Sony sees 25-fold profit jump by 2018; could exit TVs, phones

(GNN) - Sony Corp (6758.T) aims to boost operating profit 25-fold within three years by growing its camera sensors and PlayStation units, its chief executive said, outlining a strategy that could see the company exit the cut-throat TV and smartphone sectors.

CEO Kazuo Hirai said on Wednesday the Japanese consumer electronics firm would no longer pursue sales growth in areas such as smartphones where its has suffered competition from cheaper Asian rivals as well as industry leaders like Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Samsung Electronics (005930.KS).

Sony would instead focus its spending on more profitable businesses such as camera sensors, videogames and entertainment as it seeks to return to growth after forecasting for this financial year its sixth net loss in seven years.

The comments, made just as the Tokyo market was closing, helped Sony's shares (SNE.N) rise 1.4 percent in New York.

"The strategy starting from the next business year will be about generating profit and investing for growth," Hirai told a briefing, adding that Sony's units would be given greater autonomy to make their own business decisions.

Asked about the TV and mobile phone units, Hirai said he would not "rule out considering an exit strategy", Sony's clearest statement to date about the possibility of selling or finding partners for these struggling units.

Sony is in the midst of a restructuring that has so far seen it sell off its personal computer division and spin off the TV business. It has also axed thousands of jobs.

Sony shares have risen more than 80 percent over the past year as investors applauded the restructuring, which accelerated since Hirai appointed Kenichiro Yoshida as his chief strategy officer in late 2013.

Hirai said Sony would target return on equity of more than 10 percent by the end of March 2018, adopting a yardstick Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been promoting as a way to attract foreign investors.

He also said Sony aimed to post an operating profit of at least 500 billion yen ($4.2 billion) for 2017/18, a jump from the 20 billion yen forecast for the year ending March 31.

Sony's revamp is starting to pay off. This month, it forecast an operating profit instead of a loss for the financial year ending March 31. But it still expects to book a net loss in 2014/15, albeit a smaller amount than previously estimated.

Few expect Sony to return to the days when its Walkman and Trinitron TV defined how people around the world consumed entertainment. Analysts, however, have said it could make better use of its gadgets and access to Hollywood content.

Hirai said Sony will push to expand its PlayStation network user base, while focusing on areas such as streaming music.

($1 = 118.9800 yen)

(Reuters) (Editing by Miral Fahmy)

Sony says Playstation users' information safe after hackers target #game sites

#GNN Tech - #Sony Corp (6758.T) said hackers had taken down its #PlayStation Network without compromising its 53 million users' personal data, while the FBI was investigating a bomb scare on a flight carrying a top Sony executive in the United States.

The hackers behind the PlayStation attack said they had also targeted the servers of World of Warcraft video gamemakers Blizzard Entertainment, whose website was down, and threatened to attack Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O) Xbox Live network which was also experiencing problems.

Sony said on Monday it was still trying to restore access to its gaming network after the attack on Sunday.


"We are trying to get the network back up as fast as we can while finding the source of the problem but I can't say how long that will take," Sony Computer Entertainment spokesman Satoshi Nakajima said in Tokyo.

The unidentified hackers said on their @LizardSquad Twitter microblogging account that the attack was meant to pressure the Japanese tech giant to spend more of its profits on security.

"Sony, yet another large company, but they aren't spending the waves of cash they obtain on their customers' (PlayStation Network) service. End the greed," one post said on Sunday.

Sony said no PlayStation users' personal information had been accessed in the attack, which overwhelmed the system with traffic.

Blizzard Entertainment was not immediately reachable for comment but its customer support Twitter account said its servers were stabilizing.

Microsoft wrote in a post on its Xbox blog on Friday that some users had problems accessing sections of the network, while users reported that they were having problems accessing their accounts on Sunday.

"We don't comment on the root cause of a specific issue, but as you can see on Xbox.com/status, the core Xbox LIVE services are up and running," Xbox spokesman David Dennis said.

Lizard Squad also tweeted to American Airlines on Sunday to say they had heard that explosives were on board a flight carrying Sony Online Entertainment President John Smedley. That was a possible reference to another tweet from a game player's forum telling the airline "I'm gonna send a bomb on your plane be ready for me tomorrow".

