Sony

NPD Report Indicates Blu-ray Players Still Slow To Catch On

Authored by Jay Baage on May 2, 2008 - 8:26am.

New York - Sales of Blu-ray standalone players plummeted 40 percent from January to February, then rose only 2 percent from February to March in spite of winning the high def format war, according to a report by research firm NPD Group. This is bad news for the home entertainment industry, which has put its hopes into a drastic increase in adoption of the next generation high def DVD players after Toshiba dropped its support for the HD DVD format earlier this year in favor of Sony's (NYSE: SNE) Blu-ray format.

tags: Games | Video | Sony | Metrics | DVD | Blu-ray | NPD |

Sony Acquires Music ID Firm Gracenote for $260 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 22, 2008 - 12:49pm.

New York - Sony Corporation of America (NYSE: SNE) announced on Tuesday that it will acquire Gracenote, a provider of digital media identification and recommendation services, for $260 million plus other contingent consideration. Founded in 1998, Emeryville, Calif.-based Gracenote developed the CD identification technology that has become the standard used by software like Apple's iTunes, Yahoo's Music Jukebox and Winamp, and on portable music players from Sony, Samsung and others.

Sony Delays Launch of PlayStation Home Service Again

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 22, 2008 - 12:08pm.

Tokyo - Sony (NYSE: SNE) has once again delayed the launch of its "Home" 3D virtual community for the PlayStation 3 console, now saying the service will launch for users in the fall. The service had initially been slated to launch last fall, but pushed the debut until this spring.

Report: Despite Economy, U.S. Game Sales Up 57% in March

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 18, 2008 - 8:50am.

Port Washington, N.Y. - Bypassing the current troubles in the overall economy, U.S. video game sales hit $1.7 billion in March, up 57% from a year ago on strong sales of Nintendo's Wii and "Super Smash Bros. Brawl," according to industry sales data compiled by market research firm NPD Group. "You'd never know that the U.S. economy was under distress by looking at the video games industry sales figures," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier.

Sony Launches Redesigned PlayStation Store

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 15, 2008 - 12:23pm.

Foster City, Calif. - Sony Computer Entertainment America on Tuesday announced the launch of a redesigned PlayStation Store for its PlayStation 3, which is now a native application on the game console rather than a Web-based storefront. The store now features quicker navigation and an expanded library of nearly 900 pieces of content, including over 70 downloadable games, as well as game demos and videos, and HD movie trailers. Sony counts more than 3.6 million registered PlayStation Network accounts in North America.

Report: Blockbuster Developing Movie Streaming Set-top Box

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 10, 2008 - 11:20am.

Los Angeles - Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI) is developing a set-top box that will deliver streaming films to consumers' televisions, and is expected to announce details on the plan sometime this month, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Sony Aims to Increase Blu-ray Market Share to 50% This Year

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 7, 2008 - 9:02am.

Taipei, Taiwan - Sony (NYSE: SNE) plans to increase distribution of its Blu-ray Disc players this year and hopes its share of the total DVD market can increase from 20% to 50% by the end of this year, Digitimes reports. Sony Electronics CEO Ryoji Chubachi made the projection at a press conference in Taipei last week.

tags: TV | Sony | HD | Movies | Blu-ray | PlayStation 3 |

Is it realistic that Blu-ray will have a 50% market share of all DVDs sold by the end of 2008?

Authored by Jay Baage on April 7, 2008 - 7:51am.
tags: Sony | DVD | Blu-ray |

U.S. Intl. Trade Commission Probes Patent Claims Against Sony

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 24, 2008 - 10:37am.

Tokyo - The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has launched an investigation into potential patent infringements of Sony (NYSE: SNE) Blu-ray Disc players and the products of some 30 other companies, based on a complaint from a Columbia University professor, Reuters reported.

tags: Law | Policy | Sony | HD | Blu-ray | Motorola | Patents | ITC |

Report: Toshiba to Report $986 Million Loss at HD DVD Unit

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 19, 2008 - 9:45am.

Tokyo - Toshiba is likely to report a loss of about $986 million at its HD DVD business for the year, after deciding to discontinue the format and cede victory to Sony's (NYSE: SNE) Blu-ray, according to an estimate in Japan's Nikkei business paper, Reuters reports.

tags: Sony | Movies | Blu-ray | Toshiba | HD DVD |

Best Buy Offers HD DVD Buyers $10 Million in Gift Cards

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 19, 2008 - 7:58am.

Minneapolis - In light of the format's impending demise at the hands of Sony's (NYSE: SNE) Blu-ray, electronics and media retail chain Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) announced on Wednesday that it will provide $50 gift cards to customers who purchased an HD DVD player or HD DVD attachment from its U.S. stores before Feb. 23 -- and expects to shell out more than $10 million during the program.

Microsoft Exec: We Have No Plans for a Blu-ray Xbox

Authored by Jay Baage on March 13, 2008 - 8:19am.

