tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/sony-551/articlesSony – The Conversation2023-02-28T16:04:03Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2007782023-02-28T16:04:03Z2023-02-28T16:04:03ZMicrosoft signs 10-year contract to bring Xbox games to Nintendo – here’s what that means for players<p>In a recently <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230222031146/https:/twitter.com/BradSmi/status/1627926790172811264">deleted post</a>, Microsoft’s president, Brad Smith, tweeted the first details of a ten-year deal with Nintendo. </p>
<p>The deal involves plans to bring gaming franchise Call of Duty (COD) and other popular Xbox titles to Nintendo platforms. COD: Modern Warfare 2 was the <a href="https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/modern-warfare-2-overtakes-elden-ring-as-2022s-best-selling-game-in-the-us/">biggest-selling game of 2022</a>, with the series generating over $30 billion (£25 billion) in the 20 years since its first release.</p>
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<p>In an <a href="https://twitter.com/BradSmi/status/1629180356359495680?t=-VQEeL9u772fgPjJ6JFD7A&s=19">updated tweet</a>, Smith added that these new deals are contingent on Microsoft’s planned $69 billion acquisition of the owners of the COD series – Blizzard Entertainment – as well as several popular titles such as World of Warcraft, Overwatch and Starcraft. </p>
<p>There are fears that such a high-level acquisition will cause market stagnation and allow Microsoft to form a monopoly on the gaming industry. The Blizzard acquisition has invoked several anticompetition lawsuits against Microsoft by antitrust authorities in the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/microsoft-slash-activision-blizzard-merger-inquiry">UK</a>, <a href="http://www.fosspatents.com/2023/01/european-commission-hands-down.html">Europe</a> and the <a href="https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/the-ftc-sued-microsoft-to-stop-the-eu-accepting-a-settlement-over-activision-deal-its-claimed/">US</a>. </p>
<h2>What could this mean for Nintendo fans?</h2>
<p>Microsoft’s main gaming competitor, Sony, has been vehemently against the Blizzard acquisition and has <a href="https://mezha.media/en/2022/11/24/microsoft-offered-sony-a-10-year-deal-on-call-of-duty-sony-refuses/">refused to sign</a> a similar 10 year COD deal to the one offered to Nintendo. Game developer <a href="https://kotaku.com/microsoft-activision-call-of-duty-nintendo-switch-steam-1849862479">Valve also declined</a> a similar offer from Microsoft for its online gaming platform, Steam, saying a long-term commitment “wasn’t necessary”.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Call of Duty: Ghosts (2013) was the last COD game available to Nintendo players.</span></figcaption>
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<p>The last time Nintendo fans could play COD was back in 2013, with Call of Duty: Ghosts, which was graphically pared down for the Nintendo Wii U console. </p>
<p>Nintendo has been excluded from the franchise for nearly a decade mostly because of <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1097830.pdf">its ethos</a> of using old technology in innovative ways. This has allowed it to produce less powerful but extremely successful consoles aimed at everyone, not just “gamers”.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512688/original/file-20230228-2323-z8f53e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An original Game Boy console in grey with red buttons." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512688/original/file-20230228-2323-z8f53e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512688/original/file-20230228-2323-z8f53e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=812&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512688/original/file-20230228-2323-z8f53e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=812&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512688/original/file-20230228-2323-z8f53e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=812&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512688/original/file-20230228-2323-z8f53e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1020&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512688/original/file-20230228-2323-z8f53e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1020&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512688/original/file-20230228-2323-z8f53e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1020&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The original black and white display Game Boy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-england-05052019-retro-hand-held-1671878158">seeshooteatrepeat/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>For example, its 1980s handheld console, the Game Boy, featured a black and white screen when competitors were championing colour. The resulting cheaper production costs and <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019/04/game-boy-20th-anniversary/">long battery life</a> helped the Game Boy sell more units <a href="https://www.gamegrin.com/articles/the-game-boys-competitors/">during its lifespan</a> than all other competing systems combined managed. </p>
<p>Although an effective strategy, this ethos has made releasing COD for its most recent console, the Nintendo Switch, nearly impossible, as its memory and processing power are much more constrained than modern systems such as the latest Playstation, Xbox and PC hardware.</p>
<p>The new Microsoft deal may be exciting for Nintendo fans, who have been starved of high-fidelity modern gaming for decades. Smith’s tweet describes “feature and content parity” with COD releases for other consoles.</p>
<p>From a technical perspective, there are only two ways this could be feasible. Firstly, they could release COD on the Switch via a game streaming service.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A phone shows the Stadia loading screen, in front of a computer screen with the website log in page." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512441/original/file-20230227-14-kmzf6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512441/original/file-20230227-14-kmzf6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=324&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512441/original/file-20230227-14-kmzf6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=324&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512441/original/file-20230227-14-kmzf6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=324&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512441/original/file-20230227-14-kmzf6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512441/original/file-20230227-14-kmzf6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512441/original/file-20230227-14-kmzf6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Google’s Stadia went offline on January 18 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/montreal-canada-april-6-2020-google-1700292286">dennizn/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Brands such as Google’s Stadia have previously attempted to provide the latest games via streaming to users with low-end machines. Google hosted each game on a network of ultra-high-spec gaming computers and streamed the video and controls remotely to players. This circumvented the need for them to purchase expensive hardware and instead they paid for a monthly subscription service.</p>
