According to data released by Tokyo-based game magazine publisher Enterbrain (published in The Nikkei over the weekend), the Japanese market for video games grew 1.2 percent to US$4.6 billion in fiscal year 2012 (which ended on March 31, 2013).

Software sales for gaming consoles and handhelds contracted 1.2 percent to $2.8 billion in that time frame.

But hardware sales increased five percent to about $1.8 billion in Japan, thanks to the introduction of the Wii U (well, OK, if the report says so), a new 3DS, and Sony’s recent price cuts for their consoles.

What’s interesting is that while a 1.2 percent plus sounds pretty modest, the overall market for video games in Japan grew for the first time in five years. Enterbrain’s numbers for the first half of fiscal 2012 were already indicating such a trend.

And what’s even more interesting is that even though different data providers use different methods, it looks like the sizes of the video and social gaming markets in Japan are now very similar.

The latest report of note came from Yano Research in January, estimating the social gaming market in Japan was worth $4.3 billion in 2012. Even though that number is closer to $4 billion using today’s exchange rate, that market grew faster between 2011 and 2012 than the one for video games, making the difference not that big anymore.

As with recent stats from Animoca for its native Hong Kong, the smartphone landscape in Singapore is dominated by Samsung. The top five Android phones observed in Singapore are all Samsung models, with the lead four all being big-screen models. It’s not a total whitewash, as Sony and HTC get a look-in as well. Here’s the top ten in full:

Good news for all app developers is that this mature market is keen on the latest software as well, with versions of Android 4.0 and 4.1 on 52.8 percent of all those phones. But there are still plenty of older – or budget – phones in use, with 16.5 percent of Singaporeans on Android 2.3.6. However, Hong Kongers are more on the cutting edge, where 58 percent are rocking Android 4.0+.

The exact selling price will be revealed at close of trading on March 5th, which is tomorrow. DeNA is currently at 2,596 yen per share at the close of Monday’s trading.

Sony’s announcement today, as caught by TheNextWeb, explains that it “is transforming its business portfolio and reorganizing its assets in an effort to strengthen its corporate structure. This sale is made as a part of that initiative.”

The Sony stake in DeNA, which amounts to 17,722,500 shares and 177,225 voting rights, will be bought by Nomura Securities.

Though $438 million is a useful chunk of cash for the struggling firm – which is now down to sales of under two million of each of its gaming gadgets in Japan – it’s not the biggest pile of money that Sony will be getting soon. That’s because Sony has also sold off one of its Tokyo office buildings for a cool $1.2 billion. Sony outlined a number of such cost-saving measures in its recent financial forecast.

Sony lost $5.7 billion in 2011. In 2012 Q1 it saw a less alarming $312 million evaporate, followed by $198 million vanishing into the ether in 2012 Q2.

DeNA, in contrast, is doing well as one of the world’s top social gaming platforms. It expanded aggressively in 2012 yet still managed $216 million in operating profit in 2012 Q3.

(Source: Sony (PDF))

Video-sharing on the PS4

Sony announced the PlayStation 4 a couple weeks ago, and it looks pretty sweet. Aside from the inevitable graphics upgrade, the console’s biggest change appears to be a strategic shift towards more online interaction. It will feature live-streaming game video and remote play so that your friends can watch as you play games, and you can even pass the controller around. All the games will be available as direct digital downloads (though discs will be available too). All in all, it sounds pretty cool.

Unless, that is, you’re a console gamer in China. That’s a small group, of course, but they do exist, and they are beginning to realize that next-gen consoles like the PS4 may offer them less than ever. Of course, they can still enjoy the HD games, but the increasing focus on online service is mostly wasted in China, for a couple of reasons.

First, because of China’s console ban, most gaming companies don’t bother to operate servers in mainland China. Consoles are still widely available in China, but playing online can be a laggy mess because Chinese players are forced to connect to servers overseas. And while digital downloads may seem like a big convenience, they’re likely to be unusable for Chinese gamers. Even if the PS4′s online store isn’t region-locked, it isn’t likely to take Chinese bank cards or Alipay. And if Chinese gamers do manage to buy something, they can look forward to an extra-long download as next-gen games are likely to be very large.

The other problem is that in general, internet speeds in China aren’t great. Even without the console ban, Chinese gamers lag (literally) behind their Asian counterparts when it comes to online gaming. Even China-based video streaming sites don’t stream video content in HD*, and it seems unlikely that current connection speeds would be able to support features like 1080p live screen sharing, no matter how well-optimized it is.

Of course, the upside of Sony’s new console is that, with its departure from the Cell architecture of its predecessor and the return to more PC-like hardware, it’s likely going to be much easier to hack. So, once again, Chinese gamers are likely to be stuck with gray market consoles and pirated games. The graphics of the next-gen consoles will be nicer, of course, but pixel-peeping gamers are already playing on PCs.

It’s a shame that gaming companies don’t do more to try to accomodate Chinese console gamers, but of course, with the country’s console ban, there isn’t much they can do. That’s a law the government should really be rethinking. There really isn’t a lot of interest in console gaming in China, but I still feel for the nation’s small but stalwart bunch of console fans.

*Many Chinese video sites do claim to have HD content, but most of what’s labeled HD is still lower-resolution than what would be considered HD in the West. I’m not aware of any streaming sites that support 1080p content, and even 720p seems to be quite rare.

Earlier today we looked at statistics from game developer Animoca that show the Samsung Galaxy range of phones totally dominating in India. While that’s not quite the case in Hong Kong, the same research reveals that eight of the top 10 Android phones observed on Animoca’s games in Hong Kong were made by Samsung.

