Sony

2021-08-21T09:22:33Z

103.119.56.82:

{{Infobox company
| name = Sony Group Corporation
| logo = Sony logo.svg
| image = Sony headquarters (crop).jpg
| image_size = 250px
| image_caption = Sony's Headquarters Complex at Sony City in [[Minato, Tokyo]]
| native_name = ソニーグループ株式会社
| native_name_lang = ja
| romanized_name = Sonī Gurūpu kabushiki kaisha
| former_name = {{plainlist|
* Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo, Ltd. {{small|(1946–1957)}}
* Sony Corporation {{small|(1958–2021)}}{{efn|Since April 2021, the "Sony Corporation" legal name is used for Sony Group's electronics business that was previously known as "Sony Electronics Corporation".}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/ServiceArea/210401E/|title=Change of the Sony entity for License Agreements, etc.|date=1 April 2021|accessdate=7 May 2021|website=www.sony.net|publisher=Sony Group Corporation}}</ref>
}}
| type = [[Public company|Public]]
| traded_as = {{plainlist|
* {{Tyo|6758}}
* {{nyse|SONY}}
* [[Nikkei 225]] component (6758)
* [[TOPIX]] Core30 component (6758)
}}
| industry = [[Conglomerate (company)|Conglomerate]]
| foundation = {{Start date and age|df=yes|1946|5|7}} [[Nihonbashi]], [[Chūō, Tokyo]], [[Empire of Japan|Japan]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sony Corporate History |url=https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/History/company/ |access-date=3 April 2021 |website=www.sony.com |language=en}}</ref>
| founders = {{plainlist|
* [[Masaru Ibuka]]
* [[Akio Morita]]
}}
| hq_location = Sony City
| hq_location_city = [[Minato, Tokyo]]
| hq_location_country = [[Japan]]
| num_locations_year = 2016
| area_served = Worldwide
| key_people = {{ubl|Shuzo Sumi|(Chairman of the board)|Kazuo Matsunaga|(Vice Chairman of the board)|Kenichiro Yoshida|(Chairman, President & CEO)|Shigeki Ishizuka|(Vice Chairman)}}
| products = {{hlist | [[Consumer electronics]] | [[Semiconductor]]s | [[Video games]] | Films | TV shows | Music | Computer hardware | [[Telecommunications equipment]] | [[Robot]]s }}
| services = {{hlist |[[Financial services]] |Insurance |Banking |[[Credit (finance)|Credit finance]] |[[Advertising agency]] |[[Network service]]s}}
| revenue = {{Increase}} {{JPY|8.999 trillion}} (US$81.38 billion) (2021)
<ref name=":Financial">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/IR/library/presen/er/pdf/20q4_sony.pdf|title=Financial Statements and Consolidated Financial Results|publisher=SONY Corporation|website=sony.com|access-date=27 June 2021}}</ref>
| operating_income = {{Increase}} {{JPY|971.965 billion}} (US$8.78 billion) (2021)<ref name=":Financial" />
| net_income = {{Increase}} {{JPY|1.191 trillion}}
(US$10.77 billion) (2021)<ref name=":Financial" />
| assets = {{Increase}} {{JPY|26.354 trillion}} (US$238.31 billion) (2021)<ref name=":Financial" />
| equity = {{Increase}} {{JPY|5.621 trillion}} (US$50.83 billion) (2021)<ref name=":Financial" />
| num_employees = 111,700 (2021)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sony |url=https://fortune.com/global500/2019/sony |website=Fortune}}</ref>
| divisions = {{Plain list|
*Game & Network Services
*Music
*Pictures
*Electronics Products & Solutions
*Imaging & Sensing Solutions
*Financial Services
*Others<ref name="sony_organization">{{Cite web |date=1 August 2019 |title=Organization Data, Corporate Info |url=https://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/Data/organization.html |access-date=5 June 2020 |publisher=Sony Corporation}}</ref>}}
| subsid = See [[List of assets owned by Sony|list of subsidiaries]]
| homepage = {{URL|www.sony.com}}
| footnotes = <ref name="sony.net">{{Cite web |date=31 March 2019 |title=Corporate Data |url=https://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/library/presen/er/pdf/18q4_sony.pdf |access-date=3 April 2019 |publisher=Sony Corporation}}</ref>
}}

{{Nihongo|'''Sony Group Corporation'''|ソニーグループ株式会社|Sonī Gurūpu [[kabushiki gaisha]]|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|oʊ|n|i}} {{respell|SOH|nee}}, commonly known as '''Sony''' and stylized as '''SONY'''}} is a Japanese [[Multinational corporation|multinational]] [[conglomerate (company)|conglomerate]] corporation headquartered in Kōnan, [[Minato, Tokyo]].<ref>"[https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/Data/Map/ Access & Map]." Sony Global. Retrieved 2 April 2021. "1–7–1 Konan Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-0075, Japan" – [https://web.archive.org/web/20120227050438/http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/Data/Map/map_head_office.pdf Map] – [http://www.sony.jp/CorporateCruise/SMOJ-info/Profile.html Address in Japanese]: "〒108-0075 東京都港区港南1–7–1"</ref> As a major [[technology company]], it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional [[Consumer electronics|electronic products]], the largest [[video game console]] company and the largest [[video game publisher]]. Through [[Sony Entertainment|Sony Entertainment Inc]], it is one of the largest [[Music industry|music companies]] (largest [[music publisher]] & second largest [[record label]]) and the third largest [[Major film studios|film studio]], making it one of the most [[Media conglomerate|comprehensive media companies]], being the largest Japanese media conglomerate by size overtaking the privately held, [[family business|family-owned]] [[Yomiuri Shimbun|Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings]], the largest Japanese media conglomerate by revenue.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Aswad|first=Jem|date=2019-07-17|title=Sony Unites Recorded Music and Publishing Under One Company|url=https://variety.com/2019/biz/news/sony-unites-recorded-music-and-publishing-under-one-company-1203269951/|access-date=2021-05-21|website=Variety|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2 May 2020 |title=Sony embraces its inner conglomerate |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sony-outlook-sony-financial-breakingv-idUSKBN22W0DI |access-date=3 July 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sony in US$2.3 billion deal, becomes the world's biggest music publisher the third largest movie studio |url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/sony-in-us-2-3-billion-deal-for-emi--becomes-world-s-biggest-music-publisher-10257758}}</ref>

Sony, with its 55 percent market share in the [[image sensor]] market, is the largest manufacturer of image sensors, the second largest camera manufacturer, and is among the semiconductor sales leaders.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Top 20 semiconductor sales leaders for Q1 2016 |url=https://www.electronicspecifier.com/news/analysis/top-20-semiconductor-sales-leaders-for-q1-2016 |access-date=1 June 2020 |website=www.electronicspecifier.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sony's key image sensor business hit by smartphone market decline |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Sony-s-key-image-sensor-business-hit-by-smartphone-market-decline |website=Nikkei Asian Review}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=2019 Market Share Data Shows Canon and Sony Growing, Nikon Shrinking {{!}} PetaPixel|url=https://petapixel.com/2020/08/14/2019-market-share-data-shows-canon-and-sony-growing-nikon-shrinking/|access-date=2021-05-21|website=petapixel.com}}</ref> It is the world's largest player in the premium TV market for a television of at least {{convert|55|in|cm|sp=us|abbr=off}} with a price higher than $2,500 as well as second largest TV brand by market share and, as of 2020, the [[Television#Market share|third largest television manufacturer]] in the world by annual sales figures.<ref name="market-share2">{{Cite web |title=Global LCD TV manufacturer market share from 2008 to 2017. |url=http://www.statista.com/statistics/267095/global-market-share-of-lcd-tv-manufacturers/ |url-access=limited |access-date=26 February 2017 |publisher=Statista}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Samsung tops global TV market for 15th consecutive year|url=https://www.flatpanelshd.com/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1614155663|access-date=2021-05-21|website=FlatpanelsHD}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Alekseenko|first=Artem|date=2021-03-04|title=LG and Sony Led OLED TV Gains in Advanced TV Market in Q4|url=https://www.displaydaily.com/article/press-releases/lg-and-sony-led-oled-tv-gains-in-advanced-tv-market-in-q4|access-date=2021-05-21|website=DisplayDaily|language=en-gb}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2 May 2018 |title=How Samsung fell behind Sony and LG in the premium TV market |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-samsung-elec-tv-idUSKBN1I24K2 |access-date=1 June 2020}}</ref>

Sony Group Corporation is the [[holding company]] of the {{Nihongo|Sony Group|ソニー・グループ|Sonī Gurūpu}}, which comprises Sony Corporation, [[Sony Semiconductor Solutions]], [[Sony Entertainment]] ([[Sony Pictures]], [[Sony Music]]), [[Sony Interactive Entertainment]], [[Sony Financial Holdings]], and [[List of Sony subsidiaries|others]].

The company's slogan is ''Be Moved''. Their former slogans were ''The One and Only'' (1979–1982), ''It's a Sony'' (1981–2005), ''like.no.other'' (2005–2009)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sony like.no.other Global Brand Development |url=http://www.blind.com/work/project/sony-like-no-other-global-brand-development/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161117063131/http://www.blind.com/work/project/sony-like-no-other-global-brand-development/ |archive-date=17 November 2016 |access-date=16 November 2016 |publisher=Blind}}</ref> and ''[[make.believe]]'' (2009–2013).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Christopher MacManus |date=2 September 2009 |title=Sony Insider. 2010-10-27. Retrieved 2016-08-07 |url=http://www.sonyinsider.com/2009/09/02/sony-rebrands-itself-drops-like-no-other-and-adopts-make-believe/ |access-date=21 April 2017 |publisher=Sonyinsider.com}}</ref>

Sony has a weak tie to the [[Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group]] (SMFG) [[corporate group]], the successor to the [[Mitsui]] ''[[keiretsu]]''.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=A Frog in a Well Knows Nothing of the Ocean: A History of Corporate Ownership in Japan |encyclopedia=A History of Corporate Governance around the World: Family Business Groups to Professional Managers |publisher=University of Chicago Press |url=https://www.nber.org/chapters/c10274.pdf |date=2005 |editor-last=Morck |editor-first=Randall K. |pages=367–466 |isbn=0-226-53680-7 |author=Morck, R. K. |author2=Nakamura, M.}}</ref> Sony is listed on the [[Tokyo Stock Exchange]] (in which it is a constituent of the [[Nikkei 225]] and [[TOPIX]] Core30 indexes) with an additional listing in the form of [[American depositary receipts]] listed in the [[New York Stock Exchange]] (traded since 1970, making it the oldest Japanese company to be listed in an American exchange), and was ranked 122nd on the 2020 [[Fortune Global 500|''Fortune'' Global 500]] list.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sony 2020 Global 500 – Fortune |url=https://fortune.com/company/sony/global500/ |magazine=[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]]}}</ref>

==History==
{{Further|History of Sony}}

===Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo===
Sony began in the wake of World War II. In 1946, [[Masaru Ibuka]] started an electronics shop in Shirokiya,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sundberg |first=Stephen |date=18 September 2016 |title=Shirokiya Department Store, c. 1910–1940. | Old Tokyo |url=http://www.oldtokyo.com/shirokiya-department-store/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120918035310/http://www.oldtokyo.com/shirokiya-dept-store.php |archive-date=18 September 2012 |access-date=5 November 2020 |website=Old Tokyo |language=en-us}}</ref> a department store building in the [[Nihonbashi]] area of [[Tokyo]]. The company started with a capital of ¥190,000<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sony Global – History |url=https://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/History/ |access-date=7 July 2017 |website=www.sony.net |language=en}}</ref> and a total of eight employees.<ref name="Nobuo">{{Cite news |last=Nobuo Abiko |date=26 March 1966 |title=Pioneering firm upsets Japan hiring: Pattern broken |page=14 |work=The Christian Science Monitor |via=ProQuest}}</ref> On 7 May 1946, Ibuka was joined by [[Akio Morita]] to establish a company called {{nihongo|Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo|東京通信工業|Tōkyō Tsūshin Kōgyō}} (Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation).<ref name="History">{{Cite web |title=Sony Global – Sony History |url=https://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/History/SonyHistory/1-01.html |access-date=16 February 2007}}</ref> The company built Japan's first [[tape recorder]], called the Type-G.<ref name=History/><ref>{{Cite news |last=Neate |first=Rupert |date=1 December 2014 |title=A history of Sony's successes and failures |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/dec/13/sony-successes-failures-inventions-walkman-music |access-date=22 April 2019 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> In 1958, the company changed its name to "Sony".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chang |first=Sea-Jin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=blWb6tslZb8C&q=In+1958+sony&pg=PT19 |title=Sony vs Samsung: The Inside Story of the Electronics Giants' Battle For Global Supremacy |date=25 February 2011 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=9780470830444 |language=en}}</ref>

===Name===
When ''Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo'' was looking for a romanized name to use to market themselves, they strongly considered using their initials, TTK. The primary reason they did not is that the railway company [[Tokyu Corporation|Tokyo Kyuko]] was known as TTK.<ref name=History/> The company occasionally used the acronym "Totsuko" in Japan, but during his visit to the United States, Morita discovered that Americans had trouble pronouncing that name. Another early name that was tried out for a while was "Tokyo Teletech" until [[Akio Morita]] discovered that there was an American company already using Teletech as a brand name.<ref>''[[Made in Japan (biography)|Made in Japan]]'' – Akio Morita and Sony (pg. 76) by Akio Morita with [müzik indir] [http://www.indiristan.net/ müzik indir] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117181638/http://www.indiristan.net/ |date=2021-01-17 }} Edwin M. Rheingold and Mitsuko Shimomura, Signet Books, 1986</ref>