<p>Several problems with this concept led to <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/29/23378713/google-stadia-shutting-down-game-streaming-january-2023">Stadia’s closure earlier this year</a>. The most obvious was a lack of high-speed internet infrastructure in the <a href="https://www.comparethemarket.com/broadband/content/global-broadband-index/">UK and the US compared to countries like South Korea</a>. If users cannot access a decent internet connection, they will not be able to consistently stream the HD video needed for an enjoyable gaming experience.</p>
<p>The other issue was latency, the time it takes from the player hitting an input to the result being shown on screen. For many popular titles such as COD, even a few milliseconds delay can adversely affect a player’s chances of winning.</p>
<p>It could be argued that current technology and internet infrastructure cannot support <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230222031146/https:/twitter.com/BradSmi/status/1627926790172811264">Nintendo’s purported</a> “feature and content parity” with COD titles via streaming in western countries. This is, however, subjective to the player. Some more casual gamers may not care about these issues, so long as they are invited to the party.</p>
<p>Another possibility for Nintendo fans is a new COD game that runs directly on their Nintendo hardware. This could be an indicator of a more powerful Nintendo console on the horizon, on par with its competitors. There are already <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2022/10/17/ps5-pro-and-xbox-series-x-mid-gen-upgrades-being-sent-to-devs-rumour-17578463/">rumours of Xbox series X and PlayStation 5 (PS5) upgrades</a> coming soon.</p>
<p>Sony released a pro version of its console with more processing power and improved graphics, approximately halfway through the life cycle of the PS4. As both the PS5 and Xbox Series X are approaching their third birthdays, there is a good chance that Nintendo could pull a new gaming system out of the bag. </p>
<p>That system could be capable of running the latest graphically impressive COD titles – much to the rapture of Nintendo fans.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200778/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Travis Ralph-Donaldson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>There are fears that these high-level acquisitions will cause market stagnation and allow Microsoft to form a monopoly on the gaming industry.Travis Ralph-Donaldson, Lecturer, Faculty of Creative & Cultural Industries, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1785162022-03-09T18:09:49Z2022-03-09T18:09:49ZWhy Apple, Disney, IKEA and hundreds of other Western companies are abandoning Russia with barely a shrug<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450817/original/file-20220308-17181-yumwpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=134%2C239%2C3761%2C2354&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Muscovites rushed to buy furniture and other goods from IKEA before it closed its Russian stores.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/RussiaWarUkraineEconomy/bfef81caccce40939ef2963011fdafb2/photo?Query=russia%20close%20store&mediaType=photo&sortBy=creationdatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=10&currentItemNo=7">AP Photo/Vladimir Kondrashov</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many companies in the U.S. and elsewhere have been quick to sever ties to Russia – going well beyond applying the <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-28/sanctions-imposed-so-far-on-russia-from-the-u-s-eu-and-u-k">sanctions ordered by their governments</a>. </p>
<p>IKEA, Nike and H&M are <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/03/business/ikea-h-and-m-russia/index.html">temporarily closing their Russian stores</a>. Disney, Sony and Warner Bros. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/mar/01/disney-and-warner-bros-pause-film-releases-in-russia-over-ukraine-invasion">paused the release of new films</a> in Russia. Apple, Samsung and Microsoft <a href="https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-microsoft-and-other-tech-companies-stop-sales-in-russia/">stopped selling their products there</a>. McKinsey, Ernst & Young and many other top <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/big-auditors-to-leave-russia-amid-invasion-of-ukraine-11646666419?mod=djemCFO">accounting</a> and <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/6c412673-d65e-4e75-adbb-08146c42387c">consulting firms</a> said they are leaving the Russian market – possibly for good. </p>
<p>In all, <a href="https://som.yale.edu/story/2022/over-200-companies-have-withdrawn-russia-some-remain">over 300 companies have announced plans</a> to close stores, reassign staff or stop selling products in Russia since the invasion began on Feb. 24, 2022, according to a running tally by Yale management professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld. Most recently, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/08/business/mcdonalds-pepsi-coke-russia/index.html">McDonald’s</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/03/08/business/stocks-economy-inflation-ukraine">Starbucks</a> and Coca-Cola joined the list on March 8, 2022, announcing they would close stores and cease sales.</p>
<p>In some ways, these decisions fit in with a <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-corporate-ceos-found-their-political-voice-83127">recent trend in which companies have increasingly staked out</a> public positions on often controversial social and political issues, such as restrictions on trans rights and ability to vote. As <a href="https://business.rice.edu/person/douglas-schuler">business professors</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=k7slUggAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">who study why</a> companies engage in activism, we feel the same factors that have driven those decisions to speak out are at work over Ukraine. </p>
<p>But we also believe Ukraine stands out for one important reason: For many of these companies, it may have been one of the easiest stands they’ve ever taken – even if there is a financial cost.</p>
<h2>Taking a stand</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1177/0022242920937000">Corporate sociopolitical activism</a> – the technical term we use – entails companies making public declarations or taking actions about significant social or political issues that extend beyond their core business. </p>
<p>Until relatively recently, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-corporate-ceos-found-their-political-voice-83127">companies rarely took stands</a> on social or political issues. </p>
<p>That didn’t really change until the 2000s, when LBGTQ rights were under attack and major companies such as <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-walmart-arkansas-analysis-idUSKBN0MT13E20150402">Walmart spoke out</a> against bills that would have allowed discrimination.</p>
<p>Since then, there’s been a <a href="https://qz.com/work/1797058/2020-is-the-year-corporate-activism-and-global-political-risk-converge/">surge in companies taking proactive stands</a> on issues ranging from climate activism and racism to abortion and voting rights. </p>
<p>For example, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis in 2020, hundreds of CEOs <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/11/ceos-unveil-plans-against-racial-inequality-after-george-floyd-death.html">signed a pledge</a> against racial discrimination and <a href="https://www.ceoaction.com/purpose/">created an organization dedicated</a> to diversity, equity and inclusion. In 2021, the CEOs of Dell, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and AT&T <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/04/02/983709091/these-are-the-businesses-speaking-out-against-texass-newly-proposed-election-law">spoke out against a Texas bill</a> aimed at making it more difficult for citizens to vote. </p>