The only two interlopers were smartphones made by Sony, with the Xperia Arc S being the sixth most popular phone in this survey. But on the whole, Samsung’s big-screen phones are performing well in Hong Kong, led by the sizeable Samsung Galaxy Note 2 as the Android market leader. The newest Samsung Galaxy S3 hasn’t quite surpassed its predecessor, the S2 (see table below). As a whole, the Galaxy S series have racked up over 100 million in sales, and Hong Kong is clearly one of the developed markets where consumers want high-end new smartphones.

Hong Kongers’ desire to be on the cutting-edge is shown by the versions of Android OS that are being used. On Animoca’s gaming platform, the developers found that most Hong Kong mobile gamers – a full 21.2 percent – are on Android 4.1.1 (jelly bean) right now; a further 19.3 percent are on Android 4.0.4. The game developer says that these statistics show that companies making apps and mobile services need to look carefully at particular markets and not just think of averages across Asia; that’s because countries where consumers opt for older and cheaper phones (like India or the Philippines) can really skew the data and cause you to underestimate the demands of customers in more developed markets.

Here are the top 10 phones in Hong Kong in this study, which took place from January 15th to February 15th:

(Image: HongKongHustle)

There are so many things wrong with this, it’s hard to even know where to begin. I could, of course, begin with how the Ministry of Culture has already denied considering lifting the ban. But these rumors are sure to pop up again sooner or later, so instead let’s begin with the stupidest thing I have read so far this year, which comes to us courtesy of the Forbes article linked above:

If the ban is lifted, however, sales of new game consoles could skyrocket. Console manufacturers would be free to promote their items and sell them in every store. And since consumers would no longer have to pay black market prices, consoles would become even more desirable to own.

The assertion that gamers are currently paying “black market prices” for consoles and thus would relish the opportunity to buy legitimate versions is shockingly ignorant, and leads me to wonder if the author of this article has even bothered to look into the console market at all. First of all, game consoles are sold on the gray market in China, meaning they’re sold openly in retail stores and online. Secondly, they don’t cost much more than they do in the US or elsewhere, and the extra cost is often because they’re hacked, so it’s immediately offset by the far lower price of buying cheap pirated games for the system.

In fact, let’s do a little experiment. In the US, you can get a plain Xbox 360 console for $200, while in China it’s closer to $250. But the gray-market console in China is generally hacked to play pirated games, so when you want to add on one new game to play, the US price rises to $260, and the Chinese price rises to $251. Add another new game, and the American Xbox now costs over $300, while the Chinese one now costs $252. You get the idea: the consoles themselves cost slightly more, but Chinese console gamers actually pay far less overall than Western gamers who are buying legitimate games for their systems.

Moreover, legitimizing console sales in China would actually make them more expensive than they are in the US, because — like all other imported electronics — their prices would need to be raised to cover China’s import duties. Gray market imports, since they’re technically illegal and enter under the radar, are not taxed, but official imports would be, and thus China’s gamers would get a taste of what China’s Apple fans already know: everything electronic is more expensive in China. At the end of the day, Chinese gamers would see something like a 10 percent reduction in the cost of consoles themselves, but that’s not nearly enough to offset the 7500 percent rise in the price of a new game for the system. At the end of the day, most Chinese gamers who want to actually play games on their console would end up paying significantly more than what they’re paying now if console imports were legalized.

One of China’s many shops that sells game consoles. Look at all those customers demanding Western game consoles. Oh wait, there aren’t any customers. The guys in red work there.

Now that we’ve torn apart the section of that article that’s blatantly incorrect, let’s turn to the part of it that’s just logically flawed. Why would sales of new game consoles skyrocket? Although they are technically illegal, western game consoles are widely available in China right now, sold openly in thousands upon thousands of electronics stores across the country. Any Chinese gamer who wants a console probably already has one. And since the consoles available now are for the most part hacked, gamers have access to thousands of games for extremely low prices. Legitimizing console sales might lower the prices of consoles slightly (as discussed above), but that would be nothing compared to the price of games, which would jump from at most 5 RMB ($0.79) for a pirated game to at least 370 RMB ($60) for a new, legitimately imported game.

As much fun as it is to beat up Forbes, let me stop and break this thing down for you list-style:

Why No One Should Be Excited About the Console Ban Being Lifted

1. It probably won’t happen. The Ministry of Culture has already officially denied that it’s considering dropping the ban. But even if that’s a smokescreen and the China Daily’s tip is legit (which is by no means guaranteed), I am certain the Ministry of Culture considers lots of things it doesn’t ultimately do. And no one I have seen yet has been able to adequately answer the question of why China would choose to un-ban game consoles right now, when there’s still no domestic competitor to benefit from the move. (No, the CT510 doesn’t count).

2. Consoles and console games are already widely available. Anyone who wants to can buy a game console in China for more or less the same price as anywhere else. And, as an added bonus, the games are usually extremely cheap. Chinese gamers who are interested in console gaming already own consoles. If there is a demand for consoles in China, it does not seem to have outpaced the supply available on the gray market, so legalizing consoles isn’t likely to cause any kind of sales spike.

3. Legalizing consoles just makes them more expensive. China’s import duties would almost certainly raise the price of legitimate consoles to close to what they currently cost on the gray market. And the price of legitimately imported games for consoles would be much, much higher than what gamers currently pay for widely-available pirated game discs, so the overall cost of playing games on a game console would skyrocket.

4. Chinese gamers are not dying to get their hands on Western and Japanese consoles. In some circles, people seem to be under the impression that the only thing stopping Chinese gamers from buying XBoxes in droves is the tyrannical policies of the Chinese government. This is complete bullshit. Unlike my generation in the West, most Chinese gamers did not grow up with consoles in their homes. Their first introduction to the world of games was through a PC, not a Nintendo, and most Chinese gamers continue to prefer the PC platform. That’s not because they don’t have consoles, it’s because they actually prefer playing games on a PC. And, as I mentioned above, those who do want consoles likely already have them.