The name "Sony" was chosen for the brand as a mix of two words: one was the [[Latin]] word "''[[wikt:sonus|sonus]]''", which is the root of sonic and sound, and the other was "''[[wikt:sonny|sonny]]''", a common slang term used in 1950s America to call a young boy.<ref name="SonyHistory">[http://www.sony.co.jp/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/History/ Sony Corporate History (Japanese)]. Sony.co.jp. Retrieved 7 July 2011.</ref> In 1950s Japan, "sonny boys" was a [[loan word]] in Japanese, which connoted smart and presentable young men, which Sony founders [[Akio Morita]] and [[Masaru Ibuka]] considered themselves to be.<ref name="SonyHistory" />

The first Sony-branded product, the [[TR-55]] [[transistor radio]], appeared in 1955 but the company name did not change to Sony until January 1958.<ref>[http://www.sony.co.uk/article/id/1060176719725 Sony.co.uk. About Sony. ''The History of the Sony Corporation''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131128040732/http://www.sony.co.uk/article/id/1060176719725 |date=28 November 2013 }}. Sony.co.uk. Retrieved 7 July 2011.</ref>

At the time of the change, it was extremely unusual for a Japanese company to use [[Romanization of Japanese|Roman letters]] to spell its name instead of writing it in [[kanji]]. The move was not without opposition: TTK's principal bank at the time, [[Mitsui]], had strong feelings about the name. They pushed for a name such as Sony Electronic Industries, or Sony Teletech. Akio Morita was firm, however, as he did not want the company name tied to any particular industry. Eventually, both Ibuka and Mitsui Bank's chairman gave their approval.<ref name=History/>

===Globalization===
[[File:Vintage Sony Model TR-730 Transistor Radio, Broadcast Band Only (MW), 7 Transistors, Made In Japan, Circa 1960 (15836828772).jpg|left|upright|thumb|
Sony TR-730 transistor radio made in Japan, circa 1960]]
According to Schiffer, Sony's TR-63 radio "cracked open the U.S. market and launched the new industry of consumer microelectronics."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Focusing on the design of pocket transistor radios manufactured during the 1950s & 1960s! |url=https://www.jamesbutters.com/ |access-date=16 January 2020 |website=Focusing on the design of pocket transistor radios manufactured during the 1950s & 1960s!}}</ref> By the mid-1950s, American teens had begun buying portable transistor radios in huge numbers, helping to propel the fledgling industry from an estimated 100,000 units in 1955 to 5 million units by the end of 1968.{{citation needed |date=November 2014}}

Sony co-founder Akio Morita founded Sony Corporation of America in 1960.<ref name="Nobuo" /> In the process, he was struck by the mobility of employees between American companies, which was unheard of in Japan at that time.<ref name="Nobuo" /> When he returned to Japan, he encouraged experienced, middle-aged employees of other companies to reevaluate their careers and consider joining Sony.<ref name="Nobuo" /> The company filled many positions in this manner, and inspired other Japanese companies to do the same.<ref name="Nobuo" /> Moreover, Sony played a major role in the development of Japan as a powerful exporter during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.<ref name="Christian">Christian, Caryl, and With Hideko Takayama and Kay Itoi in Tokyo, George Wehrfritz in Hong Kong, John Sparks and Michael Hastings in, New York. "Sony is Not Japan; the Appointment of a Foreign CEO is a Sign of how Far the Iconic Company has Fallen in the Japanese Corporate Elite." Newsweek 21 March 2005: 30-. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 26 May 2012.</ref> It also helped to significantly improve American perceptions of "made in Japan" products.<ref name="Lohr">Lohr, Steve. "Hard-Hit Sony Girds for a Fight in the American Electronics Market." New York Times: A.8. New York Times. 14 August 1983. Web. 26 May 2012.</ref> Known for its production quality, Sony was able to charge above-market prices for its consumer electronics and resisted lowering prices.<ref name="Lohr" />

In 1971, Masaru Ibuka handed the position of president over to his co-founder Akio Morita. Sony began [[Sony Life|a life insurance company]] in 1979, one of its many peripheral businesses. Amid a global recession in the early 1980s, electronics sales dropped and the company was forced to cut prices.<ref name="Lohr" /> Sony's profits fell sharply. "It's over for Sony", one analyst concluded. "The company's best days are behind it."<ref name="Lohr" /> Around that time, [[Norio Ohga]] took up the role of president. He encouraged the development of the Compact Disc in the 1970s and 1980s, and of the [[PlayStation]] in the early 1990s. Ohga went on to purchase [[Columbia Records|CBS Records]] in 1988 and [[Columbia Pictures]] in 1989, greatly expanding Sony's media presence. Ohga would succeed Morita as chief executive officer in 1989.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Digication e-Portfolio :: Navaldeep Singh :: Investigate and Analyze the company's History and Growth |url=https://stonybrook.digication.com/navaldeep_singh/Investigate_and_Analyze_the_company_s_History_and_ |access-date=4 June 2017 |website=stonybrook.digication.com |language=en}}</ref>{{citation needed |date=November 2014}}
Under the vision of co-founder Akio Morita<ref name="Fackler">Fackler, Martin. "Cutting Sony, a Corporate Octopus, Back to a Rational Size." New York Times: C.1. New York Times. 29 May 2006. Web. 27 May 2012.</ref> and his successors, the company had aggressively expanded into new businesses.<ref name="Christian" /> Part of its motivation for doing so was the pursuit of "convergence", linking film, music and digital electronics via the Internet.<ref name="Christian" /> This expansion proved unrewarding and unprofitable,<ref name="Christian" /> threatening Sony's ability to charge a premium on its products<ref name="Fackler" /> as well as its brand name.<ref name="Fackler" /> In 2005, [[Howard Stringer]] replaced [[Nobuyuki Idei]] as chief executive officer, marking the first time that a foreigner had run a major Japanese electronics firm. Stringer helped to reinvigorate the company's struggling media businesses, encouraging blockbusters such as ''[[Spider-Man (2002 film)|Spider-Man]]'' while cutting 9,000 jobs.<ref name="Christian" /> He hoped to sell off peripheral business and focus the company again on electronics.<ref name="Fackler" /> Furthermore, he aimed to increase cooperation between business units,<ref name="Fackler" /> which he described as "silos" operating in isolation from one another.<ref name="Nakamoto" /> In a bid to provide a unified brand for its global operations, Sony introduced a slogan known as "make.believe" in 2009.<ref name=":0" />{{citation needed |date=November 2014}}

[[File:MarkvilleSonyStore.JPG|thumb|Sony Store in [[Markville Shopping Centre]], Canada]]
Despite some successes, the company faced continued struggles in the mid- to late-2000s.<ref name="Christian" /> In 2012, [[Kazuo Hirai]] was promoted to president and CEO, replacing Stringer. Shortly thereafter, Hirai outlined his company-wide initiative, named "One Sony" to revive Sony from years of financial losses and bureaucratic management structure, which proved difficult for former CEO Stringer to accomplish, partly due to differences in business culture and native languages between Stringer and some of Sony's Japanese divisions and subsidiaries. Hirai outlined three major areas of focus for Sony's electronics business, which include imaging technology, gaming and mobile technology, as well as a focus on reducing the major losses from the television business.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jeff Blagdon |date=27 March 2012 |title=Sony reorganizes into 'One Sony', prioritizes digital imaging, gaming and mobile |url=https://www.theverge.com/2012/3/27/2905412/sony-management-structure-change-announcement |access-date=10 July 2013 |website=The Verge}}</ref>

[[File:SONY Store , ソニーストア名古屋 - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Sony Store in [[Nagoya]], Japan]]
In February 2014, Sony announced the sale of its [[Vaio]] PC division to a new corporation owned by investment fund Japan Industrial Partners and spinning its TV division into its own corporation as to make it more nimble to turn the unit around from past losses totaling $7.8 billion over a decade.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Knight |first1=Sophie |last2=Reiji Murai |date=6 February 2014 |title=As losses mount, Sony's Hirai seeks cure for TV business in spinoff |work=Reuters |location=Tokyo |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sony-results-idUSBREA150AK20140206 |access-date=11 February 2014}}</ref> Later that month, they announced that they would be closing 20 stores.<ref>{{Cite news |date=26 February 2014 |title=Sony to shutter two-thirds of its US stores |work=Engadget |url=https://www.engadget.com/2014/02/26/sony-stores-closing/ |access-date=27 February 2014}}</ref> In April, the company announced that they would be selling 9.5 million shares in [[Square Enix]] (roughly 8.2 percent of the game company's total shares) in a deal worth approximately $48 million.<ref name="SQEXsale">{{Cite web |last=Makuch, Eddie |date=16 April 2014 |title=PS4 company Sony to sell its entire stake in Square Enix, valued at around $47 million |url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-company-sony-to-sell-its-entire-stake-in-square-enix-valued-at-around-47-million/1100-6419024/ |access-date=16 April 2014 |website=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref> In May 2014 the company announced it was forming two joint ventures with [[Shanghai Oriental Pearl Group]] to manufacture and market Sony's [[PlayStation]] games consoles and associated software in China.<ref>{{Cite web |date=25 May 2014 |title=Sony, Shanghai Oriental Pearl to set up China PlayStation JVs |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sony-shanghaiorientalpearl-playstatio-idUSBREA4P01320140526 |website=Reuters}}</ref>

In 2015, Sony purchased Toshiba's image sensor business.<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 October 2015 |title=Toshiba sells sensor business to Sony, overhauls chip unit |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/28/toshiba-sells-sensor-business-to-sony-overhauls-chip-unit.html |website=CNBC}}</ref>

It was reported in December 2016 by multiple news outlets that Sony was considering restructuring its U.S. operations by merging its TV & film business, Sony Pictures Entertainment, with its gaming business, Sony Interactive Entertainment. According to the reports, such a restructuring would have placed Sony Pictures under Sony Interactive's CEO, Andrew House, though House wouldn't have taken over day-to-day operations of the film studio.<ref name="tvfilmgaming">{{Cite news |last=Aldrich |first=Rachel |date=12 December 2016 |title=Why would Sony merge its gaming and film units? |language=en |work=TheStreet |url=https://www.thestreet.com/story/13922321/1/why-would-sony-merge-its-gaming-and-film-units.html}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Atkinson |first=Claire |date=12 December 2016 |title=Sony considers merging gaming and film divisions |language=en |work=New York Post |url=https://nypost.com/2016/12/11/sony-considers-merging-gaming-and-film-divisions/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Cooke |first=Chris |title=Revamp of Sony's entertainment business could more closely align Sony Music with Sony/ATV {{!}} Complete Music Update |url=http://www.completemusicupdate.com/article/revamp-of-sonys-entertainment-business-could-more-closely-align-sony-music-with-sonyatv/}}</ref> According to one report, Sony was set to make a final decision on the possibility of the merger of the TV, film, & gaming businesses by the end of its fiscal year in March of the following year (2017).<ref name="tvfilmgaming" />

In 2017, Sony sold its [[lithium-ion battery]] business to [[Murata Manufacturing]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Murata to pour $450m into Sony battery ops after purchase |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Murata-to-pour-450m-into-Sony-battery-ops-after-purchase |website=Nikkei Asian Review}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Murata Manufacturing and Sony Sign Definitive Agreement for the Transfer of Battery Business | Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. |url=https://corporate.murata.com/en-us/about/newsroom/news/company/general/2016/1031 |website=corporate.murata.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=19 July 2017 |title=Sony to complete sale of battery business to Murata in September |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/07/19/business/corporate-business/sony-complete-sale-battery-business-murata-september/ |via=Japan Times Online}}</ref>

In 2019, Sony merged its Mobile, TV and Camera businesses.<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 March 2019 |title=[Update: Mass job cuts expected] Sony to merge all consumer electronics divisions after mobile loses nearly a billion dollars in a year |url=https://www.androidpolice.com/2019/03/29/sony-to-merge-all-consumer-electronics-divisions-as-if-we-wont-notice-mobile-losing-nearly-a-billion-dollars/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sony Merges Electronics Divisions, Hiding Staggering Mobile Losses – ExtremeTech |url=https://www.extremetech.com/mobile/288598-sony-merges-electronics-divisions-hiding-staggering-mobile-losses |website=www.extremetech.com}}</ref>

On 1 April 2020, Sony Electronics Corporation was established as an intermediate holding company to own and oversee its electronics and IT solutions businesses.

