazuo Hirai as new President and CEO, replacing Howard Stringer
Sony has just confirmed Kazuo Hirai as its new CEO and President, validating rumors that have been swirling for a few weeks now. Outgoing CEO Howard Stringer, meanwhile, has been appointed Chairman of Sony's Board of Directors. The Hirai era officially begins April 1st, while Stringer will assume his new role sometime in June (until then, he'll remain executive chairman). Today's announcement, coming a day before Sony's earnings call, brings an end to more than a year's worth of speculation, though Hirai's selection hardly comes as a surprise, considering his recent string of promotions. In April, he was named Executive Deputy President; five months later, he was promoted to Sony Computer Entertainment Chairman. According to Stringer, in fact, Sony has been grooming Hirai since as early as 2009, when the Board began designing its succession plans. Kaz, he says, stood out from the crowd: Kaz is a globally focused executive for whom technology and the cloud are familiar territory, content is highly valued, and digital transformation is second nature. I believe his tough-mindedness and leadership skills will be of great benefit to the company and its customers in the months and years ahead. I look forward to helping Kaz in every way I can so that succession leads inevitably to success. It was my honor to recommend him to the Board for the positions of President and CEO, because he is ready to lead, and the time to make this change is now. Kaz, for his part, acknowledges that Sony is going through some "challenging" times at this juncture, but credits Stringer with steadying the ship, and seems clear-minded about the future. "The path we must take is clear: to drive the growth of our core electronics businesses - primarily digital imaging, smart mobile and game; to turn around the television business; and to accelerate the innovation that enables us to create new business domains," the 51-year-old PSN architect explained. "The foundations are now firmly in place for the new management team and me to fully leverage Sony's diverse electronics product portfolio, in conjunction with our rich entertainment assets and growing array of networked services, to engage with our customers around the world in new and exciting ways." Click past the break for Sony's full press release.
Nikkei: Kaz Hirai stepping up as Sony president, Stringer staying on as chairman and CEO
It's unfortunate, but it seems unlikely we'll be hearing Sony Computer Entertainment's current "executive deputy president" Kazuo Hirai regaling us with extended "Riiiiiiiiidge Racer!" shouts much more, as Nikkei is reporting he'll be taking over as president of Sony Corporation in the coming months. Current president, CEO and chairman Sir Howard Stringer will apparently be losing a third of his title to Kaz, and the move is expected "as soon as April," as translated by our bilingual cohorts at Engadget. When Hirai was promoted to the deputy president role earlier this year, he became the heir apparent to Stringer's job as president, so it's not exactly an enormous surprise to hear this report. Sony had yet to confirm the news as of publishing, but Nikkei isn't exactly known for its false reporting. All the same, we've reached out for confirmation. Update: Sony tells us it "Doesn't comment on rumor or speculation." Not exactly a denial, but take that as you will.
PlayStation Network issues persist as hacker collective continues attacks
Taking to the US and EU PlayStation Forums en masse, PlayStation 3 users continue to report connectivity issues with PlayStation Network today. Starting with the declaration of attack by hacker group "Anonymous" earlier this week, PSN has been experiencing sporadic issues over the past few days -- Sony characterized the outages as "intermittent" earlier this week, and promised that "engineers are working to restore and maintain the services." As of the time of publishing, we have been unable to connect to PSN today through several staff accounts. According to a Sony EU forum moderator, a trio of error codes could be showing up for affected users (80710092, 80710D36 and 8071053D), though little else is offered in way of information. "We are currently looking into this and I will update the thread as more information becomes available," the post notes. Additionally, PlayStation Lifestyle reports that a splinter group of Anonymous -- identified as "SonyRecon" -- is apparently going after specific Sony executives, seeking to reveal "names, phone numbers, pictures, home addresses, email, internet protocol address, family members and other data." CEO Sir Howard Stringer is said to be one of the group's targets, among others. As previously detailed, Anonymous launched the attacks on Sony earlier this week as a sign of solidarity with hackers George "GeoHot" Hotz and Alexander "Graf_Chokolo" Egorenkov, both of whom are currently in litigation with Sony.
Report: Sony's PlayStation Certified tablet due this summer
Sony's gearing up to release yet another "PlayStation Certified" device by year end, Nikkei reports (via Bloomberg). Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer confirmed as much to the Japanese newspaper, saying that the Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) tablet will be available in unspecified territories by the end of the summer, with the US receiving the first batch. Oddly, Sony later told Japanese site AV Watch that the tablet would arrive "before the end of this year" -- Engadget speculates that this could both be referring to the Japanese version's release or simply an attempt to muddle things after Stringer said something he shouldn't have. Stringer unfortunately didn't specify if he was referring to the rumored "S1" tablet in development at Sony (mock-up seen above) or the clamshell resemblant "S2" model, both of which are said to feature Honeycomb and ... uh ... both of them are unreleased Sony tablets. Given how Sony handled its last PlayStation Certified device, though, we expect to hear much, much more as 2011 progresses.
