Sony is 'here to play' with gamer-focused Xperia Z4v phone

The Sony Xperia Z4v is a Verizon Wireless exclusive smartphone.Sony

If at first you don't succeed with the gamer crowd, try, try again.

That's the attitude Sony's mobile division is taking with the Xperia Z4v, a variant of its latest flagship smartphone tweaked exclusively for Verizon Wireless. Sony will once again tout the ability to stream and remotely play PlayStation 4 games as a key selling point as it looks to break into the US smartphone market.

The announcement of the Z4v comes just a day after Sony made a splash with its presentation at the E3video game confab on Monday. Sony hopes some of the excitement generated by the PlayStation will trickle down to its mobile sibling -- its Xperiz Z3v smartphone will be highlighted at the Sony booth.

Sony

Sony could use all the help that it can get. While the latest Z4v offers up the usual bells and whistles of a flagship smartphone, from a super sharp display to an enhanced 20.7-megapixel shooter, the company continues to lag well behind its competitors in awareness. It doesn't matter how good of a smartphone you produce if no one knows about it.

"Most US consumers either don't know or don't care that Sony makes phones," said Avi Greengart, who covers consumer electronics for Current Analysis.

Sony's mobile prospects were so dim that some speculated that the Japanese conglomerate would shed the business altogether. Sony CEO Kaz Hirai had to reaffirm his company's commitment to the business at Mobile World Congress in March.

"Sony Mobile is here to play and here to stay," said Ravi Nookala, president of Sony's US mobile unit.

Despite the affirmation, the company's mobile division continues to struggle. In the fiscal year ended March 31, the unit lost $1.84 billion despite an 11 percent increase in revenue.

Dovetailing behind PlayStation

Sony attempted to generate some buzz last year by tying its Xperia Z3v (also a Verizon exclusive) with some PlayStation news. This year, it's trying to accomplish the same by announcing the phone in the middle of E3.

The Xperia Z4v will be "hyper targeted" toward gamers and specifically the PlayStation faithful, according to Don Mesa, senior director for marketing for Sony Mobile who previously worked on the PlayStation marketing team dealing with game titles such as God of War.

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Sony will be working hard to have a dialogue with PlayStation users about the direct benefits of the Xperia Z4v, he said, which also includes its trademark waterproof body.

Beyond the consumer, another goal is to cement Sony's relationship with Verizon Wireless, the nation's largest wireless carrier. For Verizon, Sony opted to add wireless charging, a larger battery and a WQHD display with 570 pixels per inch to the original Z4, the result being a slightly thicker device.

Sony's decision to sell the Xperia Z4v as an exclusive to Verizon flies in the face of other handset manufacturers that sell their flagship devices across all carriers, but Nookala said he is focusing on building up the relationships one carrier at a time. He added he was in talks with the other carriers to get more Sony smartphones to the US market.

Verizon wasn't available to comment on the Xperia Z4v.

Tailored for the US

For the first time, Sony created a campaign that specifically targets US customers rather than rely on a more global message, Nookala said. The central theme is the "freedom to play," tying back to its remote gaming capabilities.

Sony Pictures' James Bond will play a role in future Xperia marketing.MGM

The campaign won't be a short run, Nookala added, noting that it would run throughout the year and take advantage of different Sony-owned media like the Foo Fighters concert and the next James Bond film to drum up attention for Sony's mobile presence.

Sony also appears to be more proactive in educating the retail staff on the virtues of the product. Mesa, for instance, was brought in to change the conversation to the consumer benefits of the phone rather than listing out a collection of features.

"In the US, getting the carrier retail guys to buy into what you are selling is a very important ingredients to driving sales," said Carolina Milanesi, an analyst at Kantar Worldpanel.

It's unclear how much marketing and retail support Verizon will provide to the Xperia Z4v. Beyond better known flagships such as the iPhone 6 and Galaxy S6, there's Verizon's exclusive Droid franchise of smartphones from Motorola. As such, the responsibility to drive awareness will be on Sony's shoulders.

For Sony, that's a daunting task, even if you have a secret agent and rock band at your beck and call.

Sony focuses on gaming with new phone

The Sony Xperia Z4v is a Verizon Wireless exclusive smartphone.Sony

If at first you don't succeed with the gamer crowd, try, try again.

That's the attitude Sony's mobile division is taking with the Xperia Z4v, a variant of its latest flagship smartphone tweaked exclusively for Verizon Wireless. Sony will once again tout the ability to stream and remotely play PlayStation 4 games as a key selling point as it looks to break into the US smartphone market.

The announcement of the Z4v comes just a day after Sony made a splash with its presentation at the E3video game confab on Monday. Sony hopes some of the excitement generated by the PlayStation will trickle down to its mobile sibling -- its Xperiz Z3v smartphone will be highlighted at the Sony booth.