On 19 May 2020, the company announced that it will rename Sony Group Corporation as of 1 April 2021. Subsequently, Sony Electronics Corporation will be renamed to Sony Corporation.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=Announcement of New Sony Group Organizational Structure |date=1 May 2020 |url=https://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/202005/20-039E/ |access-date=19 May 2020 |agency=Sony Corporation}}</ref> On the same day the company announced that it will turn [[Sony Financial Holdings]], of which Sony already owns 65.06% of shares, to a wholly owned subsidiary through a takeover bid.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=Announcement Regarding Commencement of Tender Offer for Shares Etc, of Sony Financial Holdings Inc. (Securities Code: 8729) |date=1 May 2020 |url=https://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/news/20200519_02E.pdf |access-date=21 May 2020 |agency=Sony Corporation}}</ref>

On 1 April 2021, Sony Corporation renamed Sony Group Corporation. On the same day, Sony Mobile Communications Inc. absorbed Sony Electronics Corporation, Sony Imaging Products & Solutions Inc., and Sony Home Entertainment & Sound Products Inc. and changed its trade name to Sony Corporation.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=Announcement of Decision Regarding Company Split (Small-scale Company Split) of Electronics Products & Solutions Business|date=2020-11-17 |url=https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/IR/news/20201117_01E.pdf |access-date=2021-07-13 |agency=Sony Corporation}}</ref>

==Formats and technologies==
{{Further|List of Sony trademarks}}
Sony has historically been notable for creating its own in-house standards for new recording and storage technologies, instead of adopting those of other manufacturers and standards bodies. Sony (either alone or with partners) has introduced several of the most popular recording formats, including the 3.5-inch [[floppy disk]], [[Compact Disc]] and [[Blu-ray Disc]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ma'arif |first=Nelly Nailaite |title=The Power of Marketing |publisher=Penerbit Salemba |year=2008 |chapter=15}}</ref>

===Video recording===
[[File:Sony SL-MV1 and RMT-117 20051001.jpg|thumb|A rare Japanese market Betamax TV/VCR combo, the Model SL-MV1]]
Sony introduced [[U-matic]], the world's first [[videocassette]] format, in 1971, but the standard was unpopular for domestic use due to the high price.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-01-20 |title=U-matic (1971 – 1990s) |url=https://obsoletemedia.org/u-matic/ |access-date=2020-08-05 |website=Museum of Obsolete Media |language=en-GB}}</ref> The company subsequently launched the [[Betamax]] format in 1975.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Curtis |first=Sophie |date=10 November 2015 |title=Sony is finally killing off Betamax video tapes |language=en-GB |work=Daily Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/sony/11986020/Sony-is-finally-killing-off-Betamax-video-tapes.html |access-date=4 January 2019 |issn=0307-1235}}</ref> Sony was involved in the [[videotape format war]] of the early 1980s, when they were marketing the [[Betamax]] system for video cassette recorders against the [[VHS]] format developed by [[JVC]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=The History of Format Wars and How Sony Finally Won... For Now |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/07/how-sony-finally-won-the-format-wars.html |access-date=4 January 2019 |website=pastemagazine.com |language=en}}</ref> In the end, VHS gained critical mass in the marketbase and became the worldwide standard for consumer VCRs.<ref name=":2" />

Betamax is, for all practical purposes, an obsolete format. Sony's professional-oriented [[component video]] format called [[Betacam]], which was derived from Betamax, was used until 2016 when Sony announced it was stopping production of all remaining 1/2-inch video tape recorders and players, including the Digital Betacam format.<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 May 2014 |title=Digital Betacam (1993–2016) |url=https://obsoletemedia.org/digital-betacam/ |access-date=7 January 2019 |website=Museum of Obsolete Media |language=en-GB}}</ref>

In 1985, Sony launched their Handycam products and the [[8 mm video format|Video8 format]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 May 2014 |title=Video8 (1985 – 2000s) |url=https://obsoletemedia.org/video8/ |access-date=4 January 2019 |website=Museum of Obsolete Media |language=en-GB}}</ref> Video8 and the follow-on hi-band [[8 mm video format|Hi8]] format became popular in the consumer camcorder market. In 1987 Sony launched the 4 mm DAT or [[Digital Audio Tape]] as a new digital audio tape standard.<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 October 2014 |title=What's DAT Sound? |url=https://blogs.library.duke.edu/bitstreams/2014/10/10/dat-sound/ |access-date=4 January 2019 |website=Bitstreams: The Digital Collections Blog |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Visual display ===
Sony held a patent for its proprietary [[Trinitron]] until 1996.

Sony introduced the Triluminos Display, the company's proprietary color reproduction enhancing technology, in 2004, featured in the world's first [[LED-backlit LCD]] televisions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sony introduces first televisions to feature LED backlights |url=https://www.ledsmagazine.com/specialty-ssl/backlighting-signs-displays/article/16701260/sony-introduces-first-televisions-to-feature-led-backlights |access-date=2020-08-06 |website=www.ledsmagazine.com}}</ref> It was widely used in other Sony's products as well, including computer monitors, laptops, and smartphones.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-06-25 |title=The Xperia Z Ultra's Triluminos and X-Reality Engine technologies explained |url=https://www.androidauthority.com/xperia-z-ultra-triluminos-x-reality-234908/ |access-date=2020-08-06 |website=Android Authority |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2013, Sony released a new line of televisions with an improved version of the technology, which incorporated [[quantum dot]]s in the backlight system. It was the first commercial use of quantum dots.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Quantum Dots Get Commercial Debut in More Colorful Sony TVs |url=https://www.technologyreview.com/2013/01/11/180532/quantum-dots-get-commercial-debut-in-more-colorful-sony-tvs/ |access-date=2020-08-03 |website=MIT Technology Review |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Blagdon |first=Jeff |date=2013-01-16 |title=Sony's new Triluminos TVs pursue vibrant hues with quantum dots |url=https://www.theverge.com/2013/1/16/3881546/sonys-new-triluminous-tvs-pursue-vibrant-hues-with-quantum-dots |access-date=2020-08-06 |website=The Verge |language=en}}</ref>

In 2012, the company revealed a prototype of an ultrafine RGB [[Light-emitting diode|LED]] display, which it calls the [[Crystal LED]] Display.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sony fights the OLED future with new 'Crystal LED' prototype (Update: Hands-on!) |url=https://www.engadget.com/2012-01-09-sony-fights-the-oled-future-with-new-crystal-led-prototype.html |access-date=2020-08-06 |website=Engadget |language=en}}</ref>

===Audio recording===
[[File:First Walkman 1979 (31011124386).jpg|thumb|First Sony Walkman TPS-L2 from 1979 (Expo in Sony Building at Ginza, Chuo-Ku, Tokyo)]]
Sony used the [[Cassette tape#Cassette tape|Compact Cassette]] format in many of its tape recorders and players, including the [[Walkman]], the world's first portable music player.<ref name=":5">{{Cite news |last=Haire |first=Meaghan |date=1 July 2009 |title=The Walkman |language=en-US |work=Time |url=http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1907884,00.html |access-date=17 January 2019 |issn=0040-781X}}</ref> Sony introduced the [[MiniDisc]] format in 1992 as an alternative to [[Philips]] DCC or [[Digital Compact Cassette]] and as a successor to the Compact Cassette.<ref>{{Cite web |date=16 November 2013 |title=MiniDisc (1992–2013) |url=https://obsoletemedia.org/minidisc/ |access-date=17 January 2019 |website=Museum of Obsolete Media |language=en-GB}}</ref> Since the introduction of MiniDisc, Sony has attempted to promote its own audio compression technologies under the [[Adaptive Transform Acoustic Coding|ATRAC]] brand, against the more widely used MP3. Until late 2004, Sony's [[Walkman#Network Walkman|Network Walkman]] line of digital portable music players did not support the MP3 standard natively.

In 2004, Sony built upon the [[MiniDisc]] format by releasing [[HiMD|Hi-MD]]. Hi-MD allows the playback and recording of audio on newly introduced 1 GB Hi-MD discs in addition to playback and recording on regular MiniDiscs. In addition to saving audio on the discs, Hi-MD allows the storage of computer files such as documents, videos and photos.

===Audio encoding===
In 1993, Sony challenged the industry standard [[Dolby Digital]] 5.1 surround sound format with a newer and more advanced proprietary motion picture digital audio format called [[Sony Dynamic Digital Sound|SDDS]] (Sony Dynamic Digital Sound).<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Sony Digital Dynamic Sound |url=https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~clamen/misc/movies/sdds-post.html |access-date=1 February 2019 |website=www.cs.cmu.edu}}</ref> This format employed eight channels (7.1) of audio opposed to just six used in Dolby Digital 5.1 at the time.<ref name=":3" /> Ultimately, SDDS has been vastly overshadowed by the preferred DTS ([[DTS (sound system)|Digital Theatre System]]) and Dolby Digital standards in the motion picture industry. SDDS was solely developed for use in the theatre circuit; Sony never intended to develop a home theatre version of SDDS.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Nailatie. |first=Ma'arif, Nelly |title=The power of marketing : practitioner perspectives in Asia |date=2008 |publisher=Penerbit Salemba Empat |isbn=9789796914456 |oclc=968144111}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Why isn't SDDS in the consumer market? |url=https://www.hometheaterforum.com/community/threads/why-isnt-sdds-in-the-consumer-market.183176/ |access-date=1 February 2019 |website=Blu-ray Movie Discussion, Expert Reviews & News |language=en-US}}</ref>

Sony and [[Philips]] jointly developed the Sony-Philips digital interface format ([[S/PDIF]]) and the high-fidelity audio system [[Super Audio CD|SACD]]. The latter became entrenched in a format war with [[DVD-Audio]]. Still, neither gained a major foothold with the general public. CDs had been preferred by consumers because of the ubiquitous presence of CD drives in consumer devices until the early 2000s when the iPod and streaming services became available.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Waniata |first=Ryan |date=7 February 2018 |title=The Life and Times of the Late, Great CD |url=https://www.digitaltrends.com/features/the-history-of-the-cds-rise-and-fall/ |access-date=1 February 2019 |website=digitaltrends.com}}</ref>

In 2015, Sony introduced [[LDAC (codec)|LDAC]], a [[Proprietary software|proprietary]] [[Audio codec|audio coding]] technology which allows streaming [[high-resolution audio]] over [[Bluetooth]] connections at up to 990 kbps at 32 bit/96 kHz. Sony also contributed it as part of the [[Android Open Source Project]] starting from [[Android 8.0]] "[[Android version history#Android 8.0 Oreo (API 26)|Oreo]]", enabling every OEM to integrate this standard into their own Android devices freely. However the ''decoder'' library is [[Proprietary software|proprietary]], so receiving devices require licenses. On 17 September 2019, the Japan Audio Society (JAS) certified LDAC with their Hi-Res Audio Wireless certification. Currently the only codecs with the Hi-Res Audio Wireless certification are LDAC and [[LHDC (codec)|LHDC]], another competing standard.

===Optical storage===
[[File:Sony BD-RE 200GB front side 20080119.jpg|thumb|Front side of a Sony 200GB Blu-ray disc]]
Sony demonstrated an optical digital audio disc in 1977 and soon joined hands with Philips, another major contender for the storage technology, to establish a worldwide standard.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The history of the CD – The beginning – Research |url=https://www.philips.com/a-w/research/technologies/cd/beginning.html |access-date=2020-08-03 |website=Philips |language=en}}</ref> In 1983, the two company jointly announced the [[compact disc|Compact Disc]] (CD). In 1984, Sony launched the [[Discman]] series, an expansion of the Walkman brand to portable CD players. Sony began to improve performance and capacity of the novel format. It launched write-once [[optical disc]]s (WO) and [[Magneto-optical drive|magneto-optical discs]] which were around 125MB size for the specific use of archival data storage, in 1986 and 1988 respectively.<ref>A</ref>

In the early 1990s, two high-density optical storage standards were being developed: one was the MultiMedia Compact Disc (MMCD), backed by Philips and Sony, and the other was the Super Density Disc (SD), supported by [[Toshiba]] and many others. Philips and Sony abandoned their MMCD format and agreed upon Toshiba's SD format with only one modification. The unified disc format was called [[DVD]] and was introduced in 1997.

Sony was one of the leading developers of the [[Blu-ray]] optical disc format, the newest standard for disc-based content delivery. The first Blu-ray players became commercially available in 2006. The format emerged as the standard for HD media over the competing format, Toshiba's [[HD DVD]], after a two-year-long [[high-definition optical disc format war]].

Sony's [[Laser communication in space|laser communication]] devices for [[small satellite]]s rely on the technologies developed for the company's optical disc products.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sony to launch space business |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Sony-to-launch-space-business |access-date=21 April 2018 |website=Nikkei Asian Review}}</ref>

===Disk storage===
In 1983, Sony introduced 90 mm micro diskettes, better known as {{convert|3.5|in|mm|adj=on}} [[floppy disk]]s, which it had developed at a time when there were 4" floppy disks, and many variations from different companies, to replace the then on-going 5.25" floppy disks. Sony had great success and the format became dominant. 3.5" floppy disks gradually became obsolete as they were replaced by current media formats. Sony held more than a 70 percent share of the market when it decided to pull the plug on the format in 2010.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ma'arif |first=Nelly Nailatie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oc_0AkhysO0C&q=Sony+had+great+success+and+the+format+became+dominant.+3.5%22+floppy+disks+gradually+became+obsolete+as+they+were+replaced+by+current+media+formats&pg=PT194 |title=Power of Marketing |date=2008 |publisher=Penerbit Salemba |isbn=9789796914456 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Floppy disk history: The evolution of personal computing |url=https://www.hpe.com/us/en/insights/articles/floppy-disk-history-the-evolution-of-personal-computing-1804.html }}</ref>

===Flash memory===
In 1998, Sony launched the [[Memory Stick]] format, the [[flash memory]] cards for use in Sony lines of digital cameras and portable music players. It has seen little support outside of Sony's own products, with [[Secure Digital card]]s (SD) commanding considerably greater popularity. Sony has made updates to the Memory Stick format with [[Memory Stick#Memory Stick Duo and PRO Duo|Memory Stick Duo]] and [[Memory Stick Micro]].