Sony CEO casually mentions he's supplying cameras to Apple
We were tempted to call it an April Fools' joke, but it seems the story's true: Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer reportedly let slip that his company is producing cameras for the next batch of iPhones and iPads during a public interview with the Wall Street Journal. Traditionally, Apple's sourced its sensors from OmniVision, including the delightfully backside-illuminated 5 megapixel CMOS unit you'll find in the iPhone 4, but since Sony too has BSI tech and OmniVision has reportedly encountered delays, your next portable Apple product might house a Sony Exmor R sensor like the one we admired on the Xperia Arc. Mind you, that may not end up actually happening, because of the context in which Sir Howard revealed the news -- according to 9 to 5 Mac, he said that the factory producing sensors for Apple was affected by the Japanese tsunami. Oh well.
Sony said to be looking for new President to lighten Sir Howard's load
Sir Howard Stringer is a busy man. Currently holding the Chairman, CEO and President titles at Sony, the man's in charge of one of the vastest empires in the history of vastness, which is probably why the company's now said to be looking for someone to succeed him at one of those posts. Bloomberg's reporting that Sony is having internal discussions about appointing a new President, with Kaz Hirai and Hiroshi Yoshioka identified as the names at the top of the pile. The pair are currently responsible for handling one half each of Sony's broad consumer electronics portfolio and it's notable that the Japanese giant seems to be looking for its next great leader from the hardware side of the business. If this speculation does bear fruit, expect the next President to deputize Stringer in the short-term and to eventually succeed him as top banana when the current ruler decides to hang up his cornflower-blue tie.
CE-Oh no he didn't!: Sony's Sir Howard says 'when you beat Apple, you're dominating'
Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer has always been delightfully direct, and he didn't hold back at Google's I/O conference: talking about Sony Ericsson with Eric Schmidt during the Google TV launch, Sir Howard noted that the Xperia X10 is the best-selling handset in Japan, and that "when you beat Apple, you're dominating -- it's the new definition." Strong words from a gadget titan -- we'll leave it to you to debate their veracity.
Sony staying conservative with Reader device, aware of current tablet mania
Sony's Sir Howard Stringer played the tease at today's Reader content partnership presser, stating that while Sony could make the device into a multimedia tablet, it would rather wait and see if consumers warm up to current devices. Stringer's watching if people find the form factor "comfortable and helpful" before Sony starts "plowing on a thousand apps" or building a "Vaio Reader." We don't really know how much e-reader acceptance points to the demand for color multimedia tablets, but in regards to the (non-existant, ever-present) Apple Tablet, Stringer says "we're all working on variations of the same thing." Hopefully we'll figure out what exactly he means by that before we grow old and start reading books or something horrible like that.
Sony CEO Howard Stringer on music: "If we had gone with open technology from the start, I think we probably would have beaten Apple"
We've always had a soft spot for Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer, and it sounds like the old man's doing more than cajoling Tom Hanks into telling jokes following his consolidation of power: in a lengthy and illuminating interview with Nikkei Electronics Asia, Sir Howard pledged that Sony would use more open standards in the future, saying "If we had gone with open technology from the start, I think we probably would have beaten Apple" in the music market. That's a pretty bold statement to be making in hindsight -- especially since we're pretty sure the Connect Player and SonicStage would have still driven people screaming into the arms of iTunes -- but it's pretty heartwarming to hear from the head of a company just as famous for an endless array of funky proprietary standards as it is the Walkman. You want to make us feel even warmer and fuzzier, Howie? "We can no longer say that we're right and our customers are wrong. We can't build only what we want to build." Wow -- sounds like the start of a whole new Sony. We'll see if Sir Howard can actually pull off what sounds like a major change in his company's culture, but for right now we'd recommend hitting the read link and taking in the whole interview, cause it's a good one.
In-game ads, not as useful as once thought?
