Sony Corporation of America[1] (SONAM,[3] also known as SCA) is the American arm of Japanese multinational conglomerate Sony Group Corporation.[4] Headquartered in New York City, the company manages Sony's business in the United States.[5]
It was reported in December 2016 by multiple news outlets that Sony was considering restructuring its U.S. operations by merging its television and film business, Sony Pictures Entertainment, with its gaming business, Sony Interactive Entertainment. According to the reports, such a restructuring would have placed Sony Pictures under Sony Interactive's then CEO, Andrew House, though he would not have assumed day-to-day operations of the film studio.[6][7][8] According to one report, Sony was set to make a final decision on the possibility of the merger of the television, film and gaming businesses by the end of its fiscal year in March of the following year (2017).[6] By January 2020, nothing had materialized.
Sony Group Corporation has been investing in the United States since the 1960s. Sony has made significant investments in various industries and has established a strong presence in the American market.
One of Sony's most notable investments in the US is in the entertainment industry. Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation, is a major player in the American film and television industry. The company produces, finances, and distributes a wide variety of content, including feature films, television shows, and streaming content. Sony Pictures has produced many successful and critically acclaimed movies, such as the Spider-Man and Jumanji franchises, as well as television shows like Breaking Bad and The Blacklist.[9]
In addition to the entertainment industry, Sony has also invested heavily in the gaming industry in the United States. Sony Interactive Entertainment, another subsidiary of Sony Corporation, is the company behind the PlayStation gaming console. The PlayStation has been a major player in the gaming market for decades and has consistently been one of the top-selling gaming consoles in the United States.[10]
Sony has also made investments in the technology and electronics industries in the United States. The company has manufacturing facilities and research and development centers in various states across the country, where they produce a wide range of products, including televisions, cameras, and audio equipment.[11]
Sony Corporation has made significant investments in the United States across multiple industries, including entertainment, gaming, technology, and electronics. The company's subsidiaries, such as Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony Interactive Entertainment, have established a strong presence in the American market and have contributed to the growth of these industries. Sony's investments in the US have been successful and have helped to solidify the company's position as a major player in the global market. Sony is the tenth largest foreign direct investor in the United States, with investments worth more than $90 billion.[12] In 2021, more than half of Sony Corporation's revenue came from companies based in the United States.[13]
Sony Interactive Entertainment headquarters in San Mateo, California
In 2016, Sony moved PlayStation, Sony's biggest brand by revenue, to the United States.[14] The largest acquisition by Sony Corporation was American video game company Bungie for $3.7 billion in 2022.[15] The PlayStation 4 was the most profitable console ever, selling over 117 million units, making it the fourth best-selling console of all time.[16]God of War became one of the 50 best-selling games of all time, selling 23 million units by November 2022.[17] Sony Interactive Entertainment's revenue was $25 billion in 2021. The PS5 became Sony's fastest-selling and most profitable console ever.[18]
Sony Pictures
Sony Pictures Entertainment headquarters in Culver City, California
On November 9, 1989, Sony entered the film industry by acquiring Columbia Pictures for $3.4 billion.[19] Columbia Pictures is considered one of the "Big Five" major American film studios. In 2021, Sony Pictures Entertainment became the highest earning film production company in the United States.
In 1999, Sony acquired the intellectual property (IP) movie rights to Spider-Man from Marvel Entertainment for $7 million.[20] The Spider-Man film franchise has grossed more than $9.8 billion, making it the fifth highest-grossing film franchise in history.[21] In 2021, Spider-Man: No Way Home became the seventh highest-grossing film of all time.[22]
On April 18, 2024, reports surfaced indicating Sony Pictures' interest in acquiring American media company Paramount Global through a joint buyout with Apollo Global Management. In May 2024, Sony Pictures and Apollo made an offer to acquire Paramount Global for $26 billion in cash.[23] The New York Times reported that the board of directors of Paramount Global formally initiated negotiations for the potential sale of the company with Sony and Apollo.[24] If the merger occurs, Sony would become as the third-largest movie company globally, following behind NBCUniversal and The Walt Disney Company, with Sony holding a 20.81% share in the US and Canada markets alone and Paramount Pictures becoming a sibling studio to Columbia Pictures and TriStar Pictures.[25] However, Skydance Media eventually became the emerging winner for the merger of Paramount.
Sony Music
On January 5, 1988, Sony entered the music industry by acquiring Sony Music (formerly CBS Records) for $2 Billion. With the $8.9 billion revenue in 2021, Sony Music Entertainment is the second largest of the "Big Three" record companies, behind Universal Music Group and followed by Warner Music Group.
List of stakes owned by Sony in american companies
In 2022, Sony announced that it will invest more than 1 billion in Epic Games. In total, Sony's total investment in Epic Games is worth 1.45 billion and they own 4.9% of Epic Games.[46]
It is a single internal entity overseeing all wholly owned development studios within SIE. It is responsible for the creative and strategic direction of development and production of all computer entertainment software by all SIE–owned studios, all of which is typically produced exclusively for the PlayStation family of consoles.
With the launch of the PlayStation 5 in 2020, Worldwide Studios brands all releases be it internal or externally developed under the "PlayStation Studios" label.[3]
History
SCE Worldwide Studios (SCE Worldwide Studios) was established on September 14, 2005, with Phil Harrison being appointed as president.[4] On May 16, 2008, Shuhei Yoshida became president.[5] In April 2016, Sony's Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) and Sony Network Entertainment International (SNEI) divisions merged, creating SIE Worldwide Studios.[5] Hermen Hulst succeeded Shuhei Yoshida as president of SIE Worldwide Studios on November 7, 2019, with Yoshida being delegated to lead Sony's indie development.[6]
Naughty Dog is home to the ICE Team, one of Sony's Worldwide Studios central technology groups. The term ICE originally stands for Initiative for a Common Engine which describes the original purpose of the group.[25] The ICE Team focuses on creating core graphics technologies for Sony's worldwide first party published titles, including low-level game engine components, graphics processing pipelines, supporting tools, and graphics profiling and debugging tools. The ICE Team also supports third party developers with a suite of engine components, and a graphics analysis, profiling, and debugging tool for the RSX. Both enable developers to get better performance out of PlayStation hardware.[26][27]
XDev
XDev Europe, established in 2000 and based in Liverpool, England,[7] collaborates with independent development studios across Europe and other PAL territories to publish content to PlayStation platforms all over the world. XDev has helped to create and publish, titles such as the LittleBigPlanet, Buzz!, MotorStorm and Invizimals series, Super Stardust HD, Heavenly Sword, Heavy Rain, Beyond, Tearaway and Resogun. Partners include independent developers such as Quantic Dream, Magenta Software, Climax Studios, Novarama, Supermassive Games and Sumo Digital, as well as SCE subsidiaries such as Media Molecule and Guerrilla Games. In addition to funding projects, XDev offer full production, project management and game design support. Titles are also supported with community management, online production and dedicated outsourcing management facilities. XDev work directly with Marketing and PR teams in all Sony territories to promote and publish games worldwide.[28][29]