<p>Others have taken more decisive action. <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/09/08/1035045952/lyft-uber-will-pay-drivers-legal-fees-if-theyre-sued-under-texas-abortion-law">Uber and Lyft</a> said they would pay to defend their drivers if they got sued under a Texas law that allows anyone to sue a person who helps someone get an abortion. And in 2016, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/27/bathroom-bill-to-cost-north-carolina-376-billion.html">PayPal and the NCAA pulled business</a> from North Carolina after the state passed a bill limiting LGBTQ protections.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/great-expectations-navigating-challenging-stakeholder-expectations-of-brandsexpectations-of-brands">Surveys show</a> <a href="https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/publication/documents/2021-11/ipsos-global-trends-2021-report.pdf">today’s consumers expect</a> <a href="https://www.5wpr.com/new/wp-content/uploads/pdf/5W_consumer_culture_report_2020final.pdf">companies to live up</a> to the <a href="https://certusinsights.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Markstein-Social-Responsibility-_-Certus-Insights-Research-_.pdf">values they espouse</a> in their press releases, and big corporate groups such as the Business Roundtable even began <a href="https://www.businessroundtable.org/business-roundtable-redefines-the-purpose-of-a-corporation-to-promote-an-economy-that-serves-all-americans">urging companies</a> to focus on creating value for everyone – not just shareholders. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="a crowd marches in a city street behind a banner that reads justice for George" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451007/original/file-20220309-20-12axmhb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451007/original/file-20220309-20-12axmhb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451007/original/file-20220309-20-12axmhb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451007/original/file-20220309-20-12axmhb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451007/original/file-20220309-20-12axmhb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451007/original/file-20220309-20-12axmhb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451007/original/file-20220309-20-12axmhb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many companies spoke out against racism after George Floyd’s murder inspired months of protests, like this one on the first anniversary of his death.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/RacialInjustice-MinnesotaProtests/b9a714aa8e5c4a0d8981cff7ae70176f/photo?Query=George%20Floyd%20protest&mediaType=photo&sortBy=creationdatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=11555&currentItemNo=113">AP Photo/Christian Monterrosa</a></span>
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<h2>Why companies speak out</h2>
<p>More specifically, <a href="https://www.econbiz.de/Record/don-t-mix-business-with-politics-understanding-stakeholder-reactions-to-corporate-political-activism-appels-moritz/10012303252">research</a> has identified <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.5465/amr.2018.0084">three major factors</a> that typically drive a company’s decision to pursue corporate activism: employee beliefs, consumer pressure and the <a href="https://hbr.org/2018/01/the-new-ceo-activists">CEO’s personal involvement</a> or conviction. </p>
<p>It’s not always clear what is driving corporate decisions to suspend operations in Russia, but it seems as if all three factors are at play. </p>
<p>IKEA, for example, <a href="https://about.ikea.com/en/newsroom/2022/03/03/ikea-pauses-operations-in-russia-and-belarus">cited the support and security</a> of its workforce in announcing its “pause” in Russia and a donation of 20 million euros for humanitarian assistance for those displaced by the war. After a #BoycottMcDonald’s <a href="https://www.mashed.com/789748/heres-why-boycott-mcdonalds-is-trending-on-twitter/">began trending on Twitter</a> to protest its presence in Russia, the fast-food chain said it was temporarily closing its stores there. And Tesla CEO Elon Musk <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22958373/ukraine-russia-starlink-spacex-elon-musk">agreed to provide Ukraine</a> with free satellite internet after a Ukrainian official requested it on Twitter. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People stand outside a restaurant-looking building with yellow arches spelling an M as they wait to eat McDonalds for the first time." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450993/original/file-20220309-13-1co2myw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450993/original/file-20220309-13-1co2myw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450993/original/file-20220309-13-1co2myw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450993/original/file-20220309-13-1co2myw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450993/original/file-20220309-13-1co2myw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450993/original/file-20220309-13-1co2myw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450993/original/file-20220309-13-1co2myw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">McDonald’s has been in Russia since it opened its first store in Moscow in 1990.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/RussianMcDonalds1990/bdb02160f3c742118e8ef29ed8288b48/photo?Query=McDonald%27s%20russia&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:asc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=159&currentItemNo=3">AP Photo</a></span>
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<h2>A corporate no-brainer</h2>
<p>But ultimately, the decision whether or not to sever a relationship with a country – even if temporarily – is very different from taking a stand on an anti-trans measure.</p>
<p>Even so, the speed with which U.S. and other Western companies have abandoned Russia is something we’ve never seen in our lifetimes. And it suggests the decision was likely a no-brainer. </p>
<p>For one thing, Russia’s invasion has been met with widespread revulsion in the West. And even before the war, the public’s perception of Russia in Western countries <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/02/07/russia-and-putin-receive-low-ratings-globally">was very low</a>. </p>
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<p>One post-invasion poll found that 86% of Americans <a href="https://poll.qu.edu/poll-release?releaseid=3837">saw the invasion as unjustified</a> – with broad bipartisan agreement – and another showed that half of the respondents would <a href="https://www.live5news.com/2022/03/07/poll-finds-majority-want-russian-oil-ban-divided-biden/">compare the actions of Vladimir Putin</a> with those of Adolf Hitler. </p>
<p>And governments including those like <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/german-chancellor-olaf-scholz-announces-paradigm-change-in-response-to-ukraine-invasion/a-60932652">Germany</a> that have close commercial ties to Russia have strongly condemned its actions and joined unprecedented sanctions. About 80% of Germans said they approved of their government’s decision to sanction Russia and export weapons to Ukraine – or said it didn’t go far enough.</p>
