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To many gamers, Sony means one thing: PlayStation. However, to the world overall, Sony is bigger than just its gaming division.
Established in 1946, Sony is now a massive company that deals with electronics, entertainment, and much more. While the success of the PlayStation 4 might have made it appear in the gaming world that Sony was on top, it was suffering losses elsewhere.
In 2012, CEO Kaz Hirai took steps to restore Sony. This included cutting jobs, reducing the number of manufacturing sites, and selling or reducing parts that weren’t profitable. Now Sony is on the mend at last, and this is in part due to PlayStation.
Strong sales from the PlayStation 4 boosted the profits of Sony’s gaming division much higher than where it was at during the PlayStation 3 era. This, combined with profits from some of its other divisions, has helped restore the company.
Changes in the gaming world have also contributed to PlayStation’s importance. Sony is entering the virtual reality market with the use of PlayStation VR. While PlayStation VR has been promoted mainly in terms of virtual reality gaming, there are many other uses for virtual reality. For example, NASA has expressed interest in virtual reality.
Sony also introduced PlayStation Vue as a television service for PlayStation users, but is available on other devices and should expand in the future. In this way, PlayStation has contributed to Sony’s overall role in the entertainment world, not just to gaming.
The company’s work with virtual reality and new entertainment options hasn’t reduced the effectiveness its core gaming division, either. PlayStation 4 sales are still strong, and Sony has its upgraded PlayStation 4 Neo planned for the future. If the Neo is a success, the future looks bright for Sony indeed.
Once, PlayStation was just one part of Sony. Today, it’s becoming increasingly central to the company as a whole. PlayStation can’t take full credit for Sony’s current position, but it has definitely helped. Sony has many important divisions, but as it recovers from its losses, the importance of PlayStation is clearer than ever.
