“If ever there was a company that could challenge Apple Computer for the dominant position in the still-young digital music space, it should be Sony,” Arik Hesseldahl writes for Forbes. “And yet, it isn’t. Despite the strength of its now decades-old Walkman brand, Sony’s various moves into the digital music player market and online music sales have come in fits and starts with little notable success. Sony’s online music channel, Sony Connect, accounts for only a modest bite of the overall music download market, compared to 70% or more (depending on whom you ask) for Apple’s iTunes Music Store.”
Hesseldahl writes, “But, Sony is mounting a new attack from an unlikely direction: video games. Sony’s forthcoming Playstation Portable (PSP)–a handheld gaming platform–will be primarily a gaming device. But, its use of a new Sony-created storage disc format–the Universal Media Disc, which stores nearly two gigabytes–can’t help but become an easy method for selling music. The plan, says Andrew House, executive vice president of Sony Computer Entertainment America, is to get the device in consumers’ hands primarily as a gaming device and then use it to market music and video.”
Full article here.