<p>Ultimately, the Russian market is just not that big for companies in the U.S, such as <a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/22/03/04/what-apple-risks-by-stopping-all-sales-operations-in-russia">Apple</a> and <a href="https://deadline.com/2022/03/disney-ukraine-theme-parks-disneyplus-1234973007/">Disney</a>. For others, such as McDonald’s, which has been <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-08/mcdonald-s-faces-tough-questions-with-large-exposure-to-russia?sref=Hjm5biAW">in Russia since 1990 and has about 850 locations there</a>, days of pressure finally persuaded company officials they had to pull out. </p>
<p>On many hot-button social issues like <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/350174/mixed-views-among-americans-transgender-issues.aspx">trans rights</a> and <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/09/13/key-facts-about-americans-and-guns/">gun control</a>, the general public is split almost right down the middle, meaning taking a stand could alienate a lot of consumers. </p>
<p>But on the issue of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, many companies likely were more worried about the <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/mcdonalds-us-brands-pressure-stop-business-russia-rcna18990">risks to their reputation</a> were they to do nothing. With so many other companies pulling out, it likely seemed better to explain to shareholders and customers back home <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/02/business/companies-pulling-back-russia-ukraine-war-intl-hnk/index.html">why they’re leaving</a> than <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-60660006">why they’re staying</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/178516/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Over 300 companies so far have closed stores, reassigned staff or halted sales in Russia in the two weeks since the invasion began.Douglas Schuler, Associate Professor of Business and Public Policy, Rice UniversityLaura Marie Edinger-Schons, Professor of Sustainable Business, University of MannheimLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1757132022-01-26T13:58:11Z2022-01-26T13:58:11ZThree ways for Sony to avoid getting left behind by Microsoft<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442703/original/file-20220126-25-tdum5e.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Everything to play for?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/kaunas-lithuania-2021-august-12-sony-2023742264">Rokas Tenys</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Sony has had a rough few days. The Japanese tech giant has lost a whopping US$14 billion (£10 billion), or about 9% of its total value, since rival <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-microsofts-activision-blizzard-takeover-will-drive-metaverse-gaming-into-the-mass-market-175453">Microsoft’s announcement</a> that it is purchasing popular videogames maker Activision Blizzard for nearly US$70 billion. </p>
<p>While some of Sony’s loss is arguably due to short-term panic selling across the wider market, the company is clearly in a corner. PlayStation is Sony’s largest, <a href="https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/IR/library/presen/er/pdf/21q2_sonypre.pdf">most profitable</a> and fastest-growing business, and the loss of a key supplier of games content to its arch rival could make its consoles less attractive to gamers around the world. </p>
<p><strong>Sony share price</strong> </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442571/original/file-20220125-21-1tcfalr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Sony share price chart" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442571/original/file-20220125-21-1tcfalr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442571/original/file-20220125-21-1tcfalr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=334&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442571/original/file-20220125-21-1tcfalr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=334&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442571/original/file-20220125-21-1tcfalr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=334&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442571/original/file-20220125-21-1tcfalr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442571/original/file-20220125-21-1tcfalr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442571/original/file-20220125-21-1tcfalr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Trading View</span></span>
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<p>Pulling the Activision content from Sony consoles would be a huge decision for Microsoft, of course. Activision’s hefty cash price partly reflects all the present and future profits it earns from PlayStation – the new PlayStation 5s are <a href="https://www.gamesradar.com/ps5-will-outsell-xbox-series-x-and-s-by-two-to-one-in-2022-analyst-predicts/">expected to</a> outsell Microsoft’s Xbox Series consoles by about two to one in 2022. And note that nearly <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/15/microsoft-buys-minecraft-creator-mojang-for-25bn">eight years</a> after Microsoft bought Minecraft developer Mojang, that game is still on PlayStations. </p>
<p>The latest takeover will also take at least a year to complete, and Microsoft will inherit the <a href="https://www.denofgeek.com/games/activision-blizzard-lawsuit-major-events-history-everything-explained/">ongoing investigation</a> and lawsuits against Activision by US authorities over alleged abuse and harassment of female employees, among other HR issues. That could clearly cause problems down the line. </p>
<p>This gives Sony breathing room to respond boldly to this existential danger. Here are three suggestions:</p>
<h2>1. Buy Google Stadia</h2>
<p>Sony’s biggest threat from Microsoft is actually Xbox Game Pass, a Netflix-like subscription that allows users to download or stream hundreds of titles at just US$15 per month. Game Pass has <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/18/22406059/xbox-game-pass-subscribers-25-million-microsoft-activision">25 million</a> subscribers and is a boon for price-sensitive PC and console gamers, frequently offering blockbuster titles on launch day. </p>
<p>Every time Microsoft buys a videogame maker, it has put their entire games catalogue on Game Pass, giving gamers a fear-of-missing-out (or FOMO) similar to what makes many people continue with their Netflix subscriptions. While Game Pass’ profits <a href="https://www.essentiallysports.com/esports-news-not-the-only-focus-ps-seemingly-admits-game-pass-is-not-profitable-but-neither-is-xbox-console/">are still questionable</a> at this early stage, <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1276183/xbox-game-pass-subscriber-count-global/">subscriber numbers</a> are rising exponentially. </p>
<p>Sony’s similar service, PlayStation Now, has just <a href="https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2021/05/ps_now_has_a_respectable_3_2_million_subscribers">3.2 million</a> subscribers. Despite a much bigger catalogue of games and a competitive monthly price of US$9.99, its <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-NoFmhqNu4">streaming performance and availability</a> is among the worst of its peers: Sony is still using tech that is nearly nine years old, from its purchase of a <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/5/20993828/sony-playstation-now-cloud-gaming-gaikai-onlive-google-stadia-25th-anniversary">startup called Gaiki</a>. </p>