5. Chinese gamers prefer game genres that don’t really work on consoles. Look at the genres of games that are popular in China: MMORPGs, RTSs, and twitchy, highly-competitive multiplayer FPS games. These are all genres that don’t work very well on consoles. There is a reason there are no console versions of games like World of Warcraft, DOTA, and Starcraft (both hugely popular in China); they both play much better with a mouse and keyboard. And while there are some twitchy FPS games on consoles, Chinese gamers seem to prefer games like Counter-Strike, where the precision of a mouse and keyboard is virtually a requirement. This is not to say, of course, that there aren’t fans of more console-friendly game genres in China, but it’s important to remember that in general, the tastes of Chinese and Western gamers are often quite different.

6. The console game sales model doesn’t work in China. Most popular Chinese games are free-to-play or very cheap, instead relying on subscription tiers and in-game transactions to generate revenue. That’s because in general, game publishers have had a very hard time getting Chinese gamers to pay large up-front sums for games. But there are almost no console games out there that generate most of their revenue with subscriptions or in-game sales right now, and it’s very difficult to do free-to-play when most games require a disc. On-demand gaming may open the door to new sales models in the next generation of consoles, but right now the vast majority of console games (even the on-demand downloadable ones) require one big up-front payment, and that’s just not something many Chinese gamers are into. (If you look at the top ten tech companies in China by revenue, many of them are game publishers that operate primarily online subscription and in-game transaction-based games.)

7. Piracy is still a big problem. Even if legalized console imports somehow generated a huge sales spike (which they won’t), Microsoft and Nintendo couldn’t expect to make a whole lot of money on games. Sony’s Playstation 3 has been more difficult to hack, but the Xbox 360 and the Wii are thoroughly compromised, and getting your console hacked to play pirated games is easy. Sure, it might cost a few extra dollars if you don’t want to do it yourself, but it pays for itself instantly when you’re buying brand new games for less than one dollar per game.

8. Eedoo’s eBox iSec CT-510 may be a warning sign. Eedoo has done a lot of things wrong in the marketing of its not-a-game-console game console, but the strange and sudden pivot from an emphasis on games to an emphasis on health, apps, and other kinds of entertainment might have been a response to weak consumer demand for a traditional, gamer-demographic-focused game console. (The console was originally called the iSec and was targeted squarely at gamers, but just before release it was renamed the CT-510 and re-targeted at more of a family crowd). This shift could also have been the result of pushback from regulators, of course, but since this happened less than a year ago, if regulators wouldn’t let a Chinese company release a game console in China it seems unlikely they’re really about to let Western and Japanese companies have a go.

I could probably keep going, but I think my point is clear. China’s console market is not as big or as ready to explode with profit as some people seem to think. Time will tell whether or not any of this even matters, but if you’re the kind of person who buys stock in a console company on the basis of an anonymously-sourced report in the China Daily, well, I’ve got a bridge to sell you.

My gaming fanatic colleague Charlie just sent me an email at midnight in his timezone (he’s in the US), so either it’s a drunken missive or it’s big news. Turns out it’s the latter. That’s because Chinese government sources have told the China Daily that “authorities are reviewing a decade-long ban on game consoles and considering the possibility of opening up the country’s video game hardware market.”

Banned since 2000 on the grounds of “the potential harm” to children, gaming consoles like the PS3, PSP, Wii, and XBox have nonetheless long been available in China via the so-called gray import market (along with a huge range of pirated games). But they cannot be sold in major electronics stores, and are instead sold by random vendors in large gadget malls all over the country.

An end to the gaming console ban would be a boost, in theory, to manufacturers such as Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. But that’s presuming Chinese consumers would be willing to pay around US$40 for games, which is a hefty amount equivalent to more than a day’s wages even for some of China’s urban middle classes. Plus, the pirated console games generally cost just 10 RMB ($1.60). Without a viable market for genuine games, the console industry might not even be sustainable in China, especially not at a time when iPads and Android tablets bring access to quality games on a fairly big screen for prices ranging from $1 to $10.

Recent estimates suggest that about 1.7 million grey-market consoles are sold in China each year.

An anonymous source within China’s Ministry of Culture told the paper:

We are reviewing the policy and have conducted some surveys and held discussions with other ministries on the possibility of opening up the game console market. However, since the ban was issued by seven ministries more than a decade ago, we will need approval from all parties to lift it.

China has a homegrown contender in this market in the shape of the don’t-call-it-a-games-console Eedoo CT-510, which has had a muted reception due to its $600 price tag.

Earlier signs of the ban ending emerged a few months ago when Sony’s Playstation 3 received its China safety certificate.

(Source: China Daily)

An example of a GIF created with Motiongraph

Earlier in the year I wrote about Sony’s Million Moments, an app that sort of struck me by surprise with its smart design. The same Sony subsidiary which developed that application, SDNA may have just topped its previous effort with one of the more clever photo apps I’ve seen in a while.

Released just last week, its new Motiongraph application lets you capture moving scenes and create animated gif files with your Android phone. It could be a subtle hand movement, or some water pouring into a glass. The idea is that most of the image is static, but a portion of it is moving.

So how exactly does it work? The folks at SDNA showed me a demo, whereby you capture a few seconds of video which includes motion in a restricted area of the scene. The app simply requires you to indicate which area it is to animate by filling it in with your finger. Ideally the motion you are capturing should be ‘loopable,’ and the app does have some capacity for detecting looped motion. Check out the demo video below to see exactly how the process works.

Motiongraph is a paid application, currently priced at 104 yen on Google Play (99 cents for those in the US), but if you spend any time sharing images on Reddit, it might be a good investment!

So far the app looks to be doing well on the charts, breaking into the top ten of top grossing Android apps in Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Italy. Give it a try and let us know what you think!