=== Communication ===
Sony introduced [[FeliCa]], a contactless IC card technology primarily used in [[contactless payment]], as a result of the company's joint development and commercialization of [[near-field communication|Near-Field Communication]] (NFC) with Philips. The standard is largely offered in two forms, either chips embedded in smartphones or plastic cards with chips embedded in them. Sony plans to implement this technology in train systems across Asia.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Alpeyev |first1=Pavel |last2=Huang |first2=Grace |date=15 October 2015 |title=Sony's Answer to Apple Pay Is Laying Tracks for Asian Expansion |publisher=Bloomberg Business |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-16/sony-s-answer-to-apple-pay-is-laying-tracks-for-asian-expansion |access-date=19 October 2015}}</ref>

In 2019, Sony launched the ELTRES, the company's proprietary low-power wide-area wireless communication ([[LPWAN]]) standard.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-05-30 |title=Sony unveils LPWA IoT communication module |url=https://www.eenewsautomotive.com/news/sony-unveils-lpwa-iot-communication-module |access-date=2020-08-03 |website=eeNews Automotive |language=en}}</ref>

==Business units==
{{Further|List of assets owned by Sony}}
Best known for its electronic products, Sony offers a wide variety of product lines in many areas. At its peak, it was dubbed as a "corporate octopus", for its sprawling ventures from private insurance to chemicals to cosmetics to home shopping to Tokyo-based French food joint, let alone its core businesses such as electronics and entertainment.<ref name="Fackler" /> Even after it has unwound many business units including [[Sony Chemicals]] and [[Vaio]] PC, Sony still runs diverse businesses.

As of 2020, Sony is organized into the following business segments: Game & Network Services (G&NS), Music, Pictures, Electronics Products & Solutions (EP&S), Imaging & Sensing Solutions (I&SS), Financial Services, and Others.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Sony Global – Organization Data |url=https://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/Data/organization.html |access-date=3 July 2020 |website=www.sony.net}}</ref> Usually, each business segment has a handful of corresponding intermediate holding companies under which all the related businesses are folded into, such as [[Columbia Records]] being part of [[Sony Music]] Group, a subsidiary and, at the same time, a holding company for Sony's music businesses, along with [[Sony Music Entertainment Japan|SMEJ]].

===Electronics Products & Solutions ===
[[File:Sony store Westfield Riccarton 2013.jpg|thumb|Sony at [[Westfield Riccarton]] shopping centre in [[Christchurch]], New Zealand]]
Sony Corporation (Sony Electronics Corporation until 1 April 2021<ref>Officially, Sony Mobile Communications Inc. absorbed Sony Electronics Corporation, Sony Imaging Products & Solutions Inc., and Sony Home Entertainment & Sound Products Inc. and changed its trade name to Sony Corporation.</ref>) is the electronics business unit of the Sony Group. It primarily conducts research and development (R&D), planning, designing, manufacturing and marketing for electronics products. Sony Global Manufacturing & Operations Corporation (SGMO) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation and responsible for managing manufacturing operations both in Japan and overseas, through its own factories as well as [[electronics manufacturing services|third party contract manufacturers]].

====Audio====
Sony released the world's first portable music player, the [[Walkman]], in 1979, bundled with the MDL-3L2 [[headphones]]. This line fostered a fundamental change in music listening habits by allowing people to carry music with them and listen to music through lightweight headphones.<ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Wells |first=Georgia |date=2016-09-07 |title=The History of Headphones |language=en-US |work=Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-history-of-headphones-1473274924 |access-date=2020-08-04 |issn=0099-9660}}</ref> Originally used to refer portable audio [[compact cassette|cassette]] players, the Walkman brand has been widely adopted by the company to encompass its portable digital audio and video players as well as a line of former [[Sony Mobile Communications|Sony Ericsson]] mobile phones. In the case of optical disc players, the [[Discman]] brand was used until the late 1990s. In 1999 Sony's first portable digital audio players were introduced; one was a player using [[Memory Stick]] flash storage created by the Walkman division, and the other was a smaller pen-sized player with embedded flash storage created by the [[Vaio]] division; both accompanied with Sony's OpenMG copyright protection technology and PC software for music transfer.<ref>{{Cite web |title=MP3 for Christmas? Maybe |url=http://edition.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9911/24/mp3.xmas.idg/index.html}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Microsoft and Sony Enable High-Quality Music Files To Be Downloaded on PCs and Portable Devices |url=https://news.microsoft.com/1999/11/15/microsoft-and-sony-enable-high-quality-music-files-to-be-downloaded-on-pcs-and-portable-devices/}}</ref>

Sony is a major audio products manufacturer and one of the [[active noise control]] technology leaders.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Apple? Bose? What your headphones say about you |url=https://www.ft.com/content/858f09bc-4116-11ea-bdb5-169ba7be433d |access-date=2020-08-05 |website=www.ft.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-03-16 |title=Five of the best noise-cancelling headphones |url=http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/mar/16/five-of-the-best-noise-cancelling-headphones |access-date=2020-08-05 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}</ref>

====Video====
[[File:Sony Bravia logo.svg|thumb|left|Logo of [[Bravia (brand)|Bravia]] television. Its backronym is "'''B'''est '''R'''esolution '''A'''udio '''V'''isual '''I'''ntegrated '''A'''rchitecture".]]
Sony produced the [[TV8-301]], the world's first all-[[transistor]] television, in 1959.<ref>{{Cite web |title=TV8-301 Portable Television, 1959 |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18796291/ |access-date=2020-08-03 |website=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |language=en-us}}</ref> In 1968, the company introduced the [[Trinitron]] brand name for its lines of [[aperture grille]] [[cathode ray tube]] televisions and afterwards [[Visual display unit|computer monitors]]. Sony stopped production of Trinitron for most markets, but continued producing sets for markets such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and China. Sony discontinued its series of Trinitron computer monitors in 2005. The company discontinued the last Trinitron-based television set in the US in early 2007. The end of Trinitron marked the end of Sony's analog television sets and monitors.

Sony used the LCD [[WEGA]] name for its [[Liquid-crystal display|LCD]] TVs until summer 2005. The company then introduced the [[Bravia (brand)|BRAVIA]] name. BRAVIA is an in-house brand owned by Sony which produces high-definition LCD televisions, projection TVs and front projectors, home cinemas and the BRAVIA home theatre range. All Sony high-definition flat-panel LCD televisions in North America have carried the logo for BRAVIA since 2005. In 2006, Sony lost its decades-long No.1 market share in the global television market. In November 2007, the [[Sony XEL-1]], the first [[OLED]] television, was released and manufactured for two years. Later in 2013, Sony demonstrated the first 4K OLED television.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2008-01-07 |title=Sony brings OLED TV to U.S. |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-show-sony-idUSN0633798320080107 |access-date=2020-08-03}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sony announces the world's first 4K OLED TV at CES: 3,840 x 2,160 resolution, no price or release in sight |url=https://www.engadget.com/2013-01-07-sony-world-first-oled-4k-hdtv-launch-ces-2013.html |access-date=2020-08-06 |website=Engadget}}</ref> As of 2012, Sony was the third-largest maker of televisions in the world and the business unit had been unprofitable for eight consecutive years.<ref name="Discounts">{{Cite news |last1=Yang |first1=Jun |last2=Yasu |first2=Mariko |date=23 May 2012 |title=Sony, Samsung Ask U.S. Retailers to Curb Discounts on TV Sets |agency=[[Bloomberg News]] |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-23/sony-samsung-ask-u-s-retailers-to-curb-discounts-on-tv-sets.html}}</ref>

From 2011, Sony started restructuring of its loss-making television business, mainly by downsizing business units and outsourcing the manufacturing of display panels to the companies like [[Sharp Corporation]], [[LG Display]], and [[Samsung Electronics]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sony to restructure TV business, in talks with LG to supply OLED panels? {{!}} OLED-Info |url=https://www.oled-info.com/sony-restructure-tv-business-talks-lg-supply-oled-panels |access-date=2020-08-03 |website=www.oled-info.com}}</ref> In December 2011, Sony agreed to sell all stake in an LCD joint venture with Samsung Electronics ([[S-LCD]]) for about $940 million.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sony sells $940m LCD stake to Samsung to slash TV losses. |url=http://gulfnews.com/business/technology/sony-sells-940m-lcd-stake-to-samsung-to-slash-tv-losses-1.957299 |access-date=27 December 2011}}</ref> On 28 March 2012, Sony and Sharp announced that they have agreed to further amend the joint venture agreement originally executed by the parties in July 2009, as amended in April 2011, for the establishment and operation of Sharp Display Products Corporation ("SDP"), a joint venture to produce and sell large-sized LCD panels and modules.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sony and Sharp in LCD panel joint venture |url=http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/201203/12-0328E/ |access-date=12 May 2014 |publisher=Sony.net}}</ref> The agreement was eventually terminated as Sony parted ways.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Welch |first=Chris |date=2 May 2012 |title=Sony and Sharp officially terminate LCD partnership |url=https://www.theverge.com/2012/5/24/3040682/sony-sharp-terminate-lcd-display-joint-venture |access-date=12 July 2020 |website=The Verge |language=en}}</ref> Sony's [[Sony Mobile Display|small-sized LCD business subsidiary]] and medium-to-large-sized OLED display business unit were spun off and became part of [[Japan Display]] and [[JOLED]], respectively.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Budget brand TCL teams with Sony-Panasonic venture for large TVs |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Business-deals/Budget-brand-TCL-teams-with-Sony-Panasonic-venture-for-large-TVs |access-date=2020-08-03 |website=Nikkei Asian Review |language=en-GB}}</ref>

In 2017, Sony launched OLED televisions under the BRAVIA brand.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sony 2017 TV line-up – full overview with prices |url=https://www.flatpanelshd.com/article.php?subaction=showfull&id=1487919714 |access-date=2020-08-03 |website=FlatpanelsHD}}</ref>

Also, Sony has sold a range of tapes, discs, recorders and players for [[Videotape|videocassette]], [[DVD player|DVD]], and [[Blu-ray]] formats for decades.

====Photography and videography====
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| caption1 = A Sony [[Cyber-shot]] digital camera.
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| caption2 = A Sony α77 DSLR camera.
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Sony offers a wide range of digital cameras. Its point-and-shoot models adopt the [[Cyber-shot]] name, while [[digital single-lens reflex]] models are branded using [[Sony Alpha|Alpha]]. It also produces [[action camera]]s and [[camcorder]]s, with the company's [[Digital movie camera|cinema-grade]] products being sold under the [[CineAlta]] name.

Sony demonstrated a prototype of the [[Sony Mavica]] in 1981 and released it for the consumer market in 1988. The first Cyber-shot was introduced in 1996. Sony's market share of the digital camera market fell from a high of 20% to 9% by 2005.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sony Global – Product & Technology Milestones-Digital Camera |url=https://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/History/sonyhistory-g.html |access-date=2020-08-03 |website=www.sony.net}}</ref><ref name="Nakamoto">Nakamoto, Michiyo. "Screen Test: Stringers Strategy Will Signal to what Extent Sony can Stay in the Game CONSUMER ELECTRONICS: The Japanese Company that Once Brought the World Market-Defining Products is being Trounced by More Agile Competitors and must Decide which Activities no Longer Form Part of its Future, Writes Michiyo Nakamoto." Financial Times: 17. ABI/INFORM Global. 21 September 2005. Web. 27 May 2012.</ref>

Sony entered the market for [[digital single-lens reflex camera]]s in 2006 when it acquired the camera business of [[Konica Minolta]]. Sony rebranded the company's line of cameras as its [[Sony Alpha|Alpha]] line. Sony is the world's third largest manufacturer of the cameras, behind [[Canon (company)|Canon]] and [[Nikon]] respectively.

In 2010, Sony introduced their first [[mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera]]s, which were the [[NEX-3]] and the [[Sony NEX-5|NEX-5]]. They also started a new lens mount system, which was the [[Sony E-mount|E-mount.]] There were quite a few NEX models out there, when Sony decided to melt the NEX series into the Alpha series. The first Alpha MILC was the [[Sony α3000|α3000]], which was introduced in August 2013. It was followed by the Full-Frame [[Sony α7|α7]] and [[α7R]] in October, then the successors of the [[Sony NEX-5|NEX-5]], the [[Sony NEX-6|NEX-6]] and [[Sony NEX-7|NEX-7]], the [[Sony α5000|α5000]] and the [[Sony α6000|α6000]] in 2014. The α6000 became the most popular [[Mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera|MILC]] ever and Sony became the largest MILC manufacturer.