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A PlayStation spokeswoman in the United States said the FBI was investigating the diversion of the Dallas/Fort Worth to San Diego flight.

The FBI had no comment on the incident but American Airlines said on its Twitter account that it was "aware of threats" made over the microblogging service and had alerted security.

Sony's network business has been hit by attacks before, with a security breach in 2011 dealing a major blow to plans at the time for a looser network designed to allow for the connection of a range of Sony devices.

Since then it has invested heavily in the system and is now hoping the network can serve as a centerpiece of its plans to rebuild its business after years of losses in its flagship electronics operations.

(GNN)(Reuters)(AIP)(Additional reporting by Jim Finkle; Editing by Stephen Coates)

PlayStation Network Suffers DDOS Attack, Hackers Claim To Have Grounded SOE President’s Plane

#GNN Tech - #PlayStation Network is currently experiencing mass outages for North American users, and the reason behind the downtime is a DDOS attack for which hacker group Lizard Squad has claimed responsibility.

Sony says there haven’t been any personal details leaked in the attack, but the rolling outage persists in various locales, some ten hours or more after the attack began.

What’s unusual about this attack is that it also includes a security threat against the plane in which Sony Online Entertainment President John Smedley was traveling today.

The plane was diverted to Phoenix and is currently having its cargo inspected, following claims on Twitter posted by the Lizard Squad group that claimed the same flight had explosives on board.

Of course, it’s still possible the plane was diverted for another reason and the claim by Lizard Squad is just a coincidence, but it would be a very convenient one given the timing on all the parts involved in this convoluted story. Suffice it to say, this isn’t your typical DDOS attack. We’ll provide more information if any becomes available.

Sony Has Sold 10M PlayStation 4 Consoles To Consumers

#GNN - #Sony just announced at #Gamescom 2014 that its latest console, the PlayStation 4, has sold 10 million units since it launched last year. That’s 10 million PS4s sold through to consumers, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe CEO Jim Ryan explained on stage at the company’s keynote at Gamescom, not just 10 million units shipped the way hardware sales are sometimes reported.

It’s an impressive total for a new device that has been on sale only since November last year. Sony’s chief executive Kaz Hirai said it expects to sell 10 million PS4s in total for the fiscal year back in May, which would mean moving that many devices between April 2014 and April 2015. If it has already moved three million since the end of its last fiscal quarter, that’s a good pace with holiday quarter still ahead.

The PS4 was profitable for Sony only six months after its initial launch, while the PS3 took three years to make that milestone, so Sony’s success in moving this many consoles should help its bottom line directly, rather than just by encouraging software and accessory sales.

It’s hard to estimate how many Xbox One consoles Microsoft has sold by contrast, but the PS4 outsold the latest Xbox by a ratio of around 3 to 1 in the most recent quarter, and optimistically MS has probably sold around half what Sony has managed thus far – though unbundling the Kinect and focusing on software updates and console exclusives might help Microsoft make up some ground.

The Prodigal Sony Returns To China

The PS4 is headed to China.

After China dropped a decade-long ban on gaming consoles, Sony is making plans to bring its latest gaming console to the massive Chinese market. The last time a Sony gaming system was available through official channels in China was 2004.

China previously tightly regulated gaming consoles with strict sales restrictions that were aimed at countering youth exposure to online games as the WSJ reports.

Under the latest local restrictions, foreign companies can sell consoles and games only if done in Shanghai’s free-trade zones. Sony has partnered with the state-run Shanghai Oriental Pearl Group to make and sell PlayStation consoles and software in China.

Microsoft recently announced a similar plan that would bring the Xbox One to the Chinese market as well.

This effort should bolster Sony’s struggling finances. Gaming is one of the company’s three areas of focus and so far the PS4 is outselling the Xbox One worldwide. Sony expects sales to improve, too, with a forecast of 17 million units for the year ahead, up from 14.6 million in the prior year.

Sony’s success in China is not guaranteed. It faces tough competition from an established black market and a populace which turned to PC and mobile gaming after Sony and Microsoft withdrew their market offerings.

Smartwatches abound. But who really wants one?

NEW YORK: If consumer electronics companies are to be believed, someone on your holiday shopping list is just dying for a wristwatch that displays message alerts and weather updates. Samsung and Sony have devices out for the holidays. Qualcomm has one coming. Apple is believed to be making one, and a new report says Google is developing one, too.

