"One Sony" is the new mantra for getting the firm out of financial difficulty, says House
Andrew House, head of Sony's global games division, has said the PlayStation brand can help Sony financially recover, and boost the firm after reporting an annual record annual loss of £3.6 billion in May.
Speaking with CVG, House said while there is a "heightened sense of concern and urgency in the company," over the financial situation, Sony CEO Kaz Hirai has forced the team to think about said urgency, and the team at Sony is now focused on working extremely hard at getting things back in order.
"Gone are the days when individual divisions' concerns would somehow overreach the major challenges of the organisation overall," said House. "On the positive side, there's a tremendous sense of teamwork and a sense of shared objective, which is to turn around the situation we have right now. And I think we benefit from some very strong clarity from Kaz, both internally and externally, and with the same message to both.
"'One Sony' is the mantra: it's about pulling together the resources of the company in the best way possible, and with no fiefdoms and no infighting to be tolerated. There's a sense that Kaz is a change-agent: he has absolutely set out his mantra that Sony will change and he will change Sony."
House said the Sony Computer Entertainment division benefits due to its profitability in the firm, by making a strong contribution to the financial situation.
"We feel very strongly that the area of networked and interactive entertainment is one of very strong potential growth," he said. "That was reinforced when, as part of his very first strategy briefing, Kaz was very clear about three core areas of the business which he felt were critical to growing Sony's presence overall. We're fortunate enough to be one of those core businesses.
"That comes with pressure, obviously, in terms of being able to deliver, but we're in a spot where we are making a profitable contribution, and there are opportunities for us to invest in the future."
It was announced today that Hirai has stepped aside from his role as representative director and chairman on the SCE board in order to focus more on the company as a whole.
Hirai became CEO and president of the Sony Corporation on April 1.