Youku HQ in Beijing

Chinese online streaming video company Youku Tudou (NYSE:YOKU) has just announced an agreement with Sony Pictures Television to bring over 300 titles to its paid Youku Premium platform.

Notable films covered under the agreement include Groundhog Day and Bram Stoker’s Dracula, as well as newer releases like Men in Black, The Amazing Spider-Man, and 21 Jump Street.

The company says that subscriber growth for Youku Premium has “exceeded expectations,” saying that it’s an indication that Chinese audiences will pay for content. So far Youku Premium has about two million paid users. The service offers a number of viewing options, including paid on-demand viewing, paid subscriptions, or ad-supported viewing.

Back in July (just before the August merger with Tudou), Youku announced an agreement with NBCUniversal on a collection of feature films, and it also has a three-year agreement in place with Warner Bros’ China joint venture Warner Home Entertainment.

Other agreements have been made with Dreamworks, Paramount, Disney, and Lionsgate — and now with Sony Pictures Television on board, Youku Tudou says it has licensed offerings from all major Hollywood studios.

As of September, Youku and Tudou reach 310 million viewers per week according to figures from iResearch.

We’ve written about a lot of photo applications over the past year or so, most of them for photo sharing or photo decorating. But Sony’s Million Moments Android app (released back in June) is perhaps in the minority of photo applications, in that it is primarily focused on photo viewing.

In short, it serves as a sort of Flipboard for your smartphone’s pictures. The app was developed by Sony Digital Network Applications (SDNA), a 100 percent subsidiary of Sony which, in addition to developing such applications, is also responsible for software development for Sony’s wide assortment of devices.

When I first had a chance to check out Million Moments, I was a little surprised that an app that looked so nice on the surface had come from Sony. Upon installation, the app asks you to select the images you want to include in your album. It then creates a beautiful presentation, with photos corresponding to dates, and letting you flip through them in chronological order.

While the design is great, I did experience a few hiccups trying to arrange my own photo album when I tested it out. But after some fumbling, things worked out ok.

Million Moments is a free application, currently only available for Android. But I’m told that there will be an iOS version update to its iOS version coming in October.

Representatives tell me that so far the app has seen more than half a million downloads, and they plan to try pushing it in Taiwan and Singapore soon. They are also researching the China market as well.

As for future monetization, this is something SDNA is still considering. For a look at how it works, check the promotional video below:

Sony Tablets

Sony Computer Entertainment has announced that it will be launching PlayStation Mobile this fall, bringing its PlayStation ecosystem to mobile devices via the PlayStation Store. The service will begin in a few regions to start, namely Japan, US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Australia. More countries will subsequently follow.

Formerly known as the PlayStation Suite, it invited developers to join its open beta last April. Upon its official launch in the fall, Sony says there will be about 30 new titles from third party developers and publishers. And to build upon that, there are more third party developers and publishers who have agreed to develop content for PlayStation Mobile. For developers out there who would like to join the party (Yes, I know it’s far from a party yet…) the license agreement for the SDK is $99 per year.

Games will be available on Sony Xperia phones, the PlayStation Vita, and select Android devices (the HTC One series has been named already). In the tablet space, Sony’s own Tablet S and P series will be included, and Asus and WikiPad are also on board with tablets, joining Sony’s PlayStation Certified license program..

Besides Apple, Sony (NYSE:SNE) probably has the closest thing resembling a multi-device ecosystem of any company in the space of consumer electronics. And given that iOS and Android games has been eating into its game demographic over the past few years, finally making a strong push to mobile certainly does make sense. We’ll have to wait and see how well it can execute, and how consumers respond given the already existing alternatives.

Sony Tablet P

Music lovers will be pleased to hear that Sony (NYSE:SNE) today announced a new lineup of Android 4.0-powered Walkman music players, led by its Android 4.0 F800 model. These will certainly make for an interesting alternative to Apple’s lineup of iPods.

Users will have access to Sony’s cloud-based Music Unlimited service, and on the F800 access to Google play, according to The Verge.

That model features a 3.5-inch multi-touch screen and is powered by a Tegra 2 dual-core processor. The 16 gigabyte version will retail for $269.99 and the 32 gigabyte version for $299.99.

Meanwhile the lower-end E470 offering is a thinner Walkman at just 7.0 millimeters thick, with a 2.0-inch LCD screen. A 4 gigabyte model costs $79.99; the 8 gigabyte model is $89.99; and the 16 gigabyte model is $109.99.

They will hit stores beginning August 12, and they also be available online at sony.com/walkman.

According to NPD DisplaySearch, Sony was a leading smart TV brand in Q1

A new report from the folks over at NPD DisplaySearch says that 27 percent of all televisions shipped in Q1 2012 had some internet capabilities, led by Japan with 46 percent of its TVs shipped having such functions, and followed by Western Europe.

The report adds that 20 percent of televisions shipped globally were ‘smart TVs,’ which it defines as a set that can access a branded portal or service, rather than just publicly available platforms like YouTube. Of all regions that the report looked at [1], Japan again shipped the highest percentage of smart TVs with 36 percent, followed by China with 30 percent.

The director of TV electronics research of NPD, Paul Gray, noted that since Chinese users have so much content to watch online, that “internet connectivity [on TVs] follows.” He added:

There are countries in emerging regions where mobile broadband far outnumbers fixed lines, so consumers are looking to share mobile content on a big screen.

As you can see in the chart below, China had far more smart TV shipments than any other region worldwide, with nearly 3 million. The report notes that Chinese New Year likely contributed to this result, but given the margin by which it leads, you can expect Chinese to continue to be leading consumers in this space.