====Computing====
[[File:SONY VAIO VPCZ119FJ-S 02.jpg|thumb|Notebook [[Sony Vaio]]. Sony has axed its loss-making PC business in 2014.]]
Sony produced computers ([[MSX]] [[home computer]]s and [[Sony NEWS|NEWS]] [[workstation]]s) during the 1980s. The company withdrew from the computer business around 1990. Sony entered again into the global computer market under the new [[VAIO]] brand, began in 1996. Short for "Video Audio Integrated Operation", the line was the first computer brand to highlight visual-audio features.<ref name="Nakamoto" />

Sony faced considerable controversy when some of its laptop batteries exploded and caught fire in 2006, resulting in the largest computer-related recall to that point in history.<ref>{{Cite news |date=14 August 2006 |title=Dell Details on Notebook Battery Recall |publisher=Direct2Dell |url=http://www.direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2006/08/14/1803.aspx |access-date=21 August 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060820160832/http://www.direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2006/08/14/1803.aspx |archive-date=20 August 2006}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=14 August 2006 |title=Dell announces recall of 4.1 million laptop batteries |publisher=CBC News |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/dell-announces-recall-of-4-1-million-laptop-batteries-1.622108 |access-date=28 September 2006}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=24 August 2006 |title=Sony, Dell battery issue heats up |publisher=CBC News |url=http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2006/08/24/tech-battery.html |access-date=24 August 2006}}</ref>

In a bid to join the [[tablet computer]] market, the company launched its [[Sony Tablet]] line of [[Android (operating system)|Android]] tablets in 2011. Since 2012, Sony's Android products have been marketed under the [[Xperia]] brand used for its smartphones.<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 July 2009 |title=Tablet & Smartphones | Xperia™ Tablet & Smartphones |url=http://www.sony.co.uk/hub/sony-tablet-smartphones |access-date=10 July 2013 |publisher=Sony}}</ref>

On 4 February 2014, Sony announced that it would sell its VAIO PC business due to poor sales<ref name="Sony VAIO divestment">{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Mat |date=6 February 2014 |title=Sony sells its VAIO PC business, makes TV arm its own subsidiary |work=Engadget |url=https://www.engadget.com/2014/02/06/sony-sells-vaio/ |access-date=6 February 2014}}</ref> and Japanese company Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) will purchase the VAIO brand, with the deal finalized by the end of March 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Catherine Shu |date=6 February 2014 |title=Sony To Exit PC Business By Selling VAIO |url=https://techcrunch.com/2014/02/06/sony-vaio-sale/?ncid=tcdaily |access-date=7 February 2014 |website=TechCrunch |publisher=AOL, Inc}}</ref> As of 2018, Sony maintained a 5% stake in the new, independent company.

====Healthcare and biotechnology====
Sony has targeted medical, healthcare and biotechnology business as a growth sector in the future. The company acquired iCyt Mission Technology, Inc. (renamed Sony Biotechnology Inc. in 2012), a manufacturer of flow cytometers, in 2010 and Micronics, Inc., a developer of microfluidics-based diagnostic tools, in 2011.

In 2012, Sony announced that it would acquire all shares of [[So-net]] Entertainment Corporation, the largest shareholder of M3, Inc., an operator of portal sites (m3.com, MR-kun, MDLinx and MEDI:GATE) for healthcare professionals.

On 28 September 2012, [[Olympus Corporation|Olympus]] and Sony announced that the two companies will establish a joint venture to develop new surgical endoscopes with [[4K resolution]] (or higher) and 3D capability.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Announcement of Agreements Between Olympus and Sony to Form Business and Capital Alliance |url=http://www.olympus-global.com/en/corc/ir/tes/pdf/nr120928_3.pdf |access-date=12 May 2014 |publisher=Olympus-global.com}}</ref> Sony Olympus Medical Solutions Inc. (Sony 51%, Olympus 49%) was established on 16 April 2013.<ref name="sony-olympus-medical">{{Cite press release |title=Establishment of Sony Olympus Medical Solutions Inc. |date=16 April 2013 |publisher=Sony Olympus Medical Solutions |url=http://www.sony-olympus-medical.com/somed/ja/news/20130416-001.html |access-date=19 April 2013}}</ref>

On 28 February 2014, Sony, M3 and [[Illumina (company)|Illumina]] established a joint venture called P5, Inc. to provide a genome analysis service for research institutions and enterprises in Japan.<ref name="P5">{{Cite press release |title=Establishment of a New Company to start genome information platform business |date=23 January 2014 |publisher=Sony Corporation |url=http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/201401/14-011E/index.html |access-date=16 May 2014}}</ref>

====Mobility====
[[File:Xperia Logo.svg|thumb|[[Sony Xperia|Xperia]], the product device name for a range of smartphones from Sony.]]
{{multiple image
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| caption1 = A historical Sony CMD-CD5 mobile phone.
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| caption2 = [[Sony Xperia Z]], introduced and released in 2013. The first [[smartphone]] with a [[1080p|Full HD]] display.
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In 2000, Sony was a marginal player in the mobile phone market with a share of less than 1 percent. In 2001, Sony entered into a joint venture with Swedish telecommunications company [[Ericsson]], forming Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications.<ref name="Sony Ericsson press release">{{Cite press release |title=Sony and Ericsson complete joint venture agreement |date=28 August 2001 |publisher=Sony |url=http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press_Archive/200108/01-0828/ |access-date=26 May 2012}}</ref> Initial sales were rocky, and the company posted losses in 2001 and 2002. However, Sony Ericsson reached a profit in 2003. The company distinguished itself with multimedia-capable mobile phones, which included features such as cameras. These were unusual at the time. Despite their innovations, Sony Ericsson faced intense competition from [[Apple Inc.|Apple]]'s [[iPhone]], which was released in 2007. From 2008 to 2010, amid a global recession, Sony Ericsson slashed its workforce by several thousand. In 2009, Sony Ericsson was the fourth-largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world (after [[Nokia]], [[Samsung Electronics|Samsung]] and [[LG Electronics|LG]]).<ref>[http://www.telecomskorea.com/market-8211.html nonmember]. Telecoms Korea. Retrieved on 11 July 2011.</ref> By 2010, its market share had fallen to sixth place.<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 February 2011 |title=Gartner Says Worldwide Mobile Device Sales to End Users Reached 1.6 billion Units in 2010; Smartphone Sales Grew 72 Percent in 2010: Apple and RIM Displaced Sony Ericsson and Motorola in Mobile Device Manufacturers Ranking |url=http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1543014 |publisher=gartner.com}}</ref> Sony acquired Ericsson's share of the venture in 2012 for over US$1 billion.<ref name="Sony Ericsson press release" /> [[Sony Mobile]] focuses exclusively on the smartphone market under the [[Sony Xperia|Xperia]] brand.

In 2013, Sony contributed to around two percent of the mobile phone market with 37 million mobile phones sold.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Topic: Sony |url=http://www.statista.com/topics/1917/sony/ |access-date=23 March 2016 |website=www.statista.com}}</ref> Sony Mobile's sales reached a peak in 2014 with 40 million handsets, the volume has since decreased. Sony shipped 13.5 million phones in 2017, 6.5 million in 2018, and 3.2 million handsets in FY 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Annual Report FY 2019, Form 20-F |url=https://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/library/FY2019_20F_PDF.pdf |access-date=12 July 2020 |publisher=Sony Corporation |pages=37}}</ref>

====Robotics====
Since the late 1990s, Sony has released numerous consumer robots, including dog-shaped robots called [[AIBO]], a music playing robot called [[Sony Rolly|Rolly]], and a [[humanoid]] robot called [[QRIO]]. Despite being a pioneer in the field, Sony had ceased robotics-related operations for 10 years due to financial difficulties, until it decided to revive them in 2016.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2016-06-29 |title=UPDATE 2-Sony upbeat on games and robots but cuts outlook for image sensors |language=de |work=Reuters |url=https://de.reuters.com/article/sony-outlook-idUKL4N19L0TF |access-date=2020-08-03}}{{dead link|date=July 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

In 2015, Sony partnered with an autonomous driving startup [[ZMP INC.]] to establish an aerial surveillance and reconnaissance [[Unmanned aerial vehicle|drone]] manufacturer named Aerosense.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gibbs |first=Samuel |title=Sony is launching a new company to make camera drones |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/sony-and-zmp-are-launching-a-new-company-to-make-camera-drones-2015-7 |access-date=2020-08-03 |website=Business Insider}}</ref> At the CES 2021, Sony unveiled a [[Unmanned aerial vehicle|drone]] with the brand Airpeak, the smallest of its kind that can incorporate a [[Sony α|Sony Alpha]] camera according to the company, entering the drone business on its own for the first time.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gartenberg|first=Chaim|date=2021-01-11|title=This is Sony's Airpeak drone|url=https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/11/22225758/sony-airpeak-drone-alpha-photography-cameras-ces-2021-announcement|access-date=2021-01-12|website=The Verge|language=en}}</ref>

===Imaging & Sensing Solutions===
Sony traces its roots in the semiconductor business back to 1954, when it became the first Japanese company to commercialize the [[transistor]], invented and licensed by [[Bell Labs]], whilst some of the biggest and well-established names in Japan at the time like [[Toshiba]] and [[Mitsubishi Electric]] initially stuck with [[vacuum tube]]s they had been thriving on; despite being an expert on the vacuum tube himself, Ibuka saw potential of the novel technology and had Morita negotiate the terms for licensing, making Sony into one of the earliest and the youngest licensees of the transistor, together with [[Texas Instruments]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Group｜Corporate Information｜Sony Semiconductor Solutions Group |url=https://www.sony-semicon.co.jp/e/company/group/ |access-date=2020-08-03 |website=Sony Semiconductor Solutions Group |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Sony Global – Sony History Chapter4 Ibuka's First Visit to the United States|url=https://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/History/SonyHistory/1-04.html|access-date=2021-03-09|website=www.sony.net}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=1952: Bell Labs Licenses Transistor Technology {{!}} The Silicon Engine {{!}} Computer History Museum |url=https://www.computerhistory.org/siliconengine/bell-labs-licenses-transistor-technology/ |access-date=2020-09-28 |website=www.computerhistory.org}}</ref> In 1957, Sony employee [[Leo Esaki]] and his colleagues invented a [[tunnel diode]] (usually referred to as Esaki diode) by which they discovered the [[Quantum tunnelling|quantum tunneling]] effect in solids, for which Esaki received the [[Nobel Prize in Physics|Nobel prize in Physics]] in 1973.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Nobel Prize in Physics 1973 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1973/esaki/biographical/ |access-date=2020-10-06 |website=NobelPrize.org |language=en-US}}</ref> Sony has commanded a dominant share in the [[charge-coupled device]] market.<ref>{{Cite web|author=s|title=CCD market shares: Sony – 41%, Matsushita – 14.6%, Sharp – 13.8%|url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/ccd-market-shares-sony-41-matsushita-14-6-sharp-13-8/|access-date=2021-01-16|website=ZDNet|language=en}}</ref>

As of 2020, Sony is the world's largest manufacturer of [[CMOS image sensor]]s as its chips are widely used in digital cameras, tablet computers, smartphones, drones and more recently, self-driving systems in automobiles.<ref>{{Cite web|title=CMOS IMAGE SENSOR (CIS) INDUSTRY – OVERVIEW|url=http://www.yole.fr/CMOS_Image_Sensors_Industry_Overview.aspx|access-date=2021-01-16|website=www.yole.fr}}</ref>

As of 2020, the company, through its chip business arm Sony Semiconductor Solutions, designs, manufactures, and sells a wide range of [[semiconductor]]s and electronic components, including image sensors ([[HAD CCD]], [[Exmor]]), image processors ([[BIONZ]]), [[laser diode]]s, system LSIs, mixed-signal LSIs, emerging [[Storage (memory)|memory storage]], emerging displays ([[microLED]], microOLED, and [[holographic display]]), multi-functional [[microcomputer]] (''SPRESENSE''), etc.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Products(Products List)｜Sony Semiconductor Solutions Group |url=https://www.sony-semicon.co.jp/e/products/ |access-date=2020-08-03 |website=Sony Semiconductor Solutions Group |language=en}}</ref>

In 2020, Sony has launched the first [[intelligent vision sensor]]s with [[AI]] [[edge computing]] capabilies.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lorbeer/pi |first1=Klaus |title=Sony launcht weltweit erste Intelligent-Vision-Sensoren mit KI-Verarbeitung |url=https://computerwelt.at/news/sony-launcht-weltweit-ersten-intelligent-vision-sensoren-mit-ki-verarbeitung/ |access-date=15 May 2021 |work=computerwelt.at |date=14 May 2020 |language=de-DE}}</ref>

===Game & Network Services===
{{main|Sony Interactive Entertainment}}
[[File:Sony_Interactive_Entertainment_San_Mateo.jpg|thumb|left|Sony Interactive Entertainment headquarters in [[San Mateo, California]] ]]

Sony Interactive Entertainment (formerly Sony Computer Entertainment) is best known for producing the popular line of PlayStation consoles. The line grew out of a failed partnership with [[Nintendo]]. Originally, Nintendo requested Sony to develop an add-on for [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|its SNES]] that would play Compact Discs. In 1991 Sony announced [[SNES-CD|the add-on]], as well as a dedicated console known as the "Play Station". However, a disagreement over software licensing for the console caused the partnership to fall through. Sony then continued the project independently.