Sony king and CEO, Sir Howard Stringer, along with Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, have voiced their concern over in-game advertising -- skeptical of its potential growth. Stringer spoke with the Financial Times recently, saying that t"The [supposed] solution to everything at the moment in the digital space is ad-supported. While advertisers are happy to talk that up, there is a limit to the amount of money available."He and Kotick ran into agreement that "young people don't like advertising very much" and that it's a bit early to get too far into in-game ads. What do you guys think? Is it too early for video games to accept in-game advertising on a large scale? Are gamers going to feel the advertisements are intrusive and block them out, just like TV ads? It's up to us to see if this method will ultimately succeed or fail.[via Gamasutra]
PS3 games more fun than Wii games
Fact.Just kidding, really, so put the Nintendo Wii Fanboy voodoo dolls away, please. Sony's CEO Sir Howard Stringer, however, seems to believe it. Said the chairman, "The PlayStation 3 will come into its own because its [high-end games] are infinitely more fun, demanding and exciting [than the Wii's]."Before you rant away at Mr. Stringer, keep in mind it's his job to say things like this. Of course, that doesn't mean we have to agree with it. While both systems have their merits, to make such a general statement like that is a bit presumptuous, although expected.[Via Games Industry]
Sir Howard proclaims with PS3's help, Sony "is on a comeback"
The always cheery Sir Howard Stringer awoke from his six-month hibernation tossed a few nuggets of positivity to investors at the annual shareholders meeting in Tokyo. First, he announced the company is on the road to recovery and held the PS3 in high regard as "vital" for a successful Sony future. Pronouncing that "production problems have been solved" he went on to ease investors likely nervous from the last earnings report by reassuring them of the cyclical nature of console profits. "We always lost money in the hardware, initially and recover that money gradually," he said. And in downplaying his non-Japanese citizenship, he beat his chest and exclaimed, "I am not a foreigner. I am a warrior." Uh-huh. Perhaps if he wore a headdress and performed a tribal dance, his warrior statement would've been more compelling instead of just ... silly.
Ken Kutaragi officially throws in the towel, retires from SCE
The father of the PlayStation, Ken Kutaragi, has officially retired from Sony Computer Entertainment. Previously, following a corporate re-shuffle, Mr. Kutaragi stepped down as CEO of SCE, replaced by Kaz Hirai. Now, Ken Kutaragi is relinquishing his Sony duties further, stepping down as SCE's Chairman and Group Chief Executive while remaining on board with SCE in an advisory role. Perhaps Sir Howard Stringer can assist with Ken Kutaragi's early retirement by quickly issuing restraining orders against him on all things Sony PlayStation-related. After all, earlier reports show "Krazy Ken" Kutaragi clearly doesn't know "when to say when" as he proceeded to inflate the PS3's budget until it exploded in everyone's collective faces, causing fallout from a few layoffs to a huge quarterly loss. Except now without Kutaragi in the limelight, how are we going to get such beautiful mock-ups of the PlayStation grill?
Ce-Oh no he didnt! Part XXXI - Stringer says if PS3 fails, it'll be due to the high price
The veritable genius of economic theory that he is, Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer has finally figured out a flaw in his grand scheme of world domination via the PS3: that hefty pricetag. "If we fail, it is because we positioned PS3 sales as the Mercedes of the videogame field," said Stringer. "PS3 is a different audience and it can be whatever it wants – a home server, game device, even a computer." It seems odd that he'd say the PS3 is limited to a different audience and that it can be "whatever it wants" in the same sentence, but who are we to judge? Stringer also praised the Wii as "a wonderful device," and stated that it "has a different target audience" than that of the PS3. Nothing new there, and his statements on the format war were also unsurprising: "We are selling 3-to-1 versus to them," he said. "At some point Blu-ray will take over based on ... this support." Good to see some things just never change.
Sony's Stringer reveals "obsession" over Xbox 360
Making it perfectly clear that even the mightiest CEOs sit up at night fretting over their competitors' products, his highness Sir Howard Stringer recently confessed to having an "obsession" with Microsoft's Xbox 360 after inadvertently mentioning the PS3-rival in an interview with the Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg. Stringer's admission followed what can only be described as a classic Freudian slip, in which he substituted the words "Xbox 360" for "X-Men III" when bragging about the success of Sony Pictures' The Da Vinci Code. After some prodding from Mossberg, Stringer even went on to pay Microsoft founder Bill Gates something of a backhanded compliment, admiring Gates' ability to put a positive spin on setbacks like the constantly-slipping Vista release date while still managing to take shots at the PS3 for its own delayed arrival. So, the obvious question that now presents itself is: who would win in a fight, Gates or Stringer? Comments are on and awaiting your thoughtful analysis.
Sony files patent for adjustable bathtub
Sony seems to have decided that the traditional one-size-fits-all bathtub is ripe for a rethink, so the company has filed a patent application for a tub that can be reshaped based on an owner's needs. Basically, it works like the detention-level trash compactor; press a button and the walls of the tub close in or slide out, resulting in a wide and shallow tub, or a narrow and deep one. We knew Sony was scrapping some lines of business, and exploring others that might show more potential, but we had no idea they were going in this direction. Maybe Sir Howard just likes to take a good soak, and wants to make sure he can do so in a brand-loyal manner.