San Francisco - Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) is not in talks to include Sony (NYSE: SNE) Blu-ray high-definition DVD technology in its Xbox 360 video game console, according to Aaron Greenberg, group product manager for Xbox 360. Microsoft will, instead, continue to invest in the Xbox Live online service, which lets users rent movies, including ones in high-definition, over the Internet.

Digital Media Week in Review: Sony's Blu-ray Wins “Format War,” But Who Will Win the Real Battle? DMW on the Move!

Authored by Ned Sherman on February 23, 2008 - 8:17am.

DMW’s CEO & Publisher provides a wrap-up of the top stories of the week. Who’s hot, who’s not and what’s the industry buzz?

It was a crazy week for all of us at DMW with much of our time spent on planning three major events we are producing in the coming weeks: Digital Music Forum East in New York City, February 26-27; The Millennials Canada in Toronto, March 5; and Future of Television West in Los Angeles, March 24-25. We have been producing the entertainment industry’s leading digital events for years, but developments over the past year have really increased the profile of our events, which now attract large (often standing room only) crowds and camera crews from leading media outlets, such as CNBC, CNN, PBS and the BBC.

In Wake of HD DVD Demise, Studios, Amazon Back Blu-ray

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 21, 2008 - 11:11am.

Los Angeles - Universal and Paramount (NYSE: VIA) have become the last of the major Hollywood movie studios to pledge support for Sony's (NYSE: SNE) Blu-ray next-generation DVD format, after Toshiba decided earlier this week to abandon its rival HD DVD format, ending a costly battle between the two companies to establish their respective format as the standard. "We are pleased that the industry is moving to a single high-definition format, as we believe it is in the best interest of the consumer," Paramount Home Entertainment told The Hollywood Reporter.

Is Sony Blu-ray's Victory in the High-Def DVD War Good For The Entertainment Biz?

Authored by Jay Baage on February 19, 2008 - 7:31am.
tags: Video | Marketing | TV | Sony | CE | Blu-ray | Toshiba | HD DVD |

Toshiba Deletes HD DVD, Hands 'Format War' Victory to Blu-ray

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 19, 2008 - 6:54am.

Wayne, N.J. - Following several high-profile withdrawals of support from retailers and movie studios, Japan's Toshiba announced on Tuesday that it will discontinue its next-generation HD DVD format, handing victory in the much-hyped "format war" to Sony's rival (NYSE: SNE) Blu-ray technology. "While we continue to believe HD DVD is the best format for consumers, based on its technological advancements and the value and quality inherent in our player offerings, recent market developments have led us to the decision to choose new and different paths," said Yoshi Uchiyama, group VP of Toshiba's digital A/V marketing group.

Report: Sony PS3 Installed Base to Top Wii, Xbox 360 by 2011

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 15, 2008 - 10:04am.

El Segundo, Calif. - Nintendo is expected to lead the next-generation console race by the end of this year, with a total installed base of 30.2 million Wii's, versus 25.7 Microsoft Xbox 360's and 20.3 million PlayStation 3's, but the Sony console is expected to make significant gains and eventually overtake its two rivals by 2011, according to a report from market research firm iSuppli.

Report: Game Sales Hit $1.18B in January; PS3 Tops Xbox 360

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 15, 2008 - 8:57am.

Port Washington, N.Y. - U.S. video game sales were $1.18 billion in January, a 6% drop from a year ago -- attributed primarily to an extra week of sales reporting last year -- with Sony's (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation 3 notably overtaking Microsoft's (NASD: MSFT) Xbox 360 for second place in hardware sales behind Nintendo's Wii. Overall hardware shortages after the holiday shopping rush pushed sales down 25% from a year ago, to $378 million; Nintendo moved 274,000 Wii consoles, while Sony sold 269,000 PS3's and Microsoft 230,000 Xbox 360's.

Wal-Mart Drops HD DVD; Toshiba Expected to Pull the Plug

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 15, 2008 - 7:59am.

Bentonville, Ark. - Following similar recent announcements from Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) and Netflix (NASD: NFLX), retail giant Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) announced on Friday that it will drop its HD DVD offerings in favor of Sony's (NYSE: SNE) Blu-ray next-generation DVD format. Meanwhile, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Toshiba "is expected to pull the plug on its HD DVD format in the coming weeks." THR noted, however, that Toshiba says no official decision has been made.

tags: Sony | Movies | Blu-ray | Toshiba | HD DVD |

Netflix Dumps HD DVD; Will Exclusively Stock Blu-ray

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 11, 2008 - 8:48am.

Beverly Hills, Calif. - In another bad sign for Toshiba's next-generation HD DVD format, online DVD rental service Netflix (NASD: NFLX) announced on Monday that it has decided to begin exclusively stocking high-definition DVDs in Sony's (NYSE: SNE) Blu-ray format. The company has stocked both formats since early 2006, but said the decision of four of the six major movie studios to exclusively support Blu-ray influenced its decision.

tags: Sony | HD | Movies | DVD | Netflix | Blu-ray | Toshiba | HD DVD |