Launched in 1994, the first [[PlayStation (console)|PlayStation]] gained 61% of global console sales and broke Nintendo's long-standing lead in the market.<ref name="Quest">"The PlayStation Quest." Macleans 6 November 2000: 81-. ABI/INFORM Global; ProQuest Research Library. Web. 27 May 2012.</ref> Sony followed up with the [[PlayStation 2]] in 2000, which was even more successful. The console has become the most successful of all time, selling over 150 million units {{as of|2011|lc=on}}. Sony released the [[PlayStation 3]], a high-definition console, in 2006. It was the first console to use the [[Blu-ray]] format, and was considerably more expensive than the competitors [[Xbox 360]] and [[Wii]] due to the [[Cell (microprocessor)|Cell processor]].<ref name="Nakamoto" /> Early on, poor sales performance resulted in significant losses for the company, pushing it to sell the console at a [[loss leader|loss]].<ref name="Pilling">Pilling, David. "Camera Sales Raise Sonys Game." Financial Times: 23. ABI/INFORM Global. 27 July 2007. Web. 27 May 2012.</ref> The PlayStation 3 sold generally more poorly than its competitors in the early years of its release but managed to overtake the Xbox 360 in global sales later on.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Makuch |first=Eddie |title=PS3 overtakes Xbox 360 in worldwide shipments – Report |url=http://uk.gamespot.com/news/ps3-overtakes-xbox-360-in-worldwide-shipments-report-6402214 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130321124342/http://uk.gamespot.com/news/ps3-overtakes-xbox-360-in-worldwide-shipments-report-6402214 |archive-date=21 March 2013 |website=GameSpot}}</ref> It later introduced the [[PlayStation Move]], an accessory that allows players to control video games using motion gestures.

[[File:PlayStation 2 comparison.png|thumb|upright|The [[PlayStation 2]] is the best-selling video game console of all time ]]
Sony extended the brand to the portable games market in 2004 with the [[PlayStation Portable]] (PSP). The console has sold reasonably, but has taken a second place to a rival handheld, the [[Nintendo DS]]. Sony developed the [[Universal Media Disc]] (UMD) optical disc medium for use on the PlayStation Portable. Early on, the format was used for movies, but it has since lost major studio support. Sony released a disc-less version of its PlayStation Portable, the [[PlayStation Portable#PSP Go (N1000)|PSP Go]], in 2009. The company went on to release its second portable video game system, [[PlayStation Vita]], in 2011 and 2012. Sony launched its fourth console, the [[PlayStation 4]], on 15 November 2013, which as of 31 December 2017 has sold 73.6 million units globally.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=PLAYSTATION 4 SELLS 5.9 MILLION UNITS WORLDWIDE DURING THE 2017 HOLIDAY SEASON |date=8 January 2018 |publisher=Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. |location=San Mateo |url=http://www.sie.com/en/corporate/release/2018/180109.html |access-date=16 April 2018 |via=sie.com}}</ref>

On 18 March 2014, at [[Game Developers Conference|GDC]], president of [[SCE Worldwide Studios]] [[Shuhei Yoshida]] announced their new virtual reality technology dubbed Project Morpheus, and later named [[PlayStation VR]], for PlayStation 4. The headset brought VR gaming and non-gaming software to the company's console. According to a report released by Houston-based patent consulting firm [[LexInnova Technologies|LexInnova]] in May 2015, Sony is leading the virtual reality patent race. According to the firm's analysis of nearly 12,000 patents or patent applications, Sony has 366 virtual reality patents or patent applications.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sony leads virtual reality patent race |url=http://www.hypergridbusiness.com/2015/05/sony-leads-virtual-reality-patent-race/ |website=hypergridbusiness.com}}</ref> PlayStation VR was released worldwide on 13 October 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Layden |first=Shawn |date=13 October 2016 |title=PlayStation VR Launches Today Across the United States and Canada |url=http://blog.us.playstation.com/2016/10/13/playstation-vr-launches-today-across-the-united-states-and-canada/}}</ref>

On March 31, 2019, the successor to the PlayStation 4 was announced and on November 12, 2020, the [[PlayStation 5]] was released in North America, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore. PlayStation has confirmed that the console will launch in Indonesia on January 22, 2021. Upon completion of the fiscal quarter, Sony sold 4.5 million [[PlayStation 5]] consoles, keeping pace with the best selling console of all time, the PlayStation 2.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.laptopmag.com/news/ps5-sales-figures-revealed-and-they-are-staggering |title=PS5 sales figures revealed — and they are staggering |work=Laptop Magazine |last=Murphy |first=Darragh |date=February 3, 2021 |access-date=August 17, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Pictures and Music===
{{see|Sony Entertainment}}

[[Sony Entertainment]] has two divisions: [[Sony Pictures|Sony Pictures Entertainment]], Sony Music Group ([[Sony Music|Sony Music Entertainment]], [[Sony Music Publishing]]). [[Sony Corporation of America|Sony USA]] previously owned and operated Sony Trans Com: a technology business that provided in-flight entertainment programming as well as video and audio playback equipment for the airline industry. Sony had purchased the business from Sundstrand Corp. in 1989 and subsequently sold it to [[Rockwell Collins]] in 2000.<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 July 1991 |title=Sundstrand Selling Trans Com Systems To Sony |url=https://www.apnews.com/0b3960e064a66f9a5c0057fd4525a89a |access-date=12 August 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1 June 2000 |title=Rockwell Collins Acquires Sony Trans Com |url=http://aviationweek.com/awin/rockwell-collins-acquires-sony-trans-com-0 |access-date=12 August 2018}}</ref>

In 2012, Sony rolled most of its consumer content services (including video, music and gaming) into the [[Sony Entertainment Network]], the predecessor of [[PlayStation Network]].

====Sony Pictures Entertainment====
{{main|Sony Pictures|Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan|Sony Pictures Networks India}}
[[File:Sonypicturesentertainmentoffices.jpg|thumb|Sony Pictures Plaza, next to the main studio lot of [[Sony Pictures]] in [[Culver City, California]]]]

Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (SPE) is the television and film production/distribution unit of Sony. With 12.5% box office market share in 2011, the company was ranked third among movie studios .<ref name="BOM">{{Cite web |date=31 December 2011 |title=2011 Market Share and Box Office Results by Movie Studio |url=https://boxofficemojo.com/studio/?view=company&view2=yearly&yr=2011&p=.htm |access-date=9 November 2012 |website=[[Box Office Mojo]]}}</ref> Its group sales in 2010 were US$7.2 billion.<ref name="Annual Report 2010">[http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/financial/ar/8ido18000003dkyy-att/8ido18000003dl0u.pdf Business Overview, Annual Report 2010]. (PDF). Retrieved 7 July 2011.</ref><ref name="Profile">[http://www.sonypictures.com/corp/corporatefact.html Sony Pictures – Corporate Factsheet], sonypictures.com {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051104051441/http://www.sonypictures.com/corp/corporatefact.html |date=4 November 2005 }}</ref> The company has produced many notable movie franchises, including ''[[Spider-Man in film|Spider-Man]]'', ''[[The Karate Kid, Part III|The Karate Kid]]'' and ''[[Men in Black (film series)|Men in Black]]''. It has also produced the popular television game shows ''[[Jeopardy!]]'' and ''[[Wheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)|Wheel of Fortune]]''.

Sony entered the television and film production market when it acquired Columbia Pictures Entertainment in 1989 for $3.4 billion. Columbia lives on in the [[Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group]], a division of SPE which in turn owns [[Columbia Pictures]] and [[TriStar Pictures]] among other film production and distribution companies such as [[Screen Gems]], [[Sony Pictures Classics]], [[Sony Pictures Home Entertainment]]. SPE's television division is known as [[Sony Pictures Television]].

[[File:Sony Pictures Entertainment entrance 1.jpg|thumb|left|The main entrance to the [[Sony Pictures Entertainment]] studio lot in Culver City]]
For the first several years of its existence, Sony Pictures Entertainment performed poorly, leading many to suspect the company would sell off the division.<ref name="Bates">{{Cite news |last1=Bates |first1=James |last2=Claudia Eller |date=20 November 1996 |title=Sony President Puts Best Face on Studio Woes |page=D1 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> In 2006 Sony started using [[ARccOS Protection]] on some of their film DVDs, but later issued a recall.<ref>[https://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070418-sony-to-replace-incompatible-dvds.html "Sony admits, fixes problem with DVD DRM"]. [[Ars Technica]].</ref>

In late 2014, Sony Pictures [[Sony hack|became the target of a hack attack]] from a clandestine group called Guardians of Peace, weeks before releasing the anti-North Korean [[comedy film]] ''[[The Interview]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Hack at Sony Pictures shuts computer system |work=LA Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-fi-sony-hack-20141125-story.html}}</ref>

====Sony Music Group and SMEJ====
{{main|Sony Music|Sony Music Publishing|Sony Music Entertainment Japan}}
[[File:Met Life North Building from West 25th Street.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Sony Music Entertainment]] headquarters in [[New York City, United States]]]]

Sony Music Entertainment (also known as SME or Sony Music) is the largest global [[music industry|recorded music company]] of the [[Music industry#Consolidation|"big three" record companies]] and is controlled by [[Sony Corporation of America]], the United States subsidiary of Japan's ''Sony''.

In one of its largest-ever acquisitions, Sony purchased [[Columbia Records|CBS Record Group]] in 1988 for US$2 billion.<ref name="UPI Archives">[https://www.upi.com/Archives/1988/01/05/Sony-completes-2-billion-purchase-of-CBS-Records/2527568357200/ Sony completes $2 billion purchase of CBS Records] upi.com 5 January 1988, Retrieved on 3 December 2017</ref> In the process, Sony partnered and gained the rights to the ATV catalogue of Michael Jackson, considered by the ''[[Guinness Book of World Records]]'' to be the most successful entertainer of all time. The acquisition of CBS Records provided the foundation for the formation of Sony Music Entertainment, which Sony established in 1991.

In 1968, Sony and CBS Records had formed a 50:50 joint-venture CBS/Sony Records, later renamed CBS/Sony Group, in Japan. When CBS Records was acquired, a 50% stake in CBS/Sony Group owned by CBS was also transferred to Sony. In March 1988, four wholly owned subsidiaries were folded into CBS/Sony Group and the company was renamed as [[Sony Music Entertainment Japan]] (SMEJ). It operates independently of Sony Music as it is directly owned by Japanese Sony.

In 2004, Sony entered into a joint venture with [[Bertelsmann AG]], merging Sony Music Entertainment with [[Bertelsmann Music Group]] to create [[Sony BMG]]. In 2005, Sony BMG faced a [[Sony BMG CD copy protection scandal|copy protection scandal]], because its music CDs had installed [[rootkit|malware]] on users' computers that was posing a security risk to affected customers.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Brown |first=Bob |date=1 November 2010 |title=Sony BMG rootkit scandal: 5 years later |work=Network World |url=http://www.networkworld.com/article/2194292/network-security/sony-bmg-rootkit-scandal--5-years-later.html |access-date=20 February 2015}}</ref> In 2007, the company acquired [[Famous Music]] for US$370 million, gaining the rights to the catalogues of [[Eminem]] and [[Akon]], among others. Sony bought out Bertelsmann's share in Sony BMG and formed a new Sony Music Entertainment in 2008. Since then, the company has undergone management changes.

Sony purchased digital music recognition company [[Gracenote]] for US$260 million in 2008.<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 April 2008 |title=Sony to Buy Gracenote Music Data Company |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/PCWorld/story?id=4706733 |access-date=11 February 2015 |website=abcnews.go.com}}</ref> [[Tribune Media Company]] acquired Gracenote from Sony in 2014 for $170 million.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tribune To Acquire Sony Audio Recognition Unit Gracenote For $170 Million |url=https://social.techcrunch.com/2013/12/23/sony-spins-out-gracenote/}}</ref>

Besides its record label, Sony operates other music businesses. In 1995, Sony merged its publisher with [[Michael Jackson]]'s [[ATV Music Publishing]], forming Sony/ATV Music Publishing. At the time, the publishing company was the second largest of its kind in the world. The company owns the publishing rights to over 4 million compositions, including [[The Beatles]]' [[Lennon-McCartney]] catalogue, [[Bob Dylan]], [[Eminem]], [[Lady Gaga]], [[Sam Smith (singer)|Sam Smith]], [[Ed Sheeran]], and [[Taylor Swift]].