<p>When a market-leading business is replaced, the upstart almost always starts by selling to neglected budget users – witness how digital cameras defeated Kodak, for example, or how Netflix took on <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/opinions/6-reasons-you-should-ditch-netflix-streaming">DVDs and BluRay</a> by aiming squarely at the lower end of the market. By allowing Microsoft to get entrenched with budget gamers, Sony has exposed itself to an emergent business model that it might not be able to compete with. </p>
<p>The fastest way of catching up might just be to buy <a href="https://www.trustedreviews.com/opinion/is-google-stadia-dead-4136146">Google’s struggling</a> Stadia streaming service. Stadia’s performance and reach is among the best, and its failure can be distilled down to a lack of content and a business model that charges users separately for games and platform access. Combining Stadia’s tech with PlayStation Now’s vast catalogue and simple price point could put Sony back on the offensive.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442705/original/file-20220126-23-j239q0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Phone with Stadia app in front of a gaming screen." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442705/original/file-20220126-23-j239q0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442705/original/file-20220126-23-j239q0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=324&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442705/original/file-20220126-23-j239q0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=324&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442705/original/file-20220126-23-j239q0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=324&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442705/original/file-20220126-23-j239q0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442705/original/file-20220126-23-j239q0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442705/original/file-20220126-23-j239q0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Google Stadia is great tech but struggling.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/kaunas-lithuania-2021-august-12-sony-2023742264">Dennizn</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>2. Grow out of semiconductor dependence</h2>
<p>The world semiconductor shortage has <a href="https://www.verdict.co.uk/global-microchip-shortage-threatens-future-growth-game-console-market/">hit console sales</a> by slowing down production. Sony, however, has <a href="https://www.verdict.co.uk/global-microchip-shortage-threatens-future-growth-game-console-market/#:%7E:text=The%20gaming%20consoles%20market%20in,final%20quarter%20of%20the%20year.">a slight edge</a> from having decided to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-12/sony-tackles-playstation-5-shortage-by-making-more-ps4-consoles">increase production</a> of its legacy PlayStation 4 consoles. These are much older than Microsoft’s equivalent Xbox Series S, meaning they use simpler chips and are easier to manufacture. </p>
<p>Yet this advantage is not sustainable, given the <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/deloitte-chip-shortage-will-extend-into-2022/#:%7E:text=Processors,-First%20Microsoft%20Pluton&text=Expect%20the%20semiconductor%20shortage%20to,chips%2C%20the%20consulting%20firm%20predicts.">semiconductor drought</a> will likely continue for a number of months, and the <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1188545/gaming-time-spent-covid/">increasing appetite</a> for gaming. The solution is to let gamers stream titles to devices other than dedicated consoles, but PlayStation Now is far from ubiquitous. This shows a clear lack of will by Sony to reduce dependence on its console business, which in turn is critically dependent on semiconductor manufacturing. Whether by buying Stadia or making a step-change investment in PlayStation Now, Sony should aim to make its titles run on most, if not all, smart TVs, phones, set-top boxes and computers. </p>
<p>There are, it should be said, some green shoots for Sony on other platforms. The company’s latest open-PC release, God of War, has <a href="https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/god-of-war-pc-attracted-50000-concurrent-steam-players-on-its-release-day/">sold quite well</a> and received rave reviews from gamers and critics. Yet, thanks to Sony’s “exclusivity” strategy of prioritising the release of its games on its own console first, God of War was on PlayStation 4s four years earlier.</p>
<p>By contrast, Microsoft publishes all its new titles on PC and Xbox consoles simultaneously, focusing on user-base growth and not just console sales. Sony insists it will continue with exclusivity, having relied on it to sell many more PlayStations in the past. Yet not only does Microsoft’s multiplatform approach lower marketing costs and immediately spread the cost of games development across a much larger user base, exclusivity makes little sense when new consoles are in short supply. Sony would be better off copying Microsoft’s strategy. </p>
<h2>3. Lead the metaverse movement</h2>
<p>Microsoft has been at the forefront of <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-microsofts-activision-blizzard-takeover-will-drive-metaverse-gaming-into-the-mass-market-175453">the metaverse</a> movement, which plans to merge our digital and physical realities via an augmented or virtual reality (VR) headset. Such technology could be as important an innovation as the internet was in the 1990s, and the Activision deal gives Microsoft control of gaming worlds such as World of Warcraft and Call of Duty which could be the key to mass consumer adoption of VR. </p>
<p>Sony’s PlayStation VR was actually the <a href="https://www.androidcentral.com/will-quest-2-success-weaken-psvr-2-sales">world leader</a> in these headsets until 2021, where it unofficially lost the crown to the Meta (formerly Facebook) Quest 2 device. Despite this early lead, Sony’s position on the metaverse movement is unclear. Its upcoming PS VR 2 headset will still be tethered to the PlayStation 5 console, despite customer appetite leaning heavily towards untethered, free-roaming devices. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442709/original/file-20220126-17-1pj3djh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Gamer trying out a PlayStation VR headset" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442709/original/file-20220126-17-1pj3djh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442709/original/file-20220126-17-1pj3djh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442709/original/file-20220126-17-1pj3djh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442709/original/file-20220126-17-1pj3djh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442709/original/file-20220126-17-1pj3djh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442709/original/file-20220126-17-1pj3djh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442709/original/file-20220126-17-1pj3djh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">PlayStation VR is no longer number one.