Sony Buys Out Sony Ericsson

OCT. 27, 2011 • Sony Corp. is buying out its Swedish partner for €1.05 billion ($1.45 billion) to assume full control of the Sony Ericsson mobile phone joint venture. The acquisition transfers a range of patents to Sony, and better enables the consumer electronics maker to better int.....

Sony Skimps on 3D Glasses

SEPT. 27, 2011 • The Hollywood Reporter reported that starting May 1 Sony Pictures will no longer pay to supply movie theater owners for the cost of 3D glasses. Estimates are the studio can save between $5 million to $10 million per major motion picture. Sony is encouraging a system where exhibitors sell moviegoers 3D glasses. That system is in place in the U.K., Australia, Italy and Spain. Im.....

PlayStation 3 Price Cut

AUG. 16, 2011 • Sony issued an immediate worldwide PlayStation 3 price cut. The 160GB model will have new suggested MSRPs of ¥24,980, $249 and €249; down from ¥29,980, $299 and €299.  SCE is also reducing the price of the 320GB PS3 from ¥4,980, $349 and €349 to ¥29,980, $299 and €299. Impact: The PS3 has a carved out a level of success in each its three major retail markets: Japa.....

PlayStation Vita Price Worries

AUG. 4, 2011 • Some financial analysts in Japan have reversed their early endorsements of the ¥24,980 launch price for the PlayStation Vita ($249 in the U.S.) after the recent Nintendo 3DS price cut. “The environment for portable game players has become much more difficult because of smartphones,” Koki Shiraishi, an analyst at Daiwa Securities Group Inc., told the Bloomberg News service. Shiraishi estimates shipments of the PS Vita will be about half of th.....