In 2012, Sony/ATV acquired a majority stake in [[EMI Music Publishing]], becoming the world's largest music publishing company. In 2018, Sony bought the rest of the shares in the publisher, making it a wholly owned subsidiary.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Halperin |first=Shirley |date=30 June 2012 |title=Sold! EMI Music Publishing to Consortium Led by Sony/ATV, Michael Jackson Estate for $2.2 Billion |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/emi-music-publishing-sold-sony-atv-estate-michael-jackson-343848}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2 May 2018 |title=Sony in $2.3 billion deal for EMI, becomes world's biggest music publisher |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sony-outlook-emi-idUSKCN1IN01F |access-date=12 July 2020}}</ref> Since 2016, Sony owns all of Sony/ATV.<ref name="Sony Finalizes Acquisition of Michael Jackson Estate">{{Cite web |last=Christman |first=Ed |date=30 September 2012 |title=Sony Finalizes Acquisition of Michael Jackson Estate's Stake in Sony/ATV Publishing |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/7526542/sony-atv-michael-jackson-publishing-acquisition-completed |access-date=1 October 2016 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]}}</ref>

==== Anime ====
{{Main|Aniplex|Funimation}}
Sony's entering into the Japanese animation, or [[anime]], business happened in 1995 when a group company [[Sony Music Entertainment Japan]] (SMEJ) established [[Aniplex]] as its subsidiary managing creative productions, which founded [[A-1 Pictures]], the first anime studio of Sony, ten years later. Since then, through group-wide and international ventures,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Moore|first=D. M.|date=2020-12-09|title=Sony's Funimation acquires anime streaming service Crunchyroll for $1.175 billion|url=https://www.polygon.com/2020/12/9/21547657/sonys-funimation-acquires-crunchyroll-deal-price-watching-anime|access-date=2021-01-12|website=Polygon|language=en}}</ref> Sony has solidified its position in the industry, elevating the business to what is called the "fourth pillar of its entertainment portfolio" according to ''[[The Nikkei]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sony sets out to conquer entertainment world with anime|url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Media-Entertainment/Sony-sets-out-to-conquer-entertainment-world-with-anime|access-date=2021-01-12|website=Nikkei Asia|language=en-GB}}</ref>

The anime business operations of Sony are scattered around the group, mainly in its Pictures and Music units, as follows: SMEJ's notable related businesses include Aniplex and its subsidiaries [[CloverWorks]] and A-1 Pictures while [[Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan]] (SPEJ) operates anime-oriented TV channels like [[Animax]], [[Kids Station]]; Aniplex and U.S.-headquartered [[Sony Pictures Television]] (SPT) co-own online anime distributing company [[Funimation]] Global Group acquired in 2017 of which worldwide subsidiaries now include [[Wakanim]] and [[Madman Entertainment]].<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Spangler|first1=Todd|date=2019-09-24|title=Sony Merges Anime Streaming Businesses Under Funimation-Led Joint Venture (EXCLUSIVE)|url=https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/sony-anime-funimation-aniplex-joint-venture-1203346579/|access-date=2021-01-12|website=Variety|language=en-US}}</ref>

In December 2020, SPT announced that it will buy [[AT&T]]'s animation business [[Crunchyroll]] for $1.175 billion, which will help the company to compete more globally with entertainment giants such as Netflix.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hu|first=Makiko Yamazaki, Krystal|date=2020-12-10|title=Sony to buy AT&T's anime business for $1.18 billion to expand global footprint|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-at-t-divestiture-idUSKBN28J3B7|access-date=2020-12-10}}</ref> This acquisition was completed in August 2021.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web|last=Mateo|first=Alex|date=2021-08-09|title=Sony's Funimation Global Group Completes Acquisition of Crunchyroll from AT&T|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2021-08-09/sony-funimation-global-group-completes-acquisition-of-crunchyroll-from-at-t/.176073|url-status=live|access-date=2021-08-09|website=Anime News Network|language=en}}</ref>

===Financial Services===
{{Main|Sony Financial Holdings}}
[[File:大手町フィナンシャルシティグランキューブ.jpg|thumb|upright|Headquarters of Sony Financial Holdings in Tokyo, Japan]]
[[Sony Financial Holdings]] is a holding company for Sony's financial services business which includes [[Sony Life]] (in Japan and the Philippines), Sony Assurance, [[Sony Bank]], etc. The unit proved to be the most profitable of Sony's businesses in FY 2005, earning $1.7 billion in profit.<ref name="Fackler" /> Sony Financial's low fees have aided the unit's popularity while threatening Sony's premium brand name.<ref name="Fackler" />

=== Others ===

====Electric vehicles and batteries====
{{Further|Sony Energy Devices Corporation|Sony Vision-S}}
A company behind the commercialization of [[lithium-ion battery]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rathi |first=Akshat |title=Winners of the 2019 Nobel Prize in chemistry developed lithium-ion batteries |url=https://qz.com/1724449/nobel-prize-in-chemistry-winners-developed-lithium-ion-batteries/ |access-date=2020-08-03 |website=Quartz |language=en}}</ref> Sony had been exploring the possibility to manufacture the batteries for [[electric vehicle]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Joseph Volpe |title=Sony eyes electric car future, wants to soon sell you Li-ion batteries |url=https://www.engadget.com/2011/07/13/sony-eyes-electric-car-future-wants-to-soon-sell-you-li-ion-bat/ |website=Engadget |publisher=AOL}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sony CEO says will explore tie-ups in EV batteries – Electric Vehicle News |url=http://www.electric-vehiclenews.com/2012/04/sony-ceo-says-will-explore-tie-ups-in.html |website=electric-vehiclenews.com}}</ref><ref>[http://www.siliconrepublic.com/clean-tech/item/22648-sony-to-make-batteries-for Sony to make batteries for electric cars]. Silicon Republic.</ref> In 2014, Sony participated within [[NRG Energy]] [[eVgo]] [[Ready for Electric Vehicle]] (REV) program, for [[EV charging]] parking lots.<ref>{{Cite web |title=NRG eVgo Completes Largest Corporate Installation of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in Southern California – EV News Report |url=http://evnewsreport.com/nrg-evgo-completes-largest-corporate-installation-electric-vehicle-charging-stations-southern-california/17948/ |website=EV News Report}}</ref> However, the company then decided to sell its lithium-ion battery business to [[Murata Manufacturing]] in 2016.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=Signing of Memorandum of Understanding for the Transfer of Battery Business |date=28 July 2016 |publisher=[[Murata Manufacturing]] Co., Ltd. & Sony Corporation |url=http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/201607/16-0728E/index.html |access-date=6 October 2016}}</ref>

In 2015, Sony invested $842 thousand in [[ZMP INC.]], drawing speculations that it is contemplating developing [[self-driving car]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sony tests the waters for self-driving cars with a small investment|url=https://www.engadget.com/2015-02-16-sony-invests-in-self-driving-cars.html|access-date=2021-01-16|website=Engadget|language=en}}</ref> In January 2020, Sony unveiled a concept electric car at the [[Consumer Electronics Show]], named [[Sony Vision-S|Vision-S]], designed in collaboration with components manufacturer [[Magna International]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=O'Kane |first=Sean |date=7 January 2020 |title=Sony surprises with an electric concept car called the Vision-S |work=The Verge |url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/6/21054270/sony-vision-s-electric-concept-car-ev-announcement-ces-2020 }}</ref> At the occasion, Sony also stated its goal of developing technology for the automotive sector, especially concerning autonomous driving, sensors, and [[in-car entertainment]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 January 2020 |title=Sony Highlights its Evolution as a "Creative Entertainment Company with a Solid Foundation of Technology" at CES 2020 |url=https://presscentre.sony.eu/pressreleases/sony-highlights-its-evolution-as-a-creative-entertainment-company-with-a-solid-foundation-of-technology-at-ces-2020-2957905 |website=Sony Press Centre}}</ref>

==Corporate information==

===Institutional ownership===
Sony is a ''[[kabushiki gaisha]]'' registered to the [[Tokyo Stock Exchange]] in Japan and the [[New York Stock Exchange]] for overseas trading. {{As of|2020|March|31}}, the largest shareholders of Sony are as follows:<ref name="Principal shareholders">{{Cite web |title=Sony Global – Stock Information |url=https://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/stock/information.html |access-date=1 October 2020 |publisher=www.sony.net}}</ref>

* [[Citibank]] (as depositary bank for [[American depositary receipt]] holders) (9.4%)
* [[The Master Trust Bank of Japan]]–nominated [[investment trust]]s (main account) (8.2%)
* [[Japan Trustee Services Bank]]–nominated investment trusts
** Main trust account (6.1%)
** Trust account 7 (2.4%)
** Trust account 5 (2.1%)
* [[Chase Bank|JPMorgan Chase Bank 385632]] (3.2%)

===Finances===
As of July 2020, Sony, one of the largest Japanese companies by market capitalization and operating profit, was valued at over $90 billion. At the same period, it was also recognized as the most cash-rich Japanese company, with its [[Net cash flow|net cash reserves]] of ¥1.8 trillion.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 June 2020 |title=コロナに負けない｢金持ち企業｣トップ500社 {{!}} 企業ランキング |url=https://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/359062 |access-date=11 July 2020 |website=東洋経済オンライン |language=ja}}</ref>

The company was immensely profitable throughout the 1990s and early 2000s in part because of the success of its new [[PlayStation]] line. The company encountered financial difficulty in the mid- to late-2000s due to a number of factors: the [[global financial crisis]], increased competition for PlayStation, and the devastating [[2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami|Japanese earthquake of 2011]]. The company faced three consecutive years of losses leading up to 2011.<ref name="FT">"Sony: Too Much make-Believe." FT.com (2011): n/a. ABI/INFORM Global; ProQuest Research Library. Web. 26 May 2012.</ref> While noting the negative effects of intervening circumstances such as natural disasters and fluctuating currency exchange rates, the ''[[Financial Times]]'' criticized the company for its "lack of resilience" and "inability to gauge the economy," voicing skepticism about Sony's revitalization efforts, given a lack of tangible results.<ref name="FT" />

In September 2000 Sony had a market capitalization of $100 billion; but by December 2011 it had plunged to $18 billion, reflecting falling prospects for Sony but also reflecting grossly inflated share prices of the '[[dot-com bubble]]' years.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fujimura |first=Naoko |date=12 December 2011 |title=Sony's Shopping Spree Is 'Wrong Direction' in Apple Battle: Tech |agency=[[Bloomberg News]] |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-13/stringer-s-shopping-spree-wrong-direction-for-sony-in-apple-battle-tech.html |access-date=18 December 2011}}</ref> Net worth, as measured by stockholder equity, has steadily grown from $17.9 billion in March 2002 to $35.6 billion through December 2011.<ref>[http://www.gurufocus.com/financials.php?symbol=sne 10 Year Financials of sne – Sony Corp Adr]. Gurufocus.com. Retrieved on 25 April 2012.</ref> Earnings yield (inverse of the price to earnings ratio) has never been more than 5% and usually much less; thus Sony has always traded in over-priced ranges with the exception of the 2009 market bottom.

On 9 December 2008, Sony announced that it would be cutting 8,000 jobs, dropping 8,000 contractors and reducing its global manufacturing sites by 10% to save $1.1 billion per year.<ref>{{Cite news |last=McCurry |first=Justin |date=9 December 2008 |title=Sony to cut 8,000 jobs worldwide |work=The Guardian |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2008/dec/09/sony-job-cuts |access-date=23 May 2010}}</ref>

In April 2012, Sony announced that it would reduce its workforce by 10,000 (6% of its employee base) as part of CEO [[Kaz Hirai]]'s effort to get the company back into the black. This came after a loss of 520 billion yen (roughly US$6.36 billion) for fiscal 2012, the worst since the company was founded. Accumulation loss for the past four years was 919.32 billion-yen.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sony expected to slash 10,000 jobs |url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57411107-93/sony-expected-to-slash-10000-jobs/?tag=cnetRiver |access-date=9 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Yasu |first1=Mariko |last2=Ozasa |first2=Shunichi |date=11 April 2012 |title=Sony, Sharp Losing $11 Billion Leaves Investors Let Down |agency=[[Bloomberg News]] |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-10/sony-widens-net-loss-estimate-to-520-billion-yen.html}}</ref> Sony planned to increase its marketing expenses by 30% in 2012.<ref>{{Cite news |date=7 June 2012 |title=Sony ups ad spend to Rs.450 cr |work=[[The Hindu]] |url=http://www.thehindu.com/business/companies/article3497657.ece}}</ref> 1,000 of the jobs cut come from the company's mobile phone unit's workforce. 700 jobs will be cut in the 2012–2013 fiscal year and the remaining 300 in the following fiscal year.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Ewing |first1=Adam |last2=Yasu |first2=Mariko |date=23 August 2012 |title=Sony to Cut 1,000 Jobs to Reduce Costs at Mobile Unit |agency=[[Bloomberg News]] |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-22/sony-may-cut-1-000-jobs-at-swedish-mobile-unit-sydsvenskan-says.html}}</ref> Sony had revenues of ¥6.493 trillion in 2012 and maintained large reserves of cash, with ¥895 billion on hand as of 2012. In May 2012, Sony's market capitalization was valued at about $15 billion.<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 May 2012 |title=Sony sees return to profit, aims to halve TV losses |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sony-results-idUSBRE8490A120120510}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+Sony's 2009 sales and distribution by geographical region<ref>{{Cite web |title=Interwiki map/discontinued – Meta |url=https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Interwiki_map/discontinued#Wikinveststock/Sony%20(SNE)/Sales%20Distribution#FilingDocumentSection3523749 |access-date=4 July 2019 |website=meta.wikimedia.org}}</ref>
|-
! scope="col" | Geographic region
! scope="col" | Total sales (in millions of ¥)
|-
| '''Japan'''|| 1,873,219
|-
| '''United States'''|| 2,512,345
|-
| '''Europe'''|| 2,307,658
|-
| '''Other areas'''|| 2,041,270
|}

In January 2013, Sony announced it was selling its US headquarters building for $1.1 billion to a consortium led by real estate developer The Chetrit Group.<ref>{{Cite news |date=18 January 2013 |title=Sony to sell its U.S. headquarters building for $1.1 billion |work=Reuters |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-sony-building-idUKBRE90H03Q20130118}}</ref>

On 28 January 2014, [[Moody's Investors Service]]s dropped Sony's credit rating to Ba1—"judged to have speculative elements and a significant credit risk"—saying that the company's "profitability is likely to remain weak and volatile."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chilson |first=Morgan |title=Labels Sony Credit Rating 'Junk' Amid Lower Demand |url=http://www.moneynews.com/TheWire/sony-moodys-junk-credit/2014/01/28/id/549536 |access-date=28 January 2014 |website=Moneynews |archive-date=2014-10-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141023141458/http://www.moneynews.com/TheWire/sony-moodys-junk-credit/2014/01/28/id/549536/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On 6 February 2014, Sony announced it would trim as many as 5,000 jobs as it attempts to sell its PC business and focus on mobile and tablets.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Sony to cut as many as 5,000 jobs, unload Vaio |work=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/02/06/sony-selling-vaio-pc-business/5248885/ |access-date=6 February 2014}}</ref>

