14 DAY TRIAL // Sony is not in the best of shapes at the moment and needs to deal with an impressive loss of more than 2 billion dollars (1.52 billion Euro) for the fiscal quarter that ended on December 31 of 2011 and one its leading executives believes that the company needs to turn things around quickly.
Speaking about his new role as both chief executive officer and overall president at Sony, Kaz Hirai stated, “I thought turning around the PlayStation business was going to be the toughest challenge of my career, but I guess not. It's one issue after another. I feel like 'Holy s**t, now what?’”
Sony has long been known as a company that can design and manufacture impressive hardware, from the first Walkman to the PlayStation line and the Bravia television sets, but the new leader believes that the future of the company is linked more to delivering an impressive customer experience than with simply creating objects that customers can buy.
He added, “We really need to buckle down and be realistic. I don't think everybody is on board, but I think people are coming around to the idea that if we don't turn this around, we could be sitting in some serious trouble.”
Sony has blamed its current financial situation on the floods that have hit Thailand, disrupting its manufacturing and supply chains, on the earthquake and tsunami that have hit Japan and on the current situation of the Yen.
The consumer product division, which also includes the PlayStation brand, has also posted a loss that is attributed to the price cut of the PS3, which has failed to push sales up enough to recoup lost value.
In the coming weeks Sony is getting ready to launch the new PlayStation Vita on Western markets and it is hoping to get a better reception than in Japan.