[Sony image: Japan Today]

For the upcoming Nintendo Wii U, the results of this particular survey do not bode well:

PS Vita at 2011 Tokyo Game Show

• Only 7.1 percent say they want to buy it
• 33.5 percent say they don’t want to buy but are interested
• 59.4 percent say they don’t want to buy it at all

For Sony’s recently released PS Vita, the responses are even worse:

• Only 7.8 percent say that they want to buy it
• 31.7 percent say they don’t want to buy but are interested
• 60.5 percent say they don’t want to buy it at all

Looking at the actual weekly sales figures [2] for Japan since the PS Vita was announced (see interactive chart below), you can see that the PS Vita is Japan is practically flatlined. Of course, it looks better if you change the scale of the graph. But in comparison to better selling consoles of the past like the Nintendo DS or the PSP in its prime, the Vita is (ironically) showing few signs of life so far.

It goes without saying that Sony and Nintendo no longer just have to worry about each other, as smartphone and tablet devices – with better digital distribution for consumers – have changed the game considerably in recent years.

Looking at console sales in Japan [1] over the past eight years or so (see interactive chart below), you can see that recent efforts by both Sony and Nintendo have failed to replicate their past successes. While the 3DS did achieve a decent sales bump thanks to a sharp price cut, it has likely passed its peak.

Sony’s PlayStation Vita will likely take the torch from the PSP, but again, I don’t foresee it bouncing back to the heights that the PSP once enjoyed.

Photo: Sony

The other day I noted the difficulty of recording and archiving information related to last year’s tragic earthquake and tsunami in Japan. So I was pleased to stumble across this initiative from Unicef, with a little assistance from Sony (NYSE:SNE). It’s called Eye See Tohoku, and it was comprised of photography workshops for 27 young children in three affected towns, conducted by Italian photographer Giacomo Pirozzi.

The Eye See project is actually an initiative which goes all the way back to 2006 for children in other countries, but it’s good to see Sony extend it at home in Tohoku. Check out the video below from the UN Economic and Social Council explaining a little more about the project.

Of course, in addition to helping archive the disaster as an historical event, this initiative is a big help to kids who, in addition to learning some new digital photography skills, have a chance to process what they experienced and communicate it to the world. Pirozzi commented:

The children of Japan showed so much interest, so much passion, and so much willingness to learn photography… Any child faced with this level of stress has gone through so much. I am honored to help give them the opportunity to use photography to reflect on what happened to them.

The pictures from the project are now being exhibited at Unicef House in New York.

Another photography-related initiative worthy of mention, which we covered previously, is Photohoku.org an initiative that is helping families restart photo album lost in the tsunami.

[Thanks to Wasurenai for the tip]

In a move that was much anticipated over the past few weeks in the tech industry, Sony (NYSE:SNE) has finally announced the appointment of Kazuo Hirai as president and CEO of the company. He replaces the outgoing CEO Howard Stringer, will continue as chairman until he moves on to become chairman of the board.

It was just a few weeks ago that rumors of this appointment were swirling, prompting a company spokesperson to deny that the move had been made at that time.

Hirai graduates from heading up the consumer products and services group, where he found himself becoming the public face of Sony’s disastrous PlayStation Network security breach in 2011. Sony’s current board chairman, Yotaro Kobayashi, elaborated on today’s announcement:

We agree with Sir Howard that Kazuo Hirai is the right man at the right time to lead Sony. He has a unique capacity to inspire people, to build teams, to make the tough decisions, and to think with clarity and foresight about the challenges we face and how to surmount them.

As for Sony in the near future, Hirai recently commented to The Wall Street Journal that the company would not be rolling out any new console (read PS4) at the upcoming E3 conference.

Earlier this week I had a chance to check out Sony’s (NYSE:SNE) new SmartWatch, the successor of the Live View accessory from Sony Ericsson back in 2010. And while I’ve never seen the latter, this new one looked very cool.

It’s a sort of bluetooth command center for your smartphone, connecting to display many types of notifications on its full-color, touchscreen display. You can view information about email, text messages, social media updates, what music is playing, or just see who is calling. It also features an accelerometer, and can be used to control various apps on your phone, including Endomondo for running (ala Nike+).

The device is billed as developed for Android (2.1+) and optimized for Xperia phones. You can check out the promo video for the SmartWatch after the jump. No word on exactly when this goes on sale, but Sony says that it’s coming soon.

Even zombies love the PS2, apparently. Via QQ Games.

Sony’s (NYSE:SNE) Playstation 2 game console was launched in 2000. It went on to become the best-selling game console of all time. But all of man’s works turn to ash, and in the console’s main sales regions it has long since been eclipsed in popularity by next-generation consoles including Sony’s own Playstation 3. But even now, as rumors begin to swirl Sony may be planning to unveil the Playstation 4, the Playstation 2 is still selling well. How well? 500,000 units sold in November and December of 2011.

If your response to that is “What?” you’re probably not alone. But it’s not that Japan or the US are experiencing a retro gaming surge. Rather, the console is finding new markets in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, South America, and other locales where a cheaper console alternative is attractive, especially one that — like the PS2 — has a huge library of fantastic games for people to enjoy.

If I sound biased, it’s because I totally am. I had and loved a PS2 and still consider it the best console ever in terms of the games it had on offer. Plus, it’s good news for Sony at a time when its brand-new handheld console (the Playstation Vita) sales seem to be falling off a cliff.

[via QQ Games]

This is the pic Sony Ericsson teased on Facebook. Click to enlarge

Sony Ericsson, which in 2011 became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation (NYSE:SNE), just teased on their Facebook site that there will be “some interesting news next week.” The statement was accompanied by an unusual picture which could be a hint that a Windows phone is in the works.

