Perhaps nothing symbolises the rise and fall in Japan’s fortunes better than Sony.
When Japan seemed unstoppable, Sony dominated our aspirations for consumer electronic goods. But then as TVs, and Hif Fis increasingly began to look like commodites, and it was aplication providers such as Microsoft, and now Google, and closer to Sony’s patch, Apple with its iPod, there seemed to be a distinct switch back to US dominance.
And while Japan has struggled, so too has Sony. Until now that is.
Yesterday, the company revealed a 47% jump in quarterly profits and its best ever quarter for sales and net profit.
The Sony PSP led the way, but sales of liquid crystal displays and note book PCs also rose dramatically in the period
A year ago, Sony announced an $80bn loss for its 12 month period, but now it’s forecasting annual profits of $602bn. And as result, shares in the company surged 15% giving the company its biggest daily rise for 15 years.
It was a great day for its newish chief executive Sir Howard Stringer. Presiding over job cuts, and cost cutting, but also a dramatic return to health for Sony, he must rank alongside Charlotte Church as one of the great Welsh people of today.
This year will see the launch of the PlayStation 3. For our money, this will be the most significant video games launch ever, and as the convergence of music, TV, games, video, PC applications and mobile telephony continues, the product could spear head Sony into top spot.
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