Sony Group's Mid-Term Corporate Strategy Meeting (PS3 video store = summer 2008)

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Sony Group's Mid-Term Corporate Strategy Meeting
http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/info/Strategy/index.html

Sony Group Corporate Strategy Update FY2008 - FY2010
http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/200806/08-080E/08-080E.pdf
Tokyo, Japan – Sony today presented a series of new initiatives designed to build on its previous three-year revitalization plan and to position the company as the leading global provider of networked consumer electronics and entertainment. In particular, the company will focus on strengthening core businesses, enhancing network initiatives and leveraging international growth opportunities to build for the future and drive further growth and profits. In addition, Sony announced the following key mid-term goals:

Expand our PC, Blu-ray DiscTM-related products and component/semiconductor businesses into “trillion yen businesses**,” joining LCD TVs, digital imaging (digital cameras and camcorders), game and mobile phones and raising the total number of “trillion yen businesses” to seven.

Ensure that 90% of our electronics product categories are network-enabled and wireless-capable by the fiscal year ending March 31, 2011 (“FY2010”).

Roll out video services across key Sony products by FY2010, starting with the summer 2008 launch on the PLAYSTATION®Network.

Double annual revenue from BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) countries to 2 trillion yen*** by FY2010.
Click to expand...

In the Game segment, the two key drivers of new growth are non-game content and services in tandem with enhanced network capability. Sony also expects to achieve profitability in this segment in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2009*, a significant year-on-year improvement due to hardware cost reductions and an enhanced line-up of software titles for PLAYSTATION®3 (“PS3”). Key Game initiatives are:
1. Expand content and services available on the network platform
2. Continue to expand the PS3 customer base through the strength of Blu-ray Disc
3. Accelerate PS3 sales through upcoming key franchise software titles
4. Continue PS3 cost reduction initiatives
* Forecast as of May 14, 2008
Click to expand...

Network Initiatives

Sony will increase network and wireless connectivity across its family of devices and build a service platform to provide a seamless user experience across our key hardware devices and content. We are planning to expand services that will enable our customers to enjoy content such as motion pictures and television programming through the network on a variety of Sony products such as BRAVIATM LCD TVs, PS3, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) and Walkman® video music players.

Sony’s unique position in electronics and entertainment allows us to offer compelling network services. As an example of our potential, this November, Sony Pictures Entertainment will offer one of the most highly anticipated films of the summer, “Hancock”, exclusively to all internet connected BRAVIA LCD TVs in the U.S. before it is available on DVD. This film will be distributed to Sony customers directly to their televisions outside conventional distributors and without the need for any set-top box. This is an industry first.
Click to expand...

Presentation Slides [Chairman & CEO Howard Stringer]
http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/info/Strategy/pdf/presen_01.pdf

Presentation Slides [President & Group CEO, SCEI Kazuo Hirai ]
http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/info/Strategy/pdf/presen_03.pdf
 
Lots of info in there - need time to digest. But initial reaction, I guess, will be focused on the PSN Video store. I think the wider Sony group focus on Roll out video services across key Sony products by FY2010 is quite telling too. All down to Stringer?

Thanks for posting one.
 
Non-game and Life with PS are other focuses.

http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20080626/sony1.htm

sony1_03.jpg
 
Well, the globe navigation model is rather common... especially when they already have the Earth visualizer in music playback, the "Earth Grid" in Folding@Home, and Home to mimic the real world.

What would be more important is the content selection process, and how easy it is to locate the information you need directly. So personalization and search will be very important.

one said:
Life with PlayStation is a new service in which you can browse worldwide news by controlling the earth rendered with realtime weather data.

http://www.famitsu.com/game/news/1216160_1124.html
http://www.itmedia.co.jp/news/articles/0806/26/news103.html
Click to expand...

Interesting. I think they should find a better way to integrate all these services together. The current (XMB) Desktop metaphor is starting to look clumsy with all these upcoming services. e.g., How do I jump from boot up to a frequently used "page/service" in Life or Playstation Home or even my favorite DLNA playlist with just 1 click ?.

Perhaps a personalized launcher or task list in XMB ?
 
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patsu said:
Well, the globe navigation model is rather common... especially when they already have the Earth visualizer in music playback, the "Earth Grid" in Folding@Home, and Home to mimic the real world.
Click to expand...

They also use the Earth Visualizer globe in the setup menu, when you're setting your timezone.
 
Thanks for posting, one !

I think there are more than meets the eyes in Life. Here's Gizmodo's take on Life:
http://gizmodo.com/5019861/life-with-playstation-wii+like-weather-and-news-on-ps3

The key difference is that while Nintendo's globe is fun enough to use, it's essentially just spinning around a cartoon. The PS3's globe will not only be displayed in a far higher resolution (1080p we're guessing), but it will feature a global weather satellite image. So instead of just seeing the forecast, users will be able to see the weather.

In addition, clicking on regional news will load up a webpage, which some are interpreting to mean that Sony is more open to their news content partners than Nintendo's closed system.

