recorders to magnetic tape recorders to TVs and the most successful video game consoles, today we learn the impressive history of Sony. Akio Morita, one of the founders of Sony, was born into a wealthy family in Japan that produces sake. His family wanted Akio Morita to take the family business further, but he had other passions. Mathematics and physics were his main interests, so to his family's disappointment, he enrolled at Osaka Imperial University. During all this time he became very concerned with sound recording techniques. Immediately after graduation, he enlisted in the Naval Forces, where he met Masaru Ibuka, an electronics engineer who became his best friend. It seems that this friendship, along with their acquaintances, led to the birth of the later giant company, Sony. In 1946, the two founded Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha, an electronics store. Their first product was a rice cooker, which turned out to be a big failure. But they were not discouraged and continued to develop useful consumer products for the Japanese. In 1950, they made and released the first tape recorder in Japan. Later, in 1955, they introduced the first transistor radio in Japan, calling it the Sony TR-55. Soon after, the company launched a pocket transistor radio, the Sony TR-63, which was so successful that they had to move to a larger unit to increase production. As Sony's name began to grow in popularity in 1958, the founders decided to name the company "Sony Corporation." The name comes from the Latin "Sonus" ("sound") combined with "sonny" ("boy"), a very popular name among young people in America. The sale of the products internationally also led to the creation of Sony Corporation of America, headquartered in New York City in 1960. In 1964, Sony introduced the MD-5, the first transistor desktop computer, and in 1968, the company delivered its first color TV, Trinitron. Sony later developed its first VCR for the consumer market, Betamax, in 1975. Betamax, while generally considered the best VCR technology ever developed, was more expensive than its competitor, VHS (Video Home System). As more and more studios and video stores turned to VHS, Betamax lost market share, and Sony finally introduced its own VHS in 1988. In 1979, Sony became even better known for launching one of the most influential products in the world. They have developed a compact cassette player that can be paired with small, lightweight headphones. It was called "Walkman" and could be used to listen to music on the go. This device became so popular that people used the term Walkman to describe the cassettes produced and the competition. Later, in 1982, based on the same principle, Sony created another innovative product, a portable CD Player called Discman. In 1985, they introduced the video camera, which became the best-selling in many markets, including North America, Europe, and Japan. The Handycam was lighter, less expensive, and more portable than VHS cameras and used an 8mm videotape. It was a difficult time for Sony. The Japanese economy entered a recession in the early 1990s, but more than that, Ibuka and Morita suffered strokes (in 1992 and 1993, respectively) and were forced to retire. In 1994, Norio Ohga rose to the presidency of Sony, and the following year, he elected Nobuyuki Ideas as the company's next president. Sony continued to grow, and in the mid-1990s they entered the video game market by forming a new division called Sony Computer Entertainment. Competing with Nintendo and Sega, Sony introduced the 32-bit Playstation in 1994, which was a real success. In 1997, through a partnership with Intel, Sony introduced the VAIO line of personal computers. Sony also continued to be at the forefront of television, introducing its first flat-screen TV in 1996 and its first high-definition digital model two years later. Unfortunately, in 1997, Masaru Ibuka died, and two years later his business partner, Akio Morita, also died. Immediately after that, Ideas launched a radical reorganization for the future of Sony. There have been staff reductions, but also production cuts for analog TVs, VCRs, and Walkman. Instead, the company focused on increasing the number of resources for digital and PlayStation products, but also on software and hardware development. So, in 2000, the 128-bit PlayStation 2 was introduced, a technical marvel, with high-quality 3D graphics and more processing power than most desktop computers. In the first year of release, the Playstation 2 sold about nine million units. In 2005, Howard Stringer became president and CEO of Sony Corporation of America, in an attempt to save the company from losses. Over time, Sony's leadership has changed over time due to unfavorable results. Until 2012, when Hirai Kazuo, a director in the company's video games division, came to lead the company. Hirai highlighted three major areas that the company should focus on imaging technology, gaming and mobile technology, and a focus on reducing major television losses. In 2014, Sony sold the Vaio PC division and announced that it would close 20 stores. The company also sold 9.5 million shares to Square Enix and announced that it is forming two joint ventures with Shanghai Oriental Pearl Group to produce and market Sony PlayStation game consoles. Currently, the Mobile Communications Division, the Games Division, the Imaging Products Division, and the Sony Pictures Division are main business activities of Sony. It seems that Sony's story has been tried and tested in many ways, but Sony has always been able to anticipate consumer demands and has always created revolutionary products. From rice cookers to radio transistors to the most popular gaming consoles, Sony is proving to be a valuable company, even 75 years after its inception. Thanks for reading! Don't forget to follow and share this post! See you in the next post!
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