I forgot that the Corporate Strategy Meeting was today, I'll watch it now. Just noticed that for the first time they uploaded the stream to youtube instead of to their crappy website webcast, and made a proper presentation:
https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/IR/library/presen/strategy/pdf/2024/speech_E.pdf
- Sales of entertainment (not only gaming) grew from being 30% of their total to 60%
Vision for Sony's (not only gaming) future beyond the mid-range plan (so more than 3 years, said 10 years or so):
- Creative Entertainment Vision
- Creativity unleashed: To harness technology to unleash creativity of creators around the wold, trascending physical, virtual and time dimensions
- Boundaries transcended: To connect the diverse people and values across boundaries to foster vibrant communities
- Narratives everywhere: To create exciting experiences rich in narrative that go beyond imagination
- Create Infinite Realities: Together with creators, to seamlessly connect multi-layered worlds at the points where the physical and virtual overlap
Fictional devices in an insiprational video for the long term vision:
In the inspirational video there's some kind of fictional concept of a Sony theme park or VR version of PS Home using Sony IPs like Horizon or Ghostbusters as attractions:
They plan to expand in merchandising too:
Mentions that in gaming they not only work on Sony IP, showing as example Crunchyroll Games publishing Street Fighter Duel, or Sony providing a tech to scan Gundam plastic model kits for Bandai Namco's upcoming "Gundam Metaverse"...:
And also highlight they support small creators in emerging markets with India/China Hero initiatives:
PlayStation Network is available in 181 countries, their server cost shouldn't be small:
Apparently plan to use PSN as "engagement platform" to unify the user accounts for 34 Sony services which include 29M user accounts (not counting PSN):
- After saying they don't comment on the Paramount acquisition rumors appeared in the media, in the Q&A got asked that if a good opportunity for acquisition appears they'd go beyond the related budget they'd do it. Totoki said they prefer to keep it within the budget, which also includes a flexible amount of buyback stocks. Meaning, they can reduce the stock buyback to spent more on acquisitions but would try to be within the budget.
- Totoki said in the Q&A that they missed the 25M target because it was difficult to calculate it due to the tailwind of the pandemic and that was an aggresive forecast, and that now once the pandemic is over they can calculate it again with the normal sales of all consoles. He says that the console market share is growing and that he considers PS5 very successful and that they are happy with its performance.