And then the globe will go one step further into the future. According to Hirai:

For the primary version the application sticks to the present time but in the future we plan to build a system that can visually present stored photos and movies according to their recorded time and place, allowing users with their friends and family to enjoy the visuals in chronological order.

As usual, I'm sure it makes for a beautiful tech demo. But until we get a firm release date, it's just another PlayStation Home.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, the last statement is spot on both in positive and negative sense. Besides the unclear schedule, Life seems to sit on top of the same content infrastructure as Playstation Home. Both environments include media sharing, webpage integration, and third party content. However they are aim at different audience.
 
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Here's more reporting about Sony's video service. It has not signed up any external studios yet according to Variety's probe.
* http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117988144.html?categoryId=1079&cs=1&query="xbox+live+video"
* http://weblogs.variety.com/the_cut_scene/2008/06/playstation-3-d.html

Turns out Sony is thinking about offering more than the same features as Xbox Live. In addition to standard movie rentals, it's talking to potential partners about allowing users to transfer movie downloads to the PSP. It's also thinking about working with the company's own Blu-ray disc format so that users might be able to transfer a copy off the hi-def DVD onto a PS3 or PSP (similar to the "digital copy" for iPods that some studios are starting to offer on DVDs).

But while Sony may feel confident video downloads will be ready to go this summer, it doesn't exactly have a big library lined up. Sources at numerous major studios confirmed to me that while they have all talked to Sony, none have yet made a deal. The only one that's definitely on board so far is, for obvious reasons, Sony Pictures.
Click to expand...
 
Turns out Sony is thinking about offering more than the same features as Xbox Live. In addition to standard movie rentals, it's talking to potential partners about allowing users to transfer movie downloads to the PSP. It's also thinking about working with the company's own Blu-ray disc format so that users might be able to transfer a copy off the hi-def DVD onto a PS3 or PSP (similar to the "digital copy" for iPods that some studios are starting to offer on DVDs).

But while Sony may feel confident video downloads will be ready to go this summer, it doesn't exactly have a big library lined up. Sources at numerous major studios confirmed to me that while they have all talked to Sony, none have yet made a deal. The only one that's definitely on board so far is, for obvious reasons, Sony Pictures.
Click to expand...

Wow.... Just wow... Apparently their insiders suck...
 
Are they really expecting a lot from video downloads?

I hope not.

I heard the video division is losing $1 billion a year, despite good sales, because of the discounting they've had to do.

It's a very muddled category. You have models over 50 inches with the ability to play Youtube and other web video directly. Well, you might as well hook up an old 8-track to a state of the art audio system.

iTunes is the leading service for downloads and rentals but Apple TV is a "hobby" to Apple at this point.

Video downloads on the PS3 would be a nice complementary feature but should Sony be banking on a lot of money from it?

EDIT:

NavNucST3 said:
Given how much I spend on digital distribution, I am hoping for either managed copy or a lower price (at least on the Sony owned studios). If that presentation slide is going to be accurate then it appears to be 720p probably and the same price as 360 downloads, however, I do not have to pay tax when using points and I do on everything I buy from PSN. I am anxiously awaiting the debut
Click to expand...

There's a long thread on AVS about the future of HDM, Blu-Ray versus downloads. Someone cited a survey showing preference for media. But the respondents also indicated that downloads should be priced much lower than media.

Of course, on services like iTunes, prices are not lower than media. In fact, big discount chains often use media as loss-leaders. Studios don't seem to want to devalue their content, even if a medium like digital distribution should have much lower costs.
 
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Not necessarily banking, but as an easy and highly profitable revenue stream it's certainly something to pursue. Sony are casting their nets as wide as possible so whatever does prove to be the future, low quality downloads or high quality disks, they're there on the receiving ends of everyone's purchases.
 
Not in the short term, but they may need to grab some mindshare.

It also depends on how Sony package the service. I am very wary of Sony's marketing and communication. They usually assume that the users will "get it" and offer no explanations on how and why their offering is different. The service might also be very standalone (no integration with other PS concepts, just another XMB icon).

Given the hints so far, they seem to have given the video store more thoughts. We shall see.
 
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Not so sure it's that profitable.

For instance, there's speculation that Apple is paying more than the $14.99 price it charges on most new releases.
 
Yes, I heard about it too.

Many content distributors hope to ingrain their brands into the consumers' mind. So instead of telling everyone you watched Cloverfield, they want you to tell people you watched Cloverfield on AppleTV/XBL/HBO/whatever.

Unfortunately, most consumers don't care much about the intermediary. As a result, they can only compete mostly on price (and selection). The infrastructure cost is high too. Looks like a tough business.

But if this is the future, the biggies will want to get in at some point in time. The concept has been around for ages. I guess with Sony more or less unified, they want to take a stab at it.
 
Sony are apparently not signed with any content providers but themselves at the moment. That said, with one of the largest film libraries in the world, it's not a big worry for a launching service. The first titles will be all Sony. They've already shot the films and made their money and covered costs. They have negligible distribution overhead unlike disks. Almost all the takings of download is gonna be profit for them. I'd call that highly profitable, in terms of margins anyhow.
 
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