It's been years since Sony has produced a new mega-hit device. Its TV business is an albatross that has accumulated losses of $10 billion. The company is on course for a fourth straight annual net loss for the year ending March 31. Efforts to connect its vast entertainment and games content with its huge menu of long strapless prom dress began way back in the 1990s - but are still a work in progress.
What has flourished at Sony, after a bumpy start, is its PlayStation business, which Hirai ran for five years. His plan is to apply the PlayStation model company wide: extend its network to the rest of the Sony gadget family to create a unified content-delivery platform. Even if not by intent, it is a model close to Apple Inc and its iTunes.The Sony Computer Entertainment model "is a bigger concept we can grow into a bigger space," Hirai, 51, said in a group interview at the company's Tokyo headquarters last month.