Sony

Sony could use all the help that it can get. While the latest Z4v offers up the usual bells and whistles of a flagship smartphone, from a super sharp display to an enhanced 20.7-megapixel shooter, the company continues to lag well behind its competitors in awareness. It doesn't matter how good of a smartphone you produce if no one knows about it.

"Most US consumers either don't know or don't care that Sony makes phones," said Avi Greengart, who covers consumer electronics for Current Analysis.

Sony's mobile prospects were so dim that some speculated that the Japanese conglomerate would shed the business altogether. Sony CEO Kaz Hirai had to reaffirm his company's commitment to the business at Mobile World Congress in March.

"Sony Mobile is here to play and here to stay," said Ravi Nookala, president of Sony's US mobile unit.

Despite the affirmation, the company's mobile division continues to struggle. In the fiscal year ended March 31, the unit lost $1.84 billion despite an 11 percent increase in revenue.

Dovetailing behind PlayStation

Sony attempted to generate some buzz last year by tying its Xperia Z3v (also a Verizon exclusive) with some PlayStation news. This year, it's trying to accomplish the same by announcing the phone in the middle of E3.

The Xperia Z4v will be "hyper targeted" toward gamers and specifically the PlayStation faithful, according to Don Mesa, senior director for marketing for Sony Mobile who previously worked on the PlayStation marketing team dealing with game titles such as God of War.

THE ONLY ON PLAYSTATION GAMES AT E3 2015SEE FULL GALLERY

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Sony will be working hard to have a dialogue with PlayStation users about the direct benefits of the Xperia Z4v, he said, which also includes its trademark waterproof body.

Beyond the consumer, another goal is to cement Sony's relationship with Verizon Wireless, the nation's largest wireless carrier. For Verizon, Sony opted to add wireless charging, a larger battery and a WQHD display with 570 pixels per inch to the original Z4, the result being a slightly thicker device.

Sony's decision to sell the Xperia Z4v as an exclusive to Verizon flies in the face of other handset manufacturers that sell their flagship devices across all carriers, but Nookala said he is focusing on building up the relationships one carrier at a time. He added he was in talks with the other carriers to get more Sony smartphones to the US market.

Verizon wasn't available to comment on the Xperia Z4v.

Tailored for the US

For the first time, Sony created a campaign that specifically targets US customers rather than rely on a more global message, Nookala said. The central theme is the "freedom to play," tying back to its remote gaming capabilities.

Sony Pictures' James Bond will play a role in future Xperia marketing.MGM

The campaign won't be a short run, Nookala added, noting that it would run throughout the year and take advantage of different Sony-owned media like the Foo Fighters concert and the next James Bond film to drum up attention for Sony's mobile presence.

Sony also appears to be more proactive in educating the retail staff on the virtues of the product. Mesa, for instance, was brought in to change the conversation to the consumer benefits of the phone rather than listing out a collection of features.

"In the US, getting the carrier retail guys to buy into what you are selling is a very important ingredients to driving sales," said Carolina Milanesi, an analyst at Kantar Worldpanel.

It's unclear how much marketing and retail support Verizon will provide to the Xperia Z4v. Beyond better known flagships such as the iPhone 6 and Galaxy S6, there's Verizon's exclusive Droid franchise of smartphones from Motorola. As such, the responsibility to drive awareness will be on Sony's shoulders.

For Sony, that's a daunting task, even if you have a secret agent and rock band at your beck and call.

Sony Buys OnLive Cloud Gaming Service and Shuts It Down

For a brief, shining moment, OnLive was the leader in cloud-based game streaming. At the end of this month, the service will be but a distant memory.

Sony has officially purchased the company that effectively put game streaming on the map, taking control of all assets and shutting it down. OnLive will cease operations on April 30.

Any existing OnLive subscriptions renewed or purchased after March 28 will be refunded. Subscribers who bought games through OnLive will still have access to those titles on Steam.

This is effectively the second time OnLive has been shuttered. In 2012, the company underwent a major restructuring, in which it abruptly terminated most of its employees after company founder Steve Perlman failed to raise much-needed capital. (Perlman would soon leave the company.) Stories soon emerged that the company had just 1,600 concurrent users.

OnLive’s 2012 problems came right after Sony had bought its chief rival, Gaikai, whose technology went on to power Sony’s own cloud-based game streaming service, PlayStation Now.

While Thursday night’s announcement of the OnLive purchase and shutdown might make it seem as if Sony is simply eliminating a rival, there’s another way to look at this. Sony may very well be doubling down on streaming with an eye to the future.

OnLive didn’t have the customers, but its technology was considered ahead of its time. The purchase gives Sony control of all OnLive’s patents, preventing Microsoft, Apple, or any other competitor from using them to create a competing Netflix-like all-you-can-play service.

“These strategic purchases open up great opportunities for our gamers, and give Sony a formidable patent portfolio in cloud gaming,” said SCEA VP Philip Rosenberg. “It is yet another proof point that demonstrates our commitment to changing the way gamers experience the world of PlayStation.”