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/barcelona-jun-16-man-tries-playstation-440726734">Christian Bertrand</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Sony has long been cautious about new markets and usually waits for others to develop them before swooping in. But that is unlikely to work against competitors as large, networked and powerful as Microsoft, Meta and <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/apples-metaverse-prospects-produce-real-optimism-for-investors-11641983407">Apple</a> (which is also rumoured to be developing a VR headset). Sony needs to move fast and with a clarity of purpose – otherwise the next decade will see it lose even more ground to these tech giants as they recreate the very reality we live in.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/175713/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hamza Mudassir does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>From games streaming platforms to the metaverse, the Japanese tech giant looks to be behind the curve.Hamza Mudassir, Visiting Fellow in Strategy, Cambridge Judge Business SchoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1685872021-09-28T15:46:22Z2021-09-28T15:46:22ZThe music industry is booming and can afford to give artists a fairer deal<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423602/original/file-20210928-23-ghioyh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=299%2C95%2C7688%2C3389&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-happy-attractive-asian-woman-using-1716071020">Shutterstock/Chaay_Tee</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Shares in Universal Music Group <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/universal-music-group-shares-surge-stock-market-debut-2021-09-21/">surged</a> after its US$40 billion (£29.5 billion) flotation on September 21, suggesting many people think the music business has a strong future. One of them, Lucian Grainge, the company’s chief executive, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/sep/21/universal-chief-growth-digital-listening-boom-record-music-flotation-lucian-grainge">believes expansion will be driven</a> partly by changing consumer habits and the exploitation of undeveloped markets in some of the world’s largest countries. </p>
<p>Industry statistics appear to support Grainge’s optimism, with total global revenue in the music industry increasing by <a href="https://www.ifpi.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/GMR2021_STATE_OF_THE_INDUSTRY.pdf">54% between 2014 and 2020</a>. The upswing, after more than a decade of decline, is being driven by online streaming, which now has a healthy share (62%) of overall revenue.</p>
<p>Most of that revenue ends up with the record labels, and as one of the “big three” (along with Warner and Sony), Universal stands to reap substantial rewards from this situation. Indeed, the company’s <a href="https://www.vivendi.com/en/publication/financial-report-and-unaudited-condensed-financial-statements-for-the-half-year-ended-june-30-2021/">double-digit growth</a> in revenue over the last year indicates the strong financial health of the music industry.</p>
<p>The streaming platforms themselves, though, have so far struggled to become profitable businesses – partly due to the expensive licensing deals they have to pay the record companies. Spotify has made <a href="https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/loss-making-spotify-will-continue-to-focus-on-growth-over-profit-for-next-few-years/">substantial losses</a> throughout its existence. (Others, like Amazon and Apple, use music streaming as just part of their portfolios, making it difficult to identify its precise contribution.) </p>
<p>Musicians, meanwhile, remain in the most precarious position, even while the industry they work in is booming. In the UK, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/music-creators-earnings-in-the-digital-era/executive-summary#executive-summary-of-main-findings">62% of musical artists earned no more than £20,000 in 2019</a>. </p>
<p>In the past, they were able to add to what they made in streaming royalties – it takes around <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-does-spotify-pay-per-stream?r=US&IR=T">250 plays on Spotify to make US$1</a> (£0.74) – through live performances. But this has been severely curtailed by the pandemic, which has affected not only ticket sales, but also merchandise and record sales at concert venues.</p>
<p>Out of this fertile soil of discontentment have grown musician-led campaigns like <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/music-theatre/2021/02/broken-record-music-streaming-spotify-tom-gray">Broken Record and Keep Music Alive</a>, whose influence in the UK led to an official government inquiry in 2020 looking into the economics of music streaming. </p>
<p>One of the main recommendations of its <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5802/cmselect/cmcumeds/50/5003.htm#_idTextAnchor000">recently released report</a> is for the government to establish a mechanism for delivering “[equitable remuneration]” to musicians. This would aim to give them something like a 50/50 split with record labels from royalties, as opposed to the current roughly estimated <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/18910/pdf/">55/30/15 split</a> between label, platform and artist respectively. </p>
<p>The UK’s <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/competition-and-markets-authority">competition regulator</a> is now set to investigate the power of the companies that dominate the UK’s music industry. And while any recommendations would relate only to the UK, as the <a href="https://www.ifpi.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/GMR2021_STATE_OF_THE_INDUSTRY.pdf">world’s third-largest music market</a> (after the US and Japan), it could still prove influential elsewhere.</p>
<h2>A different tune</h2>
<p>But big questions remain about the future direction of the music industry. Relations between record labels and the streaming platforms will need to be continually scrutinised, especially where there are concerns of potential monopolies. </p>
<p>And while fairer distribution of revenue among labels, platforms and musicians will improve the artists’ position, real change can only come from increased revenue. One answer to this problem would be to reconsider how much money we are prepared to spend on accessing music. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Silhouette of guitarist in field at sunset." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423613/original/file-20210928-26-78uzsg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423613/original/file-20210928-26-78uzsg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423613/original/file-20210928-26-78uzsg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423613/original/file-20210928-26-78uzsg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423613/original/file-20210928-26-78uzsg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423613/original/file-20210928-26-78uzsg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423613/original/file-20210928-26-78uzsg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Time to shine.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/silhouette-musician-guitar-sunset-field-music-458805415">Shutterstock/Song_about_summer</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Monthly subscription fees for some of the major streaming platforms <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/15416/pdf/">hover around £9.99</a>, which is extremely good value for access to most of the music that has ever been recorded. </p>
<p>This price point has been maintained for more than a decade, perhaps because of the general feeling that easy access to “freemium” models, particularly YouTube Music, has placed a ceiling on the cost of subscriptions.</p>