Over on WPcentral.com, they point out the tiled motif in the picture (see cup, chess board on table, and sofa cover), and guess that this could be a reference to Windows Phone’s tiled user interface. While this is qualified as ‘wild speculation,’ I think it’s spot on for two more good reasons:

• The shirt colors in the photo are yellow, blue, green, and red (also tiled). Those are the same colors that make up the Windows logo.
• Also, this is the lamest looking party since Microsoft’s Windows 7 Launch Party. Remember that? Regrettably, you probably do.

Nevertheless, a Sony Ericsson Windows Phone in time for CES 2011, which kicks off on January 10, could be interesting.

What do you think Sony Ericsson has up its sleeve? Do you see anything else in the picture that we might be missing?

PS Vita at 2011 Tokyo Game Show

This past Saturday Sony’s PlayStation Vita went on sale in Japan, as the company hopes to close what has been a very difficult year on a high note. Reportedly there were early morning line-ups at various locations around Japan, and in some places people even began queuing the night before.

The Vita comes with a price tag of about 24,000 to 30,000 yen (or about $310 to $385), which is considerably higher than rival Nintendo’s 3DS after its 40 percent price cut, which has seen an improvement in sales thanks to the low price and an assortment of new games.

Andrew House of Sony Computer Entertainment told PC world today that Nintendo’s “handheld strategy has been far more focused around a younger family-and-kids audience than our devices have,” and I think this is an interesting contrast. For Sony, the hardcore gamer demographic is probably less likely to be impacted by the rise of smartphones than casual gaming, where we have seen titles like Angry Birds do so well.

For those of you who would like to get a peek at what a PS Vita looks like booting up for the first time, the always-excellent Brian Ashcraft has a demo video up that shows the entire process:

Sony Ericcson Xperia Play

Today Sony Corporation (NYSE:SNE) and Ericsson have announced that their joint venture, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB (aka Sony Ericsson), will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation.

According to the announcement, Ericsson will receive 1.05 billion euros ($1.47 billion) in cash. Sony also gets ownership of ‘five essential patent families’ as part of the transaction, which is expected to close in January 2012.

Sony says that now its ‘four-screen strategy’ is in place, as CEO Howard Stringer explained:

We can more rapidly and more widely offer consumers smartphones, laptops, tablets and televisions that seamlessly connect with one another and open up new worlds of online entertainment… We can help people enjoy all our content – from movies to music and games – through our many devices, in a way no one else can.”

Ericsson and Sony have a webcast scheduled for 6pm (Japan Standard Time) on Ericsson’s Investor Relations page.

Xperia Play at 2011 Tokyo Game Show

Sony said in a blog post today saying that it had detected attempts to test ‘a massive set of sign-in IDs and passwords’ on its SEN, PSN, and SOE services. Philip Reitinger, the company’s chief security officer, pointed out that less that a tenth of a percent of users may have been affected.

That number is still pretty high in our book, as approximately 93,000 attempted sign-ins were successful. Those accounts have been temporarily locked, and Sony is reviewing them for unauthorized access. It is also requiring secure password resets and notifying users via email if they are among those affected.

Sony assures in its statement that credit card numbers associated with those accounts are not at risk.

As readers undoubtedly recall, Sony’s Playstation Network was subject to a massive security breach back in April that affected approximately 77 million online accounts.

Today was not an especially good day for Sony, as it also had to recall 1.6 million Bravia TV sets because of a fire risk.

[Via Techcrunch]

Sony's Tablet S will be on display at CEATEC

CEATEC is all set to begin tomorrow in Tokyo. But as you may have noticed from many of our previous posts, many exhibitors have already tipped their hand to show what they have in store this year.

Docomo held an event back on September 21st to give a preview of many of the things we can expect to see there, including an assortment of smartphone jackets (they had ones for detecting radiation ones UV light, for example).

KDDI and Kyocera have their new speaker system to demo at the event as well. And Sony published its booth overview today, which is said to include its recent S and P Series tablets, as well as its curious 3D OLED headgear.

Considering that Apple’s iPhone event is also set for tomorrow (though a little later with the time difference), much of the press that exhibitors are hoping for will likely be buried under iPhone 5 news. Maybe tipping your hand early is a wise idea. Nonetheless, I’m still looking forward to a fun exhibition. I’m not sure how many surprises there will be, but there’s bound to be more than a few things that I’ve not seen first hand before.

If any of our readers will be visiting CEATEC, be sure to drop me a line.

Sony Tablet S in Tokyo earlier this month

We told you earlier today about Apple’s 3G iPad 2 going on sale to a lukewarm reception in China. But it’s not the only new arrival in the Middle Kingdom this week, and Sony’s Tablet S went on sale in the country today.

We attended Sony’s recent press conference in Tokyo showing off the Tablet S, as well as its more portable sibling, the Tablet P. The Wi-Fi version of the Tablet S (formerly referred to as the S1 tablet) is now on sale in selected outlet stores and online.

The 16 gigabyte version is priced at 3688 RMB (about $577), while the 32 gigabyte version is 4,488 RMB (about $700). According to the Sony China announcement, leather cases are also available, priced at 699 RMB ($110).

No word yet on when the 3G versions might be made available, or whether the Sony’s dual screen folding tablet, the Tablet P, will be sold anytime soon.

[Via Marbridge]

This morning in Tokyo, I dropped in on Sony’s press conference where it was showing off its upcoming pair of Android tablets. It was announced that the new tablets, which are both 3G and Wi-Fi capable, would run on the Docomo network. Previously referred to as the S1 and S2, the devices are dubbed the Tablet S and Tablet P.

The larger, more conventional model is the 9.4-inch Tablet S, which from the front looks like a regular tablet, but when viewed from the side it reveals a unique tapered profile. When trying it out, it did feel pretty nice in my hands allowing for a slightly more comfortable grip that other tablet alternatives.