PlayStation Now is something of a hot mess right now. The prices aren’t quite at the sweet spot ($15 to $20 per month, versus $10 to $15). The software selection is limited, and the games on offer aren’t the classics most PlayStation fans are hoping to play.

But at this point, the service doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s very much an experiment. The escalation of broadband speeds and the changing whims of players could make cloud-based game streaming a significant revenue source for consoles in the years to come. And now Sony has a lock on the early patents in the space. That’s a good place to be.

Sony’s certainly not the only game company exploring cloud-streaming technology. Nvidia has put great effort into its game-streaming Grid technology in the past few months, even making it a key component of its revealed Nvidia Shield console.

Sony launches PlayStation Vue as bigger, pricier Internet TV

Sony on Wednesday launched its PlayStation Vue, an Internet TV service accessible -- for now -- just through its gaming console and only in New York, Philadelphia and Chicago. The entry-level price is $49.99 a month.

PlayStation Vue, which is offering 7-day free trials, is the latest in a series of "over-the-top" TV services to hit the Web in recent months, after the television industry for years hemmed in options that diverged from the traditional cable or satellite bundles of channels. Warming to such services shows how networks and TV providers have recognized the long-term importance of appealing to a "cord cutter" -- someone who forsakes a traditional pay-TV for Internet-based video

But Vue, with its relatively high $50 price for its basic tier of service, will test whether Internet television can win adherents based not on significant price savings but on the new merits of a Web-based system. Paying for Vue in addition to paying an Internet service provider creates a total cost that approaches what a consumer might pay for both video and Internet from a cable company. Vue will also indicate how much the PlayStation base of users is interested in entertainment coming all through one source.

Sony said it is introducing Vue as an entertainment solution for households that already have the company's PlayStation 3 and 4 gaming consoles. The PlayStation user, by and large, is typically male, aged 18 to 39.

"That gamer household is something we've defined even further," said Daniel Myers, Vue's head of product. "Lots of people use these platforms to consume Netflix and other digital media. The household is bigger than just the guy who bought the PlayStation."

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Vue streams live, on-demand and DVR TV over the Internet. The company has an iPad application in the works. PlayStation gaming consoles are among the most common devices used to stream video from the Internet to a TV. Sony has an installed base of 35 million PlayStations, PS3 and PS4 combined, in the US.

Myers said Vue will add more device support "in the mobile space and the TV-connected space," referring to handhelds and other boxes along the lines of a Roku or Chromecast, without specifying devices. Though Vue is limited for now to New York, Chicago and Philadelphia, he said Sony will add more US cities later this year.

Notable Vue absentees: Disney's ABC broadcast network and its all-important king of cable sports, ESPN. It also lacks premium channels like HBO or Showtime.Vue's collection of channels is a mix of local and regional networks, broadcast staples and cable options. It includes broadcasters CBS, NBC and Fox, as well as many of those companies related channels, such as Fox's Fox News and NBCUniversal's Bravo and SyFy. It also includes networks from Discovery, Scripps, Turner and Viacom. AMC channels -- including the namesake network that is home to "The Walking Dead," television's top-rated scripted series -- will be added to the service next month. My colleague David Katzmaier has written up a full listing of the channels and a comparison to rival service Sling TV from Dish.

For an additional $10, subscribers can add local sports channels. New York gets the YES Network for Yankees games, and Philadelphia and Chicago get Comcast SportsNet for those cities. And for yet another $10, subscribers get more niche lifestyle, music and family channels.

One of the major differences between Vue and rival Sling TV, which launched last month as the first true Internet multichannel live-TV service, is that Vue includes DVR and on-demand capabilities. Once viewers tag a favorite show using the DVR feature, they will automatically have access to recorded episodes of that show for 28 days, without storage size or scheduling restrictions. The previous three days of much programming is available on demand without the need to schedule recordings.

Another major difference is price. Vue's entry price is $50 a month; Sling TV's cheapest option is $20 a month.

Vue's higher price point raises the question about whether its differences from cable and satellite norms -- such as not locking in customers with contracts, unwavering rates, the ability to search for TV in a more robust and intuitive way than the gridlike guide -- will hold sufficient attraction for people to compensate for having fewer channels than cable for not much less money, when the cost of Internet service is added.

Myers said that the way Vue serves up TV will make customers feel like they're getting more than they did before because of features that make it easier to find and get what they like to watch.

"There's been a lot of great TV made recently, and a lot of great TV in general, that people can't find. It's about the mechanism by which you can make it available," he said. "How can you make it more about what I want to watch and less about what's on at that given time?"

PlayStation Vue is Sony's response to that question. But Vue raises another: Will people pay top dollar for it? And that's a plot -- borrowing from the land of TV -- that is to be continued.