In 2014,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Greenway |first=David |date=2 October 2014 |title=Sony to close South African TV, HiFi and camera division |url=https://www.htxt.co.za/2014/10/29/sony-to-close-south-african-tv-hifi-and-camera-division/ |access-date=4 July 2019 |website=htxt.africa |language=en-GB}}</ref> Sony South Africa closed its TV, Hi-Fi and camera divisions<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sony rethinks SA strategy amid huge loss |url=https://businesstech.co.za/news/hardware/72138/sony-rethinks-sa-strategy-amid-huge-loss/ |access-date=4 July 2019 |website=businesstech.co.za |language=en-US}}</ref> with the purpose of reconsidering its local distribution model and, in 2017, it returned<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 April 2017 |title=Sony launches first SA store |url=https://www.fin24.com/Tech/Gadgets/sony-launches-first-sa-store-20170406 |access-date=4 July 2019 |website=Fin24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sony photo gear back in South Africa – With Black Friday 2017 vouchers |url=https://mybroadband.co.za/news/gadgets/239278-sony-photo-gear-back-in-south-africa-with-black-friday-2017-vouchers.html |access-date=4 July 2019 |language=en-US}}</ref> facilitated by Premium Brand Distributors (Pty) Ltd.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Sony's Revenue by different [[market segments]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sony Global – FY2018 Earnings Announcement |url=https://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/library/presen/er/index.html |access-date=2 June 2019 |website=www.sony.net}}</ref>
!Segment
!Revenue Financial Year 2017 (in millions of ¥)
!Financial Year 2018 (in millions of ¥)
!Change
!Percentage of Sales
!Percentage Change ([[Financial Year|FY]] 2017 to [[Fiscal year|FY]] 2018)
|-
|Game & Network Services
|1'943'812
|2'310'872
|367'060
|22.8
|18.9
|-
|Music
|799'995
|807'489
|7'494
|9.4
|0.9
|-
|Pictures
|1'011'067
|986'873
| −24'194
|11.8
| −2.4
|-
|Home Entertainment & Sound
|1'222'733
|1'155'411
| −67'322
|14.3
| −5.5
|-
|Imaging Products and Solutions
|655'892
|670'450
|14'558
|7.7
|2.2
|-
|Mobile Communications
|723'742
|498'000
| −225'742
|8.5
| −31.2
|-
|Semiconductors
|726'892
|770'622
|43'730
|8.5
|6.0
|-
|Financial Services
|1'228'377
|1'282'539
|54'162
|14.4
|4.4
|-
|All Other
|407'174
|345'737
|61'437
|1.3
| −31.0
|-
|Total
|8'719'684
|8'827'993
|108'309
|
|
|}
In November 2018, Sony posted its earning report for the second quarter showing it has lost about US$480 million in the mobile phone division,<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-11-01|title=Sony mobile is losing more than gaming division is gaining (which is a lot of money)|url=https://www.androidauthority.com/sony-mobile-earnings-q2-2018-921061/|access-date=2021-01-16|website=Android Authority|language=en-US}}</ref> prompting another round of downsizing in the unit, including the closure of a manufacturing plant and halving of its workforce.<ref>{{Cite web|last=March 2019|first=Steve McCaskill 29|title=Sony shuts China smartphone plant|url=https://www.techradar.com/news/sony-shuts-china-smartphone-plant|access-date=2021-01-16|website=TechRadar|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Vasile|first=Cosmin|title=Report: Sony to lay off half of its mobile division staff by 2020 (2,000 people)|url=https://www.phonearena.com/news/Sony-cuts-half-smartphone-division-2020-report_id114940|access-date=2021-01-16|website=Phone Arena|language=en-US}}</ref>

===Environmental record===
In November 2011, Sony was ranked 9th (jointly with Panasonic) in [[Greenpeace]]'s Guide to Greener Electronics.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 2011 |title=Guide to Greener Electronics 17th Edition |url=https://www.greenpeace.org/archive-international/en/campaigns/detox/electronics/Guide-to-Greener-Electronics/Previous-editions/How-the-companies-line-up-17/ |access-date=20 August 2018 |website=Greenpeace International}}</ref> This chart grades major electronics companies on their environmental work. The company scored 3.6/10, incurring a penalty point for comments it has made in opposition to energy efficiency standards in California. It also risks a further penalty point in future editions for being a member of trade associations that have commented against energy efficiency standards.<ref name="Guide to Greener Electronics">{{Cite web |title=Guide to Greener Electronics |url=http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/climate-change/cool-it/Guide-to-Greener-Electronics/ |access-date=16 November 2011 |website=Greenpeace International |publisher=Greenpeace International}}</ref> Together with [[Philips]], Sony receives the highest score for energy policy advocacy after calling on the EU to adopt an unconditional 30% reduction target for greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. Meanwhile, it receives full marks for the efficiency of its products.<ref name="Guide to Greener Electronics" /> In June 2007, Sony ranked 14th on the [[Greenpeace]] guide.<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 June 2007 |title=Greener electronics Sony ranking: Fourth Edition |url=https://www.greenpeace.org/archive-international/en/publications/reports/greener-electronics-so-4/ |access-date=20 August 2018 |website=Greenpeace International}}</ref> Sony fell from its earlier 11th-place ranking due to Greenpeace's claims that Sony had double standards in their waste policies.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Samson |first=Ted |date=9 July 2007 |title=Sony hits bottom of Greenpeace eco rankings |work=InfoWorld |url=http://www.infoworld.com/d/green-it/sony-hits-bottom-greenpeace-eco-rankings-649 |access-date=5 October 2010}}</ref>

{{As of|2018|05}} Greenpeace's 2017 Guide to Greener Electronics rated Sony approximately in the middle among electronics manufacturers with a grade of D+.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Guide to Greener Electronics (2017) |url=https://www.greenpeace.org/archive-international/en/campaigns/climate-change/cool-it/Guide-to-Greener-Electronics/ |access-date=17 May 2018 |website=Greenpeace International |language=en-GB}}</ref>

Since 1976, Sony has had an Environmental Conference.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of Environmental Activities at Sony |url=http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/Environment/activities/history/index.html |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080208124950/http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/Environment/activities/history/index.html |archive-date=8 February 2008 |access-date=1 November 2007}}. Retrieved 7 July 2011.</ref> Sony's policies address their effects on global warming, the environment, and resources. They are taking steps to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that they put out as well as regulating the products they get from their suppliers in a process that they call "green procurement".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sony Group Environmental: Vision |url=http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/Environment/activities/vision/index.html |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071127044020/http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/Environment/activities/vision/index.html |archive-date=27 November 2007 |access-date=1 November 2007}}. Web.archive.org. (27 November 2007). Retrieved 7 July 2011.</ref> Sony has said that they have signed on to have about 75 percent of their [[Sony Building (New York)|Sony Building]] running on [[geothermal power]]. The "Sony Take Back Recycling Program" allow consumers to recycle the electronics products that they buy from Sony by taking them to [[eCycle (Recycling)]] drop-off points around the U.S. The company has also developed a biobattery that runs on sugars and carbohydrates that works similarly to the way living creatures work. This is the most powerful small [[biobattery]] to date.<ref>[http://www.techgadgets.in/misc-gadgets/2007/24/sony-develops-worlds-most-powerful-sugar-based-bio-battery-prototype/ Sony develops World's Most Powerful Sugar-based Bio Battery Prototype]. Techgadgets.in (24 August 2007). Retrieved 7 July 2011.</ref>

In 2000, Sony faced criticism for a document entitled "NGO Strategy" that was leaked to the press. The document involved the company's surveillance of environmental activists in an attempt to plan how to counter their movements. It specifically mentioned environmental groups that were trying to pass laws that held electronics-producing companies responsible for the cleanup of the toxic chemicals contained in their merchandise.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Knight |first=Danielle |date=22 September 2000 |title=Sony's PR War on Activists |work=Mother Jones |url=http://motherjones.com/environment/2000/09/sonys-pr-war-activists |access-date=5 October 2010}}</ref>

===Community engagement===

* '''EYE SEE project''' Sony Corporation is actively involved in the EYE SEE project conducted by [[UNICEF]]. EYE SEE digital photography workshops have been run for children in Argentina, Tunisia, Mali, South Africa, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Rwanda, Liberia and Pakistan.<ref>{{Cite web |title=UNICEF and Sony photo workshop promotes rights with Darwin's indigenous youth |url=http://www.unicef.org.au/Media/Media-Releases/April-2013/UNICEF-and-Sony-photo-workshop-promotes-rights-wit.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516162216/http://www.unicef.org.au/Media/Media-Releases/April-2013/UNICEF-and-Sony-photo-workshop-promotes-rights-wit.aspx |archive-date=16 May 2013 |website=unicef.org.au}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=16 June 2011 |title=Seeing Mali: a digital project for children – in pictures |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/gallery/2011/jun/16/mali-digital-camera-project-in-pictures |website=TheGuardian.com}}</ref>
* '''South Africa Mobile Library Project''' Sony assists The South Africa Primary Education Support Initiative (SAPESI) through financial donations and children book donations to the South Africa Mobile Library Project.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sony helps S African mobile library project |url=http://www.japantoday.com/category/business/view/sony-helps-s-african-mobile-library-project |access-date=11 February 2015 |website=japantoday.com}}</ref>
* '''The Sony Canada Charitable Foundation''' The Sony Canada Charitable Foundation (SCCF) is a non-profit organization which supports three key charities; the Make-A-Wish Canada, the United Way of Canada and the EarthDay and ECOKIDS program.
* '''Sony Foundation and You Can''' After the [[2010–11 Queensland floods|2011 Queensland floods]] and [[Black Saturday bushfires|Victorian bushfires]], Sony Music released benefit albums with money raised going to the Sony Foundation.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cashmere |first=Paul |date=5 October 2012 |title=Sony Foundation Funds Salvos Sound Point Centre In Goodna |work=noise11.com |url=http://www.noise11.com/news/sony-foundation-funds-salvos-sound-point-centre-in-goodna-20121005 |access-date=11 February 2015}}</ref> You Can is the youth cancer program of Sony Foundation.<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 October 2014 |title=Sony Foundation raises over $880k with Wharf4Ward |url=http://www.mcvpacific.com/news/read/the-sony-foundation-raises-over-880k-with-wharf4ward/0140322 |website=mcvpacific.com |access-date=2015-02-12 |archive-date=2017-09-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170919052400/http://www.mcvpacific.com/news/read/the-sony-foundation-raises-over-880k-with-wharf4ward/0140322 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* '''Open Planet Ideas Crowdsourcing Project''' Sony launched its Open Planet Ideas Crowdsourcing Project, in partnership with the [[World Wildlife Fund]] and the design group, [[IDEO]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Beavis |first=Simon |date=26 May 2011 |title=Sony – engaging untapped audience through crowdsourcing |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/sony-untapped-audience-crowdsourcing-project}}</ref>
* '''Street Football Stadium Project''' On the occasion of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Sony partnered with {{Proper name|streetfootballworld}} and launched the Street Football Stadium Project to support football-based educational programmes in local communities across Latin America and Brazil.<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 March 2014 |title=Stadiums to go: streetfootballworld partners with Sony to support Brazilian and Latin American communities – |url=http://www.streetfootballworld.org/latest/blog/stadiums-go-streetfootballworld-partners-sony-support-local-communities#sthash.y2p34iqv.dpuf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150211234600/http://www.streetfootballworld.org/latest/blog/stadiums-go-streetfootballworld-partners-sony-support-local-communities |archive-date=11 February 2015 |website=streetfootballworld}}</ref> More than 25 Street Stadiums were developed since the project's inception.<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 March 2014 |title=Sony Street Stadiums – |url=http://www.streetfootballworld.org/project/sony-street-stadiums |website=streetfootballworld |access-date=2016-04-10 |archive-date=2018-11-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106202512/https://www.streetfootballworld.org/project/sony-street-stadiums |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* '''The Sony Global Relief Fund for COVID-19''' During the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], Sony launched a relief fund in line with other media and tech companies to aid individuals working in the medical, education, and entertainment sectors.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tartaglione |first=Nancy |date=2020-04-02 |title=Sony Establishes $100M COVID-19 Global Relief Fund |url=https://deadline.com/2020/04/sony-launches-100-million-global-relief-fund-coronavirus-covid-19-1202898470/ |access-date=2020-09-16 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of acquisitions by Sony]]
* [[List of companies of Japan]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* ''[[Made in Japan (biography)|Made in Japan]]'' by Akio Morita and Sony, [[HarperCollins]] (1994){{ISBN missing |date=October 2017}}
* ''Sony: The Private Life'' by [[John Nathan]], [[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|Houghton Mifflin]] (1999){{ISBN missing |date=October 2017}}
* ''The Japan Project: Made in Japan'' – a documentary about Sony's early history in the U.S. by [[Terry Sanders]].{{ISBN missing |date=October 2017}}
* ''The Portable Radio in American Life'' by Michael Brian Schiffer (The University of Arizona Press, 1991).
* ''Sony Radio, Sony Transistor Radio 35th Anniversary 1955–1990'' – information booklet (1990){{ISBN missing |date=October 2017}}

==External links==
{{Sisterlinks|Sony}}
* {{Official website|www.sony.com}}
* {{Finance links
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| sec_cik = SNE
| google = NYSE:SNE
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| reuters = SNE
| nasdaq = SNE
}}

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