Sony Game Center

Sony was born in the 1940's originally having the name Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo K.K. In the 1950's Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo K.K. set out to find a new name with which to market itself. A lot of thought went into the decision and the name Sony was settled on in part because it was a word that never previously existed in any language. The result over the years has been a highly recognizable brand name that is not easily mistaken for anyone else.

Compared to NEC, which was born in 1898, or the even older Nintendo whose history begins in 1889, Sony is just a baby. If there is one thing to learn from Sony's history it is that older doesn't always mean more successful. In its comparatively brief life Sony has grown to become a goliath in the world of electronics, music and entertainment. A few of its many sub-brands are Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment, Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Ericsson.

A late comer to the gaming market as well, Sony released its first video game console in 1994. Oddly enough, Sony's venture into video game systems may never have happened had it not been for a contract-gone-bad between Sony and Nintendo. Nintendo had contracted Sony to create a CD-ROM add-on for the SNES then backed out choosing to work with Philips instead.

Ironically by backing out of a the deal, Nintendo essentially created one of its most staunch competitors because rather than scrub all they work they had done for Nintendo, Sony opted to use what they had worked on as part of a new video game system to be sold under their own brand. You know it as the PlayStation. The PlayStation has gone on to sell over 100 million systems since its launch in 1994.

Sony Video

Sony Resources

• Sony's official corporate website
• Sony's page on Wikipedia