<p>But the <a href="https://www.nme.com/news/music/uk-vinyl-sales-in-2020-are-the-highest-since-the-early-90s-2846310">rise in vinyl sales</a> in recent years, alongside the increasing popularity of streaming platforms like <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-mps-plans-for-music-streaming-mean-for-artists-and-listeners-164532">Sonstream and Bandcamp</a>, which enable listeners to pay their favourite artists directly, suggest that consumers are becoming more aware of the need to support musicians. </p>
<p>Streaming is likely to continue to dominate the music industry. But there are changes, driven both by political inquiry and consumers’ habits, which will hopefully establish a more equitable ecosystem, and allow for a fairer way of paying artists for their work. For whatever business model for music lies ahead, it cannot survive without providing fair financial backing to sustain the creativity of new musical talent.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/168587/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew White does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Big labels are making big money from streaming.Andrew White, Visiting Professor of Creative Industries and Digital Media, University of NottinghamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1500572020-11-19T18:52:44Z2020-11-19T18:52:44ZThe war between Xbox and Playstation is no longer about consoles. It’s about winning your loyalty<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/370001/original/file-20201118-23-yub2qv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=59%2C37%2C2415%2C1610&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the latest salvo of an almost two-decade console war between Microsoft and Sony, both Sony’s Playstation 5 and Microsoft’s Xbox Series S/X were launched last week. </p>
<p>With <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/09/covid19-coronavirus-pandemic-video-games-entertainment-media/">increased spending on videogames</a> due to ongoing quarantine and travel restrictions, the launches have <a href="https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-11-12-xbox-series-x-s-is-biggest-console-launch-in-microsofts-history">been described</a> as historically significant. Head of Xbox Phil Spencer tweeted:</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1326693095954550784"}"></div></p>
<p>As is typical for a “next-generation” launch, both consoles sport significant boosts to computing power, support 4K graphics and offer <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/18/21185356/sony-ps5-playstation-5-ssd-load-times-mark-cerny-developer-gdc">faster performance</a> and loading times. But unlike previous launches, they present starkly different visions for the future of video gaming. </p>
<p>Sony continues to focus on providing exclusive content. Meanwhile, Microsoft yesterday launched its Project <a href="https://www.xbox.com/en-AU/xbox-game-streaming/project-xcloud/register?irgwc=1&OCID=AID2000142_aff_7593_10078&tduid=%28ir__dtth6vda1kkftzdokk0sohzw0f2xsnfd2i0qkayq00%29%287593%29%2810078%29%28press-start.com.au%29%28165880X1633394X95cf0104a42193ee4477b2098d5022b5%29&irclickid=_dtth6vda1kkftzdokk0sohzw0f2xsnfd2i0qkayq00">xCloud</a> game streaming service <a href="https://www.kotaku.com.au/2020/11/xbox-project-xcloud-australia-release/">in Australia</a> — the most recent step in a wider trend towards embracing a subscription-based business model.</p>
<h2>Sony’s focus on exclusivity</h2>
<p>For a long time, new consoles had been primarily marketed around “platform exclusive” titles available only for that console. </p>
<p>Sony and Microsoft have in the past paid millions to developers for exclusivity deals. In 2010, Microsoft paid <a href="https://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-paid-75-million-to-stop-gtaiv-ps3-exclusivity/1100-6262370">Rockstar Games US$75,000,000</a> to stop Grand Theft Auto IV from becoming a Playstation 3 exclusive.</p>
<p>Sony’s recent PS5 launch carries on this tradition. The console is marketed in terms of first-party exclusives, such as those developed by <a href="https://www.naughtydog.com/">Naughty Dog</a> (Uncharted, The Last of Us) and Sony Computer Entertainment’s <a href="https://sms.playstation.com/">Santa Monica Studio</a> (God of War).</p>
<p>Sony has also had great success selling hardware peripherals that make its consoles more attractive, evident in recent <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/10/28/21537806/sony-q2-results-playstation-sales-ps5-demand">quarterly revenues</a>. The PlayStation virtual reality headset sold more than five million units worldwide during the last generation.</p>
<p>In contrast, Microsoft <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/25/16542870/microsoft-kinect-dead-stop-manufacturing">quickly abandoned the Kinect</a>. This motion-sensing device bundled with the Xbox One never won over its audience.</p>
<h2>The rise of subscription gaming</h2>
<p>That said, although Sony vastly outsold Microsoft with the PS4 last generation, it seems in 2020 Microsoft has shifted the goalposts of success.</p>
<p>As Phil Spencer notes, Microsoft’s aim is no longer to sell the most consoles, but to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/games/2020/nov/11/xbox-phil-spencer-interview-microsoft-series-x">accumulate the most players</a>, irrespective of where they’re playing. The console itself is now almost secondary. </p>
<p>For instance, Microsoft’s Game Pass subscription service, launched in 2017, provides access to Xbox titles across both Xbox consoles and PC. Game Pass follows a similar model to Netflix, wherein users pay a monthly fee to access a library of content. </p>
<p>And although having a Game Pass membership isn’t mandatory, Microsoft reports <a href="https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2020/11/13/the-biggest-launch-in-xbox-history/">70%</a> of X/S console users do.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369992/original/file-20201118-21-vqxwmo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Game Pass home screen" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369992/original/file-20201118-21-vqxwmo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369992/original/file-20201118-21-vqxwmo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369992/original/file-20201118-21-vqxwmo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369992/original/file-20201118-21-vqxwmo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369992/original/file-20201118-21-vqxwmo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369992/original/file-20201118-21-vqxwmo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369992/original/file-20201118-21-vqxwmo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In Australia, Game Pass memberships for either PC <em>or</em> console gaming are the same price. The ‘ultimate’ membership, which includes both PC and console games, costs extra.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>On the surface, subscription gaming seems to offer better value for money in terms of access to content, as gamers don’t have to buy the games outright. </p>
<p>But as has been the case with competing television and film streaming services, should subscription gaming become more common, paying for a range of subscriptions may become costly — especially if certain games are exclusive to certain services.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/apple-google-and-fortnites-stoush-is-a-classic-case-of-how-far-big-tech-will-go-to-retain-power-144728">Apple, Google and Fortnite's stoush is a classic case of how far big tech will go to retain power</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<h2>Gaming on the cloud, everywhere</h2>
