WSJ on in-fighting at Sony

[RobertR1]

Now *there's* an interesting question indeed.

Unless you know Sony's ambitions vs. actual sales, it's hard to determine if the PS3 is going "good" or not.

There is always the chance that KK asking the price drop in Japan was suppose to trigger a much higher sales response than it has. Now if they have to do another price drop to stimulate sales, then they're digging deeper into the negatives. Had they not cut the price even before launch, they could have used the current pricing scheme for the first round of price cut.

 

[patsu]

What do they speak at these dinners? Stringer doesnt know japanese and KK can hardly make himself understand when he speaks english.

Naturally, there will be an interpreter if they can't understand each other.

And why is this happening NOW, when everything seems to finally get on track at Sony, and with PS3 starting to show some strenght?

Corporate has many timelines. PS3 launch and lifecycle is an important one, but so is the fiscal year. Annual report is coming up "soon" (Stringer needs to show his personal result and what's next).

I thought the interview is interesting because it gives a glimpse of Stringer's plate. As mentioned, many of the reported negative events are actually behind them (Stringer seems to be "crediting" some of them to his co-workers). I don't think the article will affect Sony's outlook. These problems are largely not unique to Sony too.

If Phil's announcements tomorrow are genuine, then as a gamer, I don't care what WSJ says in this article.


EDIT: From PR perspective, it does make SCE and PS3 look a little tarnished. However as indicated, asian companies typically don't invest a lot in brand management. What you see is what you get. Your PS3 games still run equally well before and after this article.

 

[Carl B]

And why is this happening NOW, when everything seems to finally get on track at Sony, and with PS3 starting to show some strenght?

The only thing happening *now* is us discussing an article that was published last weekend.

The events in said article are all in the (relative) past, and indeed I think in terms of PS3 'success' this year, it will have to be viewed through the prism of Kuaragi's decisions leading up to know rather than the decisions of some post-KK regime. Afterall, these are all initiatives that would have been set into motion months if not years ago.

 

[DUALDISASTER]

What exactly is Kuaragi's job now?

 

[patsu]

Chairman and Group CEO, SCE
Chairman, Cellius

 

[Carl B]

Chairman and CEO... so not any different from a 'rank' perspective. But Kaz Hirai's elevation to COO basically puts him in charge of the day to day nitty-gritty, and takes Kutaragi one step away from the implementation side.

EDIT: Patsu's fast!

 

[DUALDISASTER]

I guess my next question is how much control does he have now or rather what does he control?

 

[Carl B]

I guess my next question is how much control does he have now or rather what does he control?

You're best off reading the thread and forming your own conclusions. Ostensibly he still controls the entire operation. How much actual control he has is something that we can't know right now two months after the change, and will likely come down to a number of in-house office politics and loyalties. As time goes on, it will clarify itself.

 

[patsu]

No concrete data from me. It's very specific to the company and group of people working together.
Cellius is a JV between Bandai-Namco and Sony. It does consumer-oriented Cell software.

Was told in Japan, President has more power than CEO in general. So it's fair to say Kaz has more execution power. It seems that his original vision/concept is still alive in what Sony is delivering now (but improved in different ways by various execs). Afterall the hardware potential, cost structure and prior investments/work pipelines were in-place.