Great Forbes article about Sony

[Maximus]

http://www.forbes.com/technology/for.../0811/096.html

Paramount announced last August that it was choosing the Toshiba technology over Blu-ray. Reports flew that Toshiba paid Paramount and its DreamWorks unit $150 million to clinch the deal, which Paramount parent Viacom doesn't deny. Toshiba began selling HD-DVD players for $99, hoping to outsell Blu-ray players and lock in its advantage. The news triggered "sheer and utter panic" at Sony, says its U.S. chief financial officer, Robert S. Wiesenthal. Except in Tokyo. In Japan Blu-ray accounted for 90% of videodisc players sold, so to Sony executives there it seemed that Blu-ray had already won the format war. But Sony's U.S. executives knew that the huge U.S. market was now up for grabs.

In Tokyo the night the Paramount news broke, Stringer set up a global conference call to brainstorm ideas for stopping Toshiba. He called on every division to play a part, seizing on the crisis to force the company to work together. A company changes its entrenched habits only when it is under stress. So says Gerstner, in Chapter Seven.

One suggestion was quickly implemented. Sony had wanted gamers to use PlayStation as a videodisc player more often. So if they found a Hollywood movie in the box when they bought the machine, they'd likely test-drive the film, not just play the car-racing games. "Howard rang me up and told me, 'I really need you to pack half a million units of Spider-Man with PlayStation 3,'" says Michael Lynton, chief executive of Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Read the whole article, it doesn't tell the whole story, especially the part about retailers, but it gives a good account of what happened.

Generally speaking this is definitely one of the better articles about Sony I have seen recently.

[kpkelley]

https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=1564

[Maximus]

Heh, Josh beats me to it!

[Grubert]

Thanks for posting that, Max.

Corporate panic must be a sight to behold. Lucky that Sir Howard kept his cool.

Of course, Toshiba was also bundling not one, but two big action movies (300 and Bourne).

[steve1971]

The article was a great read because it tells me how a company can pull together when its in trouble and it also show's me that when Sony has it's backs against the wall they will pull out all the stop's to win and they did big time thank's to Mr Stringer.

[Monkey]

Yeah, I bought a $99 HD-A3 with 10 free movies.. The 3rd genertation HD DVD player has been very frustrating to use, far inferior to my first gen blu-ray play which is simply outstanding

[Teazle]

Best part of the article IMHO is the passage about Lionsgate, and how Sony argued they'd make a better business partner in the long term than Toshiba.

Very far-sighted thinking which is nice to see in this industry, since the consumer too -- unlike some of the shareholders -- is in it for the long term.

[quexos]

I don't really understand Howard Stringer. I guess he's efficient as a CEO of a big company and as such he must be. But on the other hand I remember at the end of 2007 he seemed dejected with his famous declaration that it would be no big deal if Bluray lost the war ...
In the end it seems he pulled it off and Bluray is the next digital format of choice

[BluRay2344]

yeah thats an amazing article! Sony really came together and defeated toshiba when the going got rough!

[aygie]

Originally Posted by quexos

I don't really understand Howard Stringer. I guess he's efficient as a CEO of a big company and as such he must be. But on the other hand I remember at the end of 2007 he seemed dejected with his famous declaration that it would be no big deal if Bluray lost the war ...
In the end it seems he pulled it off and Bluray is the next digital format of choice

I don't think he ever said he wouldn't mind losing the war, just that it was stagnant at the time. (Both sides putting a lot in for not a lot of return)

[Clark Kent]

I knew the Paramount move would push Sony to act more aggressively. Toshiba had no idea what chain of events they would initiate with their payout to Paramount. It eventually led down a path that included Warner dropping support. I still remember the feeling of shock the morning I saw the headlines about the Paramount move on Yahoo news.

[Deane Johnson]

Totally fascinating read on Stringer's activities at Sony and the turnaround problems he faced. Thanks for posting it.

[patrick99]

Originally Posted by Aygie

I don't think he ever said he wouldn't mind losing the war, just that it was stagnant at the time. (Both sides putting a lot in for not a lot of return)

I suspect that comment was a strategic one directed more at Warner and the retailers than at the general public.

[patrick99]

Originally Posted by Clark Kent

I knew the Paramount move would push Sony to act more aggressively. Toshiba had no idea what chain of events they would initiate with their payout to Paramount. It eventually led down a path that included Warner dropping support. I still remember the feeling of shock the morning I saw the headlines about the Paramount move on Yahoo news.

Don't we all. What a horribly depressing day.

[ThePhantomOak]

Originally Posted by Maxpower1987

http://www.forbes.com/technology/for.../0811/096.html



Read the whole article, it doesn't tell the whole story, especially the part about retailers, but it gives a good account of what happened.

Generally speaking this is definitely one of the better articles about Sony I have seen recently.

iirc, PS3 owners had no idea that their PS3 could play BDs at the time. Something like 60%+ had no idea.

After that push the number jumped to almost every PS3 owner owning multiple discs... Seems like it worked hugely.

IMHO, without the PS3's change in marketing, BD does not win. Without PS3 at all, BD falls on its face out of the gate.

[Tok]

Well, it's no coincidence that the HD DVD group tried to make their numbers look better by factoring the PS3 in (attach rates) and out (SA player sales) when reporting/spinning their numbers for the public.

I know a great number were waiting for the PS3 due to its BD and gaming abilities.

Toshiba never had a real answer for it. It's pretty much known now that a very small number of 360 add-on drives were sold.

[Tok]

Originally Posted by Monkey

Yeah, I bought a $99 HD-A3 with 10 free movies.. The 3rd genertation HD DVD player has been very frustrating to use, far inferior to my first gen blu-ray play which is simply outstanding

I can't believe how diehard some of the HD DVD fanatics are when they continue to complain about players dying and Toshiba offering to replace them with lower capability models.

Other than a few early hickups with PS3 firmware (PSN sign-ins and BD pausing), the PS3 has been glitch free. I still can't believe we finally got dts-HDMA. Currently if you have even the slightest interest in gaming, the PS3 is your best bet for a BD player. This will have to change in the next year or so if BD is grow to greater mass market acceptance, but I think history will show the PS3 was the great launching pad for the format.