Sony's Strategic Direction: "Creation Shift"

Yoshida opened the meeting by highlighting the company's Purpose to "fill the world with emotion, through the power of creativity and technology." He emphasized that Sony's mission is to create Kando and deliver it to the world in collaboration with its partners. He then reflected on the company's current focus on entertainment businesses, such as games, music, and pictures.

Yoshida further explained that Sony is shifting its focus towards creation side in each business layers - content, products & services, and CMOS image sensors - to create Kando together with creators. He then outlined the investments and initiatives undertaken in each of these areas.

Focusing on Real-Time Creation for Future Growth

Yoshida stated that the key to further growth in the above three areas is to focus on creation technologies such as CMOS image sensors and game engines with "real-time" as the keyword.

He also mentioned that Sony has invested 1.5 trillion yen in CMOS image sensor facilities over the past six years, and their products for creators are contributing to capturing moments of Kando. The Alpha 9 III mirrorless camera is widely used in sports journalism, and the VENICE digital cinema camera series is a staple in the film industry. The technology behind these sensors is also used to verify the authenticity of images and 3D subjects captured by cameras.

Regarding game engines, Yoshida noted that Unreal Engine developed by Epic Games in which Sony has invested,is being used for visual content creation beyond gaming. He highlighted how Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is supporting creators through its advanced visualization facility, Torchlight.

Creative Entertainment Vision: The vision for where Sony wants to be in 10 years

Next, Totoki took the stage. He touched on the theme of the 5th Mid-Range Plan, "Beyond the boundaries: Maximize synergies across the Group" and stated that Sony would continue to focus on maximizing the value of its intellectual property (IP) across the Group going forward. He then unveiled "Creative Entertainment Vision," the long-term vision for where Sony wants to be in 10 years.

"Based around our Purpose as a pillar, I wanted to plot out concrete, visualizable goals, together with a more specific timeframe, so for more than two years I engaged in discussions with our diverse colleagues across the Sony Group, focusing mainly on the generation that will lead Sony into the future.
This is a visual representation of the Sony Group's long-term vision, projecting social changes and technological evolution over the next 10 years or so."

After sharing the background for creating the long-term vision, Totoki introduced the key message, "Create Infinite Realities", and declared, "Together with creators, we aim to seamlessly connect multi-layered worlds at the point where the physical and the virtual overlap, delivering limitless Kando through the power of creativity and technology."

Current Initiatives Towards the "Creative Entertainment Vision"

Totoki then introduced the ongoing initiatives aimed towards the direction indicated by the "Creative Entertainment Vision": IP creation, cultivation, and "IP360 extension" initiatives which seek to extend IP beyond boundaries.

For IP creation, in the anime field, A-1 Pictures and CloverWorks, production studios and subsidiaries of Aniplex, aim to introduce "AnimeCanvas", a new anime production software currently under development in collaboration with engineers from SMEJ and across the Sony Group on a trial basis within the current fiscal year to improve the production environment, efficiency, and enhancing the quality of output.

Regarding IP cultivation, in the fields of game and pictures, he introduced the track record of establishing PlayStation Productions and working on live-action adaptations of game IPs. He mentioned that they are developing titles such as "Horizon" and "God of War."

Regarding "IP360 extension", he revealed that they will focus on cross-category efforts in Location-Based Entertainment (LBE), which combines IP with various technologies to develop attractions, merchandising, which develops goods that enhance fans' emotional attachment to an IP, and mobility space, where further utilization of entertainment is anticipated.

Building Solutions and Infrastructure for Efficient IP Value Maximization

Totoki also explained the technology platforms that enable creators to engage in these initiatives to maximize the value of their IP in a high-quality and efficient manner. He touched upon Sony's technologies, such as sensing and capturing, real-time 3D processing, as well as AI technologies and machine learning, as one of its strengths. Sony aims to develop solutions that enable IP to be delivered rapidly and at a low cost to a broader range of fans.

Furthermore, to efficiently maximize the value of IP, he introduced that Sony is planning to develop an engagement platform for the Sony Group by extending core functions based on the network infrastructure of PlayStation Network, which has established a robust network service, including accounts, payments, data infrastructure and security, to the growing Crunchyroll service. In the future, the company aim for it to be widely adopted across the entertainment industry as a common platform specialized for fan engagement.

In closing, Totoki reiterated his statement from the previous year, emphasizing that "for Sony to achieve further growth and create value over the long-term, we must also continue to evolve the diversity of our businesses and people."

He concluded the presentation by pointing out the increase of the number of colleagues with specialized expertise, particularly in the entertainment businesses, and the increase of their ratio of foreign nationals in executive positions and women in management positions year by year. He stated that Sony will continue to steadily maximize the value of IP beyond boundaries, while continuously evolving the diversity of its business and its people to achieve further growth.