Sony Corp plans to boost cloud-based gaming by creating a mass-market streaming service similar to Netflix Inc’s as the PlayStation maker tries to rebound from a projected US$2.1 billion annual loss.
The company wants its online game service to also work with Internet-connected TVs made by other manufacturers, Andrew House, president and group chief executive officer of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc, said in an interview at the Tokyo Game Show yesterday.
The company is experimenting with pricing options for rentals and subscriptions, he said.
Gaming remains a bright spot for Sony as it begins to merge online services offering movies, TV shows and software titles and prepares to start console sales in China. The PlayStation Network has more than 50 million active users, and the PS4 has sold more than 10 million units since its release in November, outpacing Microsoft Corp’s Xbox One.
“If you look at other forms of entertainment and the dramatic impact streaming has had on those, that says that there is clearly a strong consumer satisfaction with the instant gratification,” House said. “We think that has a role to play in the future of games as well.”
In 2012, Sony bought Gaikai Inc for US$380 million to acquire cloud gaming technology that allows users to interact with remote applications, enabling gamers to play without having the software installed on their devices. Currently, PlayStation Now is available in North America for streaming content on Sony devices including Bravia TVs.
“It is very important in my view to extend that beyond the console,” House said. “A range of smart TVs would probably be the next target set of devices. Our desire for PlayStation Now is to be manufacturer-agnostic.”
Sony on Wednesday said it would report a wider full-year loss of ￥230 billion (US$2.11 billion) as it writes down the value of its faltering smartphone business. The company does not see the wider loss triggering any major changes in the game division, House said.
“My goal is to build out a very healthy, robust ecosystem based around the PlayStation platform that can be a strong contributor to both the brand and the financial health of the company,” he said.
Shares of contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) came under pressure yesterday after a report that Apple Inc is looking to shift some orders from the Taiwanese company to Intel Corp. TSMC shares fell NT$55, or 2.4 percent, to close at NT$2,235 on the local main board, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. Despite the losses, TSMC is expected to continue to benefit from sound fundamentals, as it maintains a lead over its peers in high-end process development, analysts said. “The selling was a knee-jerk reaction to an Intel-Apple report over the weekend,” Mega International Investment Services Corp (兆豐國際投顧) analyst Alex Huang
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to remain Apple Inc’s primary chip manufacturing partner despite reports that Apple could shift some orders to Intel Corp, industry experts said yesterday. The comments came after The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Apple and Intel had reached a preliminary agreement following more than a year of negotiations for Intel to manufacture some chips for Apple devices. Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (台灣經濟研究院) economist Arisa Liu (劉佩真) said TSMC’s advanced packaging technologies, including integrated fan-out and chip-on-wafer-on-substrate, remain critical to the performance of Apple’s A-series and M-series chips. She said Intel and Samsung
TRANSITION: With the closure, the company would reorganize its Taiwanese unit to a sales and service-focused model, Bridgestone said Bridgestone Corp yesterday announced it would cease manufacturing operations at its tire plant in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), affecting more than 500 workers. Bridgestone Taiwan Co (台灣普利司通) said in a statement that the decision was based on the Tokyo-based tire maker’s adjustments to its global operational strategy and long-term market development considerations. The Taiwanese unit would be reorganized as part of the closure, effective yesterday, and all related production activities would be concluded, the statement said. Under the plan, Bridgestone would continue to deepen its presence in the Taiwanese market, while transitioning to a sales and service-focused business model, it added. The Hsinchu
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has approved a capital budget of US$31.28 billion for production expansion to meet long-term development needs during the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. The company’s board meeting yesterday approved the capital appropriation plan for purposes such as the installation of advanced technology capacity and fab construction, the world’s largest contract chipmaker said in a statement. At an earnings conference last month, TSMC forecast that its capital expenditure for this year would be at the higher end of the US$52 billion to US$56 billion range it forecast in January in response to robust demand for 5G, AI and
RSS