The Tablet S’s little brother is a little freaky, attempting to nail down the dual-screen tablet concept (remember the Kyocera Echo?) with a 5.5-inch display. If the VAIO Type P died and came back in tablet form, this might be it. It’s equally pocketable, although I found that the size resulted in virtual keyboard that was just a little too small for two hands and a little too big for thumb typing. I thought I would like the on-screen gaming buttons on the smaller form factor, but oddly, I didn’t. It just felt icky…

Does Sony have a shot at being crowned the second best tablet behind the iPad? I don’t think they’re anywhere near Samsung’s Galaxy Tab yet. The Sony flavor of Android feels quite limited to me.

For more information on both devices, check out the full specifications below.

31 companies including members of The Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) filed a class-action lawsuit against Tokyo-based TubeFire.com on August 19th claiming that the service violates copyright law by enabling its users to copy and convert YouTube videos.

According to the RIAJ website, the companies filing the lawsuit are*

The amazing part is that the group is claiming 230 million yen (or $3 million), figuring that this is the amount that they would have earned if TubeFire had licensed the music videos believed to have been transferred. That’s a pretty hefty sum of money to try to pry from a small-time video conversion site. But as is so often the case with record companies reluctant to adjust to the digital age, if you can’t innovate, you litigate.

Currently displaying on the TubeFire domain is a notice explaining that the shutdown came about as a result of the legal action, and that it tried its best not to infringe copyright.

Notice on Tubefire.com

For users who will miss TubeFire now that it’s down, you can always just type ‘pwn’ before ‘youtube’ in the URL, and you’ll be presented with a number of download options.

Readers may recall earlier this summer when Japanese company Media Interactive Inc reported Lady Gaga as a copyright infringer for uploading a video of her own performance in Japan. Her YouTube channel was subsequently taken down as a result, but since then has been restored.

[Source: Torrent Freak, *List of companies machine translated]

The power consumption has also improved, with a 200W rating that’s 30W lower than previous models. The console has dropped a little weight in its old age too, slimming down to 2.6 kilograms from 3 kilograms. Pricing remains the same at 34,980 yen.

The PS3 was first released back in November of 2006, which means it’s approaching it’s five-year anniversary at the end of this year. It’s competitors, Nintendo’s Wii and Microsoft’s Xbox have both refreshed their respective consoles (or in Nintendo’s case, announced an upcoming refresh), leading many to speculate that a PlayStation 4 might be on the way. But with an iterative upgrade like this one, it doesn’t look like we’ll be seeing a new console line from the company anytime soon.

Sony, of course, has been making news headlines in recent months after its PlayStation Network was hacked in one of the worst online security breaches on record.

Japan console sales, week ended June 12 (data from gamasutra.com)

[Sony via Andria Sang, data from Gamasutra]

It’s a threat (referring to malicious hacking), not just to Sony or a couple of other companies, but to the very fabric of society. Therefore it requires individuals and companies to be very vigilant, which goes without saying, and we need help from various government, various enforcement agencies and legislation in certain instances as well. And this needs to be a worldwide effort.

Bow like you mean it: Hirai's recent deflections show a reluctance to own the problem

Hirai is not wrong, of course. Cyber attacks are something that we all need to be conscious about, especially in the corporate world. But deflecting the issue to frame it as one faced by “not just Sony” but by “pretty much everyone” — well, that’s not cool. Even if it is everyone’s problem.

Likewise a war of words with hackers is not in Sony’s best interests. Yesterday when Sony Pictures contradicted hacker group LulzSec’s claims that it compromised the information of one million users, saying that only 37,500 users may have been affected — well, I have to wonder if that statement does more harm than good.

Sony needs to be more aware of its lack of “moral capital” and speak very softly and carefully when discussing this issue. Apparently it makes a big difference if hackers think you’re one of the ‘good guys.’

When all is said and done, I think few would argue that corporations (like Sony) who are lax about handling the public’s sensitive information are just as much a threat to society as malicious hackers are.

We have been conducting additional testing and further security verification of our commerce functions in order to bring the PlayStation Network completely back online so that our fans can again enjoy the first class entertainment experience they have come to love.

But love is the one thing Sony appears to be lacking right now. While I can’t presume to know what motivates anyone to hack a Sony website, I suspect that the company’s lawsuit against George Hotz didn’t help. Hotz is a 21 year-old American hacker who figured out how to jailbreak the PS3 and then posted it to his website. The subsequent legal action taken by Sony may have resulted in a lack of “moral capital” for the company, plus a pervading opinion in some circles that Sony deserves to be hacked.

That certainly appears to be the case because even now, because after multiple hacks on its web properties around the world hackers are still eyeing Sony as a potential target. The group responsible for the PBS hack this past weekend, Lulzsec, has stated on Twitter that that this is “the beginning of the end for Sony.”

Photo: Times Colonist

And just in the last few days there have been more hacks upon Sony web properties, including its Thai site and its BMG Greece music site which have been compromised. All this in the wake of the initial breach of the PlayStation Network that affects over 100 million online accounts.

News of all the Sony hacks have been tricky to keep up with. But here’s a good timeline of most of them below, up until May 16.

[Graphic from creditcardfinder]

The business of collecting user data continues to be a very dangerous one, as news today tells of Google in hot water with South Korean police on the suspicion that it unlawfully collected users’ location data.

The controversy centers on AdMob, Google’s mobile advertising network, as one South Korean police official explained:

“We suspect AdMob collected personal location information without consent or approval from the Korean Communication Commission.”

This incident comes in the wake of two other prominent incidents regarding mishandled user data. Last month Apple came under fire after it was discovered that it was collecting user location data. Sony suffered an attack on its PlayStation Network resulting in the theft of confidential customer data. And there’s further news today that Sony Online Entertainment may have been hacked as well.

