Sony aims at 6-fold increase in global entertainment users to 1 billion

Sony aims at 6-fold increase in global entertainment users to 1 billion

 

Sony Group Corp. said Wednesday it aims to connect with 1 billion users globally via its gaming, anime, and other entertainment services, more than a six-fold increase from the current level, as part of its drive to solidify its foundation as a creative entertainment company.

Under a business strategy unveiled Tuesday, Sony said it will spend about 2 trillion yen ($18 billion) in the next three years to March 2024 on key growth areas such as entertainment and technology.

The screenshot shows Sony Group Corp. Chairman and CEO Kenichiro Yoshida giving an online press conference on May 26, 2021. (Kyodo)

Sony has been riding on the popularity of its PlayStation 5 game console and related software along with blockbuster animated movie based on the popular “Demon Slayer” manga series, co-distributed by a subsidiary.

“We want to increase the number of people we connect with to 1 billion from the current 160 million,” Sony Group Chairman and CEO Kenichiro Yoshida told a press conference, adding that anime and gaming go together “quite well.”

The coronavirus pandemic has boosted the group's sales as people spend more time playing games and using other entertainment services at home. PlayStation 5 has met robust demand since its November launch and Sony Group has set a second-year sales target at 14.80 million units globally even as a global chip shortage looms.

Changing its name from Sony Corp. in April, Sony Group performs the headquarter functions of the Japanese conglomerate encompassing financial services, gaming, entertainment, and electronics. The change represents its ongoing diversification from electronics, which made the brand name Sony popular.

“Technology is important both in terms of creating content and delivering it (to consumers),” Yoshida said.

Sony has strength in image sensors used in smartphones. To foster longer-term growth, the company is placing more focus on mobility as a key area where its image sensors can contribute to the safety of cars.

Sony has unveiled a prototype electric vehicle, the Vision-S, and has conducted driving tests. “Our contribution to ensuring the safety (of cars) will help them develop into a new entertainment sphere,” Yoshida said.

Related coverage:

PlayStation 5 booms in China after mid-May release

Sony undergoes 1st name change in 6 decades to Sony Group

Sony eyes record 1 trillion yen net profit on entertainment boost

Title: Sony aims at 6-fold increase in global entertainment users to 1 billion
Sourced From: english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/05/0ed49b466711-sony-aims-at-6-fold-increase-in-global-entertainment-users-to-1-bil.html
Published Date: 05/26/21

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Roy Welch

Roy T. Welch as an experienced reporter searches for good and bad trends in Japan covers from Japanese politics to the Japanese lifestyle.

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