A lot of people have split opinions on the effectiveness of in-game advertising. However, Sony's chief executive Howard Stern expressed his doubts on the potential of that particular marketing trend. He wasn't alone in the idea either; other big names from major companies such as NBC Universal and Activision Blizzard voiced similar sentiments.

For more details, check out the full article after the jump!

Even after gaining a lot of headway in the recent holiday season, there are still some unanswered questions for Sony about bleaker issues like unemployment. The details in the full article.

The US economy has been on shaky ground lately, but Sony Corporation assures that the company's electronics line is unaffected. Chief Executive Howard Stringer cites Black Friday sales as a good indication of this, saying that PS3 and PSP sales were "very good." He's also optimistic for the arrival of PlayStation Home, which he sees as a key factor in the company's growth. Read more in the full article.

A quick search at the official website of U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will inform you about Sony Computer Entertainment's future plans for its consumers base. New patents found include those that refer to downloadable games over at the Playstation Network that will utilize the peripheral PlayStation Eye.

While we are still quite uncertain as to what exactly these are, some of their descriptions read "computer games apparatus adapted for use with an external display screen or monitor." The patents for the yet-to-be announced software include Ember, SkyBlue, Carriage Return, Race Day, and Strings Attached.

Quite interestingly, SCEJ also patented a new trademark known as the Broadcasting Engine. Reading its accompanying description, it seems that this particular engine is more for hardware rather than software. The patent mentioned that it will be dealing with cellular phones, video cameras, DVD players, and video game machines among others.

The description for the Broadcasting Engine further revealed that this product will be used for downloadable media. It should be remembered that Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer mentioned before that they are currently devising a way that will allow all Sony products to interact with each other.

Keep checking back here at QJ.NET for the latest development on this matter!

In a recent article, the Wall Street Journal online reported that Sony might be quietly moving toward a video download service for its PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable platforms. Sony Chief Executive Howard Stringer is said to be behind the initiative that will compete with Apple's popular service.

The report says that those "familiar with the situation" claim that the plan involves the convergence of Sony's PS3, PSP, and Bravia high-definition TV technologies. Under the strategy, media can be downloaded and passed around via the remote viewing capabilities of the PS3 and the PSP, making material more available whether users are on the go or at home.

Movies and TV episodes are said to be in store for Sony product owners, but skeptics are already saying that Sony is entering an area which has promised more than it has delivered. Let's hope for the best if this venture ever comes to be.

Today is the day Ken Kutaragi leaves the PlayStation family behind. Back in April, the gaming industry was shocked with the announcement that the Chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) will step down from his post to "pursue his dreams beyond PlayStation and to accelerate his network vision."

Kutaragi's previously held position will now be manned by SCE's former president and COO Kaz Hirai. The former's departure will also terminate his slot in the the company's board. Despite this, Kutaragi will act as an honorary SCEI Chairman and will be Senior Technology Adviser to Chairman and CEO of Sony Corporation Howard Stringer.

This development could have tremendous impact to Sony itself and more importantly, to its consumer base. Ken Kutaragi is the architect of every single PlayStation console (PSOne, PS2, PS3, and PSP). It would be interesting to watch what exact changes this will bring to Sony's future endeavors.

But for what it is worth, we all know that Kutaragi did his job well throughout these years. We just hope and pray that he finds contentment in what he decides to do next.

A recent Wall Street Journal report describes Ken Kutaragi as a "stumbling block" to Sony CEO Howard Stringer's success. The Wall Street Journal report by Roger Ehrenberg says that Kutaragi was known for his "reluctance" to keep lines of communication open with his bosses or other departments of the company - most notably, with the Sony Electronics Division.

This bit of news is relevant to all of you console war spectators since it is the Sony Electronics Division that provides the parts for Sony PlayStation products. Not a group you'd want to upset if you're banking on the PSP or the PS3. Ehrenberg notes:

In developing the PlayStation 3 console, the device's latest iteration, Mr. Kutaragi went over budget on development costs without informing Mr. Stringer, according to a person familiar with the situation. When Mr. Stringer urged Mr. Kutaragi to have dinner with the heads of the electronics division, he did so just once a year, this person said. A spokeswoman for Mr. Kutaragi declined to comment.

Ehrenberg also cites other instances where Sony's Electronics Division, as some other bloggers so eloquently puts it, got "snubbed" by Kutaragi. We'll skip over them for now, since you're all probably sick of "negative" PS3/PSP news right now. Ehrenberg's criticism of Sony top brass though, all boils down to this:

I don't care how legendary or historically successful a manager might be - if they are unable or unwilling to adapt to the culture, the vision you, as leader, have clearly communicated, they have to go. But not two years later, after the corrosive effect of doing things "their way" has already sunk in. Having a senior manager blame other groups for his group's woes? Raising concerns of investors, suppliers and customers alike? Unacceptable everywhere and at any time in any culture.

If we are to go with this Wall Street Journal report, should we take this as a sign that Sony is going through a whole lot more than just image problems with its audience? Moreover, does this mean that Mr. Stringer is messing up with running Sony? Well, the second question can't really be answered easily, but one's thing for sure though: Stringer's got a lot of work ahead of him.

Sony Computer Entertainment hopes to boost PSP sales. Analysts are expecting a package of new PSP online services to be revealed in the middle of March of this year. Also, analysts are expecting a tie-up with a major ISP like Yahoo!.

Nobuyuki Oneda, Sony's chief financial officer, told the Financial Times that the games division has to get its act together if it wants to meet the goals set by Sir Howard Stringer. If you'll remember, Stringer is Sony Corporation of America's Chairman and CEO, and he said that Sony plans to have a profit margin of 5% by the end of this fiscal year. This means the PS3 has to break even by the end of the year and the PSP has to start making lots of money.

Analysts think Sony's action plan is this:

To promote the PSP as a more user-friendly device capable of downloading films, television shows, and back-catalogue PlayStation and PlayStation 2 games. The changes could allow users to download games and other content anywhere the PSP can be connected to a WiFi network.

Now you see why Sony might tie up with a company like Yahoo!. Sony needs to get more mainstream users interested in buying PSPs and downloading games and other content.

However, the source did not say how much PSP owners will have to pay in order to have access to the new online services (i.e., will the new online services they'll reveal in March be free?). As homebrew fans, that's one thing we really want to hear more about because PSP homebrew already gives us content at a low price (i.e., fun for free, PSP tools and apps for free), so Sony's downloadable content will have to be high-quality content at reasonably low prices.

 

Finally, we'd like to add that we think the "Find Me" TV spots (also at Sony's official site) are a good step in getting mainstream non-hardcore-gamers interested in the PSP.