王 Yoshida
King Of Asians
This is not a question I ever thought I would be asking. What if Apple, makers of the Mac, iPod and iPad, bought out Sony, maker of TVs, the Walkman and perhaps most importantly the PlayStation console formats? As you may have heard Apple is apparently stockpiling cash to make take advantage of, “strategic opportunities in the future,” according to Apple chief Steve Jobs.
Sony’s involvement in all this seems to stem from the amount of money apparently available, around $51 billion. A tidy sum. Sony’s market value according to the last estimates we could find was around $40 billion, so well within the price range Apple could be looking at.
But, let’s get to the real point of this piece, which is some speculation about what would happen if Apple bought Sony, no matter how unlikely that may or may not be.
For a start I would imagine the Sony brands such as Vaio, Bravia and PlayStation would be retained if only because they are well established and for the most part considered market leading brands in their respective fields. The PS3 may be in third place still this generation, but people still talk about all consoles as being PlayStations. That kind of brand recognition is something even $51 billion can’t buy; something the makers of the iPod will likely respect.
In terms of philosophy Apple and Sony actually seem fairly similar. Build quality is of importance to both companies, as is future-looking technology. While neither has a blemish free record for reliability, the Apple and Sony logos are virtually stamps of quality assurance. Money spent on those products feels like a worthwhile investment.
Apple buying Sony would of course mean the end of the Walkman more or less, but that’s been in decline for a long time now. It would however open Apple up to the stereo industry, which could be an interesting new area for it. Does anyone buy stereos anymore? Perhaps they would if they had Internet connections, touch screen interfaces and a direct line into iTunes.
Anyway, the PlayStation is the thing and frankly a Sony/Apple merger could be pretty amazing on the videogame side of things. For start Apple would likely push digital content even further forward, perhaps bringing what it’s learnt with iTunes to the PlayStation Network. Disc media could well be on its deathbed then.
The PSP may become redundant given handheld gaming conflict with the iPhone, but then again maybe Apple would look to support the device with a full 4G upgrade; something we’ve been wondering about for a while now.
And the PS4? Sleekly designed, easy to use, digital only, super-high def, very expensive and completely desirable. Such a device would be the holy grail of consumers bringing in the gaming crowd and the geek-hipsters. It could be a perfect marriage of the hardcore and casual in one go. It would certainly be something to look forward to.
Jon Gordon
Source>>>http://www.nowgamer.com/columns/casual-games/559/what-if-apple-bought-sony
Sony’s involvement in all this seems to stem from the amount of money apparently available, around $51 billion. A tidy sum. Sony’s market value according to the last estimates we could find was around $40 billion, so well within the price range Apple could be looking at.
But, let’s get to the real point of this piece, which is some speculation about what would happen if Apple bought Sony, no matter how unlikely that may or may not be.
For a start I would imagine the Sony brands such as Vaio, Bravia and PlayStation would be retained if only because they are well established and for the most part considered market leading brands in their respective fields. The PS3 may be in third place still this generation, but people still talk about all consoles as being PlayStations. That kind of brand recognition is something even $51 billion can’t buy; something the makers of the iPod will likely respect.
In terms of philosophy Apple and Sony actually seem fairly similar. Build quality is of importance to both companies, as is future-looking technology. While neither has a blemish free record for reliability, the Apple and Sony logos are virtually stamps of quality assurance. Money spent on those products feels like a worthwhile investment.
Apple buying Sony would of course mean the end of the Walkman more or less, but that’s been in decline for a long time now. It would however open Apple up to the stereo industry, which could be an interesting new area for it. Does anyone buy stereos anymore? Perhaps they would if they had Internet connections, touch screen interfaces and a direct line into iTunes.
Anyway, the PlayStation is the thing and frankly a Sony/Apple merger could be pretty amazing on the videogame side of things. For start Apple would likely push digital content even further forward, perhaps bringing what it’s learnt with iTunes to the PlayStation Network. Disc media could well be on its deathbed then.
The PSP may become redundant given handheld gaming conflict with the iPhone, but then again maybe Apple would look to support the device with a full 4G upgrade; something we’ve been wondering about for a while now.
And the PS4? Sleekly designed, easy to use, digital only, super-high def, very expensive and completely desirable. Such a device would be the holy grail of consumers bringing in the gaming crowd and the geek-hipsters. It could be a perfect marriage of the hardcore and casual in one go. It would certainly be something to look forward to.
Jon Gordon
Source>>>http://www.nowgamer.com/columns/casual-games/559/what-if-apple-bought-sony