Google has grappled with user privacy concerns many times in the past, with services such as Street View (particularly in Germany), and during launch of Google Buzz last year.

Photo: artuji

The latest in internet television technology is moving into Indonesia as three major brands, Sony, LG, and Samsung, are now racing to market their online TV products in the country.

Sony has launched 23 models of Sony Bravia TV and 15 of them are internet TVs. With remote control and a qwerty keyboard, Sony Internet TV delivers traditional the television experience but you also can browse various websites, surf social media sites, and even make video calls.

Meanwhile LG is presenting the Infinia TV series and is working with some news sites like Detik.com, Kaskus.us, and Liputan6.com to bring news via internet TV.

And Samsung is launching its Smart TV in cooperation with the Antara and Jakarta’s traffic management center, TMC, for presenting the latest news. Smart TV can be associated with any Samsung devices in your home with a wireless connection.

Yoo-Young Kim, managing director of Samsung Electronics Indonesia, said that Indonesian people are now more sophisticated and prepared to accept the presence of multi-featured internet TV. He said, “I think the Internet TVs are only the beginning of the rise of the digital era.”

This certainly looks like an accurate assessment, especially when we see the development of the digital technologies, especially in Indonesia moving so fast.

Via Jakarta Globe

To go along with the declining sales there’s a corresponding decline in price according to price-aggregator website Kakaku.com (see below). One retailer today was seen selling the 3DS at a paltry 19800 yen.

Things could very well pick up for Nintendo as more 3DS titles are released, but from purely a consumer’s perspective it’s great to see how far the price has dropped since the console was released early this year.

This technology is supposedly built to help you navigate through social sites and web applications like Facebook, Twitter and Picasa, and to perform web search in a breeze, all while watching your favorite TV programs.

Though it is true that this service isn’t something new, Google TV plans to differentiate itself through its open TV platform. This would not only maximize software developers’ creativity but also open up new windows of opportunities; probably an identical path Apple took when the iPhone was first launched.

Frequent online video viewers would also welcome this. YouTube and Hulu are both available through this new Google TV platform, where viewers have the luxury of both the large screen and web freedom. If Google TV catches on, it could boost the fame of current YouTube celebrities (like Shane Dawson and iJustine) to a higher level. We could even expect to see user generated drama TV shows!

Google Ads on your TV

Like any other Google products, the Google TV is introduced to provide value to consumers. In exchange, consumers should be prepared to get bombarded with ads. That is just the way Google does business. With both our online and TV behavior data, ads would be more targeted and effective than ever before.

Would you mind?

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Image via listsoplenty

While Twitter might suggest otherwise, the aggregated online buzz (blogs, message boards and online communities) doesn’t lie.

Apple, on the other hand, made it to 4th position.

Due to the recession, discount oriented stores like Walmart, Target and Amazon, all made it to the list.

The buzz rating is calculated by a formula that weighs a variety of different factors on a given subject, including overall volume of online posts, and the positivity tone of those posts.

Zeta Interactive CEO Al DiGuido commented:

“Google displaced Microsoft as the lead last year, but this year, the tech giant took the No. 1 spot due to aggressive advertising. These marketing efforts include the “Laptop Hunters” ad from agency Crispin, Porter + Bogusky, and a major push ahead of its Bing search engine debut. Bloggers often used terms such as “easy,” “efficient” and “better” in their online discussions about Microsoft.”

#10. Walmart

Despite being last on the list, consumers are probably more satisfied with Walmart than with Target or Amazon.

#9. Nike

Nike’s Facebook page might be less successful than Adidas’ but overall, it still emerges as the winner in terms of online popularity. The sport apparel brand uses blogs, Facebook and Twitter intensively; showing other brands what thought leadership and solid content can do in today’s online age.

#8. BlackBerry

BlackBerry has the highest positive tone rating. Despite facing intense pressure from Apple’s iPhone, it is still considered the best business phone (at least in my opinion).

#7. Sony

Sony has the lowest positive tone rating amongst the top 10 brands listed. Even if its intensive marketing campaign managed to push it rather high up on the list, it should certainly start taking note of what people are saying about it.

#6. Honda

Being the only automobile company on the list tells us something about Honda – it has used the web pretty well to get consumers’ attention, especially in times of recession. The commercial that cost them $6.2 million 2 years back rocked the world. I wouldn’t say the same for its product manager, who was caught astroturfing.

#5. Target

Its numerous Twitter pages are all about discounts and new offers. That could explain how it attracted over 650,000 fans on Facebook as well. But it seems like its holiday commercials aren’t that well-liked this season.

#4. Apple

Apple is undoubtedly tweeps’ favorite. It has become a routine for ‘iPhone’ and ‘Apple’ to make it on Twitter’s trending topics. New product launches, speculations, holiday discounts, lawsuits and Steve Jobs keep the buzz alive.

iTunes has also been featured as one of the top 25 Facebook pages, with more than a million fans.

#3 Amazon.com

Amazon’s $850 million acquisition of Zappos was big news in the online world this year. Besides that, the online retail giant has also created multiple Twitter accounts for different deals and services. Another most talked about topic revolving Amazon would be its e-book reader, Kindle.

#2 Google

Google’s ever changing logo is bloggers’ favorite topic. Its UFO doodle, for example, has caused a stir as all that was given were hints to why there was a logo redesign. Google has also created great presence on Twitter, with multiple Twitter pages that cater to different consumer needs.

#1 Microsoft

Aggressive online and offline marketing is the core reason why Microsoft is on the number 1 spot this year. Its Windows 7′s launch was huge business despite Apple’s mockery. It has a Twitter page of over 35,000 followers and a Facebook page of over 70,000 fans. Not very impressive numbers for a big brand like Microsoft, but I guess its the buzz that matters. Congrats!

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