Why the big push for computerized watches? It's not coming from consumers, says Jonathan Gaw, a research manager at IDC. Rather, it's a product in search of a market _and an expensive one at that.

``We've had smartwatches for a while, and while the capabilities and technology have gotten better, this is still not something that people are clamoring for,'' Gaw says. ``The idea that it would ramp up for the holidays was always kind of a stretch.''

That hasn't stopped gadget makers from trying. Companies are under pressure to create a new source of buzz now that consumers are no longer wowed by the latest smartphones and tablet computers. Many people already have those devices, and the new ones out this year are evolutionary rather than revolutionary.

Gaw says many gadget makers see an opportunity to jump in with a smartwatch, before a behemoth like Apple is able get its rumored iWatch ready.

Last month, Samsung Electronics Co. started selling the $300 Galaxy Gear in the U.S. It works with selected Samsung smartphones to display email and text alerts.

The's a camera on the strap for low-resolution photos and a speakerphone on the watch to make calls while leaving your phone in the pocket. You can install apps for additional functionality, such as tracking fitness activities and playing games, though there are only a handful of apps available for now.

Sony Corp.'s SmartWatch 2 is cheaper, at $200. Unlike the Gear, it works with a variety of Android phones, not just Sony's. But it doesn't let you make phone calls directly through the wristwatch. You can answer calls using the watch, but you need a Bluetooth wireless headset linked to the phone if you don't want to hold it to your ear.

Qualcomm Inc., meanwhile, plans to start selling Toq before the holidays. It, too, will work with several Android devices.

Another smartwatch getting attention is the Pebble, which comes from a startup that raised more than $10 million through the fundraising site Kickstarter. It notifies you of incoming calls, texts and emails.

Apple isn't likely to release its iWatch before next year, given that no mention was made of it at the company's product showcase last week.

As for Google, The Wall Street Journal cited unnamed people familiar with the matter on Tuesday in reporting that the Internet search company is in late-stage development on a smartwatch which could be ready for mass production within months.

Samsung and Sony executives say they've designed their watches to give people ready access to information they would normally check on their phones, reducing the need to constantly pull out the phones.

Only Qualcomm seems to be acknowledging that there's no real consumer demand for smartwatches yet. The company says it's trying to showcase what's possible, so other manufacturers will take the concept and build better products _ using Qualcomm's display technology and other components.

In a September briefing with The Associated Press, Samsung executives said the company has a history of taking risks. The company notes that people were skeptical about its Note phones with big screens, too, but now several other manufacturers are making Android phones with bigger and bigger screens.

Lots Of Hollywood Interest In Making Bilton’s Twitter Book A Movie

Interest is swirling at Sony and several other major Hollywood studios around Nick Bilton’s book “Hatching Twitter: A True Story of Money, Power, Friendship, and Betrayal“, TechCrunch has learned.  While we’ve only heard Sony named, word is several other major studios are nibbling at the worm.

At least one of the studios involved wants to explore producing the project as an HBO or Netflix series, rather than a feature film.

This could be due to the fact that there are a lot of dramatic arcs to cover in Hatching Twitter, coupled with the relative heat around award-winning series from the online video houses at the moment.

Bilton’s book about the drama and intrigue surrounding the founding and growth of Twitter to a public company seems like ideal fodder for a Netflix original.

Sony is the parent company of Columbia pictures, which it purchased in 1989. Columbia is the studio behind the Facebook drama-mentary The Social Network.

That flick wasn’t exactly an accurate history of the company, but it definitely attracted viewers and awards attention.

There are also a few actors looking to attach their names to the product as well, sources tell us. Alexia thinks Elijah Wood was born to play Jack Dorsey.

A recent excerpt/summary of the book in the New York Times paints a picture of uncertain origins, founder bickering and jostling for footing and control.

As we said in our commentary, it’s a very human story, and those often make good films. Bilton declined to comment on any of the rumors.

The Bilton book goes on sale November 5. Twitter is expected to go public on November 6, to the tune of $11.1 billion. As the author noted, sometimes timing is everything. (TechCrunch) (GNN) (Yoogle)