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December 22, 2024
 

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SONY

A limited edition of PlayStation 5 (PS5) Pro video game console
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 20, 2024
Sony’s record climb makes investors more bullish on gaming boom
Sony Group’s long-awaited rise to record highs has emboldened bullish investors and analysts, who see gains extending into 2025 on a robust outlook for video games.
The headquarters building for Sony in central Tokyo
BUSINESS
Dec 19, 2024
Sony buys 10% of Elden Ring owner for $320 million
The new deal will see Sony pay ¥50 billion ($320 million) for 12 million new Kadokawa shares, making it the company's biggest shareholder.
The PlayStation 5 on display during the annual Tokyo Game Show in September. PlayStation was Sony's first foray into the world of video games when it hit the shelves in Japan on Dec. 3, 1994.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 2, 2024
PlayStation at 30: How Sony's gray box conquered gaming
The PlayStation became a legend, selling more than 102 million units and positioning Sony as a heavyweight in a hugely lucrative sector.
Ken Kutaragi, the creator of Sony's PlayStation, speaks at the annual Tokyo Game Show in the city of Chiba in September.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 2, 2024
Father of PlayStation says 'everyone told us we would fail'
With revolutionary 3D graphics and titles like "Tomb Raider" and "Metal Gear Solid," the device first hit shelves on Dec. 3, 1994.
Sony's potential acquisition of Kadokawa, the publisher behind Elden Ring, represents an opportunity to expand its intellectual property across gaming, anime and other media provided it learns from past failures.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 22, 2024
Like in Elden Ring, Sony must learn from its mistakes
The Japanese firm’s proposed deal for Kadokawa has great potential — if it can avoid getting stuck in the same mazes as before.
Sony Group headquarters in Tokyo, on Jan. 31, 2023
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2024
Japanese publisher Kadokawa shares roar on Sony buyout report
Early afternoon Kadokawa shares were up 15.91% to ¥4,341 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Sony already has a 2% stake in Kadokawa and a stake in Kadokawa subsidiary FromSoftware, the developer of Elden Ring.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 19, 2024
Sony in talks to buy media powerhouse behind Elden Ring, sources say
The talks between the two sides are ongoing and, if successful, a deal could be signed in the coming weeks.
A woman is silhouetted at The Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains at the V&A Museum in London in 2017.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 2, 2024
Sony buys Pink Floyd music rights for $400 million, FT reports
The deal includes the band's name and portrait rights of its members.
The logo of Tokyo-based chipmaker Rapidus
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 29, 2024
Sony and others to make extra investments in Rapidus
The Tokyo-based chipmaker hopes to secure the necessary funds to start mass production of next-generation semiconductors as early as 2027.
Japan might have created the PlayStation brand, but the cost of the latest generation of the console will exclude all but the most hardcore fans.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 18, 2024
PS5 Pro price is a sticker shock for the country that made the PlayStation
With even an entry-level PS5 now costing some ¥72,980 following the latest hike last month, an entire generation of Japanese could be cut off.
Sony last month officially unveiled a digital ledger, Soneium, while other Japanese firms like Toyota explore various blockchain-related initiatives.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 18, 2024
Sony joins a crypto push in Japan as calls grow for looser rules
The question for the government is whether to heed requests from the crypto industry for less onerous rules to lower costs and spur growth.
Intel in 2022 lost out on a contract to design and fabricate the chip for Sony’s next-generation PlayStation 6.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 17, 2024
How Intel lost the Sony PlayStation business
A dispute over how much profit Intel stood to take from each chip sold to the electronics giant for the PlayStation 6 gave a leg-up to AMD, which clinched the deal.
The PlayStation 5 Pro gaming console is priced at $699.99 in the United States, and ¥119,980 in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 11, 2024
Sony prices PlayStation 5 Pro game console at a hefty $699.99
In Japan, the midgeneration console is priced at ¥119,980, compared with the standard PlayStation 5 digital model's ¥72,980 price tag.
The surprise 19% price increase comes even as PlayStation 5 sales have slowed.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 27, 2024
Sony hikes PlayStation 5 price in Japan citing cost volatility
The surprise move comes even as PS5 sales have slowed and Sony is widely expected to refresh its offering with a revamp of the console in coming months.
Turbines at a wind farm in Suttsu, Hokkaido. A renewable energy initiative called on Japan to triple its capacity of clean electricity.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 25, 2024
Japan urged to triple renewables capacity by 2035
The world's fourth-largest economy is heavily reliant on fossil fuels
Sony Group Chairman Kenichiro Yoshida says the group wants to contribute to anime through creation.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 23, 2024
Sony Group to strengthen anime business
The group will consider establishing an organization to train foreign anime creators.
Sony Group is missing analyst expectations for sales as demand for its PlayStation 5 hardware wanes.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 15, 2024
Sony sales outlook misses estimates on waning demand for PS5s
Shares in Sony have been under pressure this month amid mounting speculation about the terms of its potential $26 billion bid for Paramount Global.
Sony’s shares have dropped more than 5% this year, compared with a 16% gain in the Topix index, amid a global electronics slump.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 7, 2024
Sony shares fall as offer for Paramount spurs financing concerns
Investors are worried because the $26 billion proposal is larger than the Japanese electronics company's cash holdings.
A customer walks past a display for Nintendo's Super Mario at an electronics store in Tokyo on Jan. 12. Last year, Nintendo increased salaries, in part to be competitive with other studios.
BUSINESS
Apr 2, 2024
Japan’s game industry weathers the storm amid layoffs worldwide
The country's studios are actually scrambling to attract and retain talent — a state of affairs that is symptomatic of the nation’s demographic challenges.
Sony's move to cut costs and Microsoft's decision to release titles on rival platforms reflect uncertainty in the gaming industry.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 8, 2024
Looks like we're nearing peak PlayStation
The gaming industry as a whole is struggling with ballooning development costs and longer production cycles, leading to fewer and risk-averse titles.
Nippon Steel alleges undue White House influence on doomed deal review
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Dec. 10.
Record 78% of people in Japan feel anxious, government survey finds
The public opinion survey on people's lives, conducted by the Cabinet Office, found that 28.1% of respondents think that their standard of living is at a lower-middle level among the general public — the highest percentage to give that response in 35 years.
Police raided suspect's home to arrest him after fatal Kitakyushu stabbing
Broken window glass is seen at Masanori Hirabaru's house in Kitakyushu's Kokuraminami Ward.
Taiwan lawmakers brawl over bills that would 'damage democracy'
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party and opposition party Kuomintang brawl in parliament in Taipei on Friday.
Mother hopes for reunion with daughter ensnared by Tokyo host clubs
The Kabukicho district in Tokyo, where the daughter of a woman in her 60s fell deeply into the host club culture.
Casual workouts, cool living, ‘complete’ food: Japan’s health trends of 2024
In 2024, efficiency trumped effort among Japan's fitness-focused aspirants.
The mighty Mekong River's growing plastic problem
A group of elephant keepers in Chiang Saen, Thailand, remove plastic waste from the Ruak River, a tributary of the Mekong River, as a pair of Asian elephants bathe behind them.
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.
Crime numbers rise in Japan for second straight year
A police officer stands in front of the residence of a man alleged to have stabbed two junior high school students in Kitakyushu.
A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” released in Japanese theaters in April, sharply dramatizes the clash between rural and urban values. The film won five awards at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, including the second-place Silver Lion prize.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition
By Alex K.T. Martin

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