Ben-DutkaBy now, we all know about Sony's corporate troubles, as they're expected to announce their first operating loss in 14 years. There have also been much talk regarding a serious internal restructuring, which has the stockholders a little concerned.
But in the latest update provided by Reuters and The Financial Times, it appears that the PlayStation brand and video game division may actually benefit from this upheaval. The current report is that Sony CEO Howard Stringer is battling the "old guard" in Japan to shift the company's focus to software. Obviously, there's more to Stringer's plan, but perhaps he's not the biggest fan of continuing to support other pieces of electronic hardware, and would rather focus on both PlayStation and Sony Computer Entertainment, two divisions which appear to be gaining momentum. Previously, it had been reported that major internal strife between the regional Sony branches (North America, Europe and Japan) has been a problem, and Stringer appears to be railing against certain Japanese management with entrenched business positions that are difficult to alter. But at the same time, something must be done, as this restructuring is long overdue according to most analysts. We're not analysts, but just looking at this from an outsider point of view, we'd want to keep our company's focus on the industries that – for the most part – seem to be resisting the recession.
So far, one such industry is most certainly video games. Nothing is really "flourishing" right now, but the industry is certainly standing stoic in the face of the ailing economy, and some other entertainment industries are way, way down. Therefore, as Stringer may be hinting at, why not switch the focus a little to the products that appear to be on the upswing…?