<p>The Game Pass service uses “cloud gaming” technology. Whereas consoles provide the local computing hardware needed to play games, cloud gaming involves streaming games over the internet, from a host’s remote servers to the user’s device.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369993/original/file-20201118-15-37jsx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Illustration showing software running across various devices" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369993/original/file-20201118-15-37jsx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369993/original/file-20201118-15-37jsx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369993/original/file-20201118-15-37jsx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369993/original/file-20201118-15-37jsx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369993/original/file-20201118-15-37jsx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369993/original/file-20201118-15-37jsx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369993/original/file-20201118-15-37jsx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cloud gaming enables seamless cross-platform gaming, which has come leaps and bounds in the past few years.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the past, this hasn’t worked well due to “high latency”. This refers to the delay between making an input (such as shooting a character) and seeing the result (the character being shot). </p>
<p>However, with improved computing power, internet speeds and clever design tricks, cloud gaming is becoming a crowded market, with big tech companies including <a href="https://stadia.google.com/">Google</a> and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/luna/landing-page">Amazon</a> joining in, too.</p>
<p>Sony began experimenting with cloud gaming in 2014 with PS Now. This service allows the streaming of older titles, such as PS3 games. And while Sony continues to offer PS Now for the PS5, and at a <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/1/20893111/sony-playstation-now-price-cut-gta-v-god-of-war-subscription-games">cheaper</a> price point than Microsoft’s Game Pass, the PS Now is still focused on old games.</p>
<p>On the other hand, Microsoft is aggressively pushing its new Project <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/14/21436006/microsoft-xbox-xcloud-game-list-pass-ultimate-streaming">xCloud</a>. This service, which comes bundled with the GamePass, allows users to stream certain newer Xbox games directly to their smartphone or tablet, without even needing to own an Xbox console.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1328898581369999360"}"></div></p>
<p>Clearly, Micosoft’s focus is on players, not consoles. Considering the massive impact smartphones are having on who plays games (and how often), Microsoft may be setting itself up to engage a much larger audience than ever before.</p>
<h2>An evolving market</h2>
<p>The 2020 console war looks quite different to those of the past, when a single winner often took it all (or at least the majority of it). Think Nintendo in 1990s North America, or Sony’s domination last generation with the PS4.</p>
<p>In light of Microsoft’s shifting approach, we’re now in a situation where two winners will likely take large chunks of different markets, by doing different things. </p>
<p>On one hand, this might help diversify the market and provide greater variety for consumers. On the other, Sony and Microsoft’s divergence might have gamers spending more than ever. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/no-youre-probably-not-addicted-to-your-smartphone-but-you-might-use-it-too-much-89853">No, you're probably not 'addicted' to your smartphone – but you might use it too much</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/150057/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marcus Carter has previoulsy consulted for Telstra Ltd, and was previously a post-doc in the Microsoft Research Centre for Social Natural User Interfaces at The Univeristy of Melbourne. Marcus Carter is a board member of the Digital Games Research Association of Australia.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ben Egliston does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Sony and Microsoft are straying from traditional video game service models. While it might help diversify the market, it could also force avid gamers to empty their pockets.Ben Egliston, Postdoctoral research fellow, Digital Media Research Centre, Queensland University of TechnologyMarcus Carter, Senior Lecturer in Digital Cultures, SOAR Fellow., University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1275032019-12-22T20:21:15Z2019-12-22T20:21:15ZRobots, AI and drones: when did toys turn into rocket science?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307353/original/file-20191217-164437-v0vz9j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=121%2C319%2C7227%2C4583&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Toys are becoming increasingly advanced, but this can be more of a hindrance than a perk.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://pixabay.com/photos/despaired-businessman-business-2261021/">Pixabay</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>I’m a geek. And as a geek, I love my tech toys. But over time I’ve noticed toys are becoming harder to understand. </p>
<p>Some modern toys resemble advanced devices. There are flying toys, walking toys, and roving toys. A number of these require “configuring” or “connecting”. </p>
<p>The line between toy, gadget and professional device is blurrier than ever, as manufacturers churn out products including <a href="https://www.t3.com/features/best-kids-drones">drones for kids</a> and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Spy-Nanny-Camera-Wi-fi/dp/B07P7BCYZT">plush toys with hidden nanny cams</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/looking-for-a-high-tech-gift-for-a-young-child-think-playgrounds-not-playpens-108325">Looking for a high-tech gift for a young child? Think playgrounds, not playpens</a>
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<hr>
<p>With such a variety of sophisticated, and sometimes over-engineered products, it’s clear manufacturers have upped their game. </p>
<p>But why is this happening?</p>
<h2>The price of tech</h2>
<p>Toys these days seem to be designed with two major components in mind. It’s all about the smarts and rapid manufacture.</p>
<p>In modern toys, we see a considerable level of programmed intelligence. This can be used to control the toy’s actions, or have it respond to input to provide real time feedback and interaction – making it appear “smarter”.</p>
<p>This is all made possible by the falling price of technology. </p>
<p>Once upon a time, placing a microcontroller (a single chip microprocessor) inside a toy was simply uneconomical. </p>
<p>These days, they’ll <a href="https://au.rs-online.com/web/c/semiconductors/processors-microcontrollers/microcontrollers/">only set you back a few dollars</a> and allow significant computing power.</p>
<p>Microcontrollers are often WiFi and Bluetooth enabled, too. This allows “connected” toys to access a wide range of internet services, or be controlled by a smartphone.</p>
<p>Another boon for toy manufacturers has been the rise of prototype technologies, including 3D modelling, 3D printing, and low cost CNC (computer numerical control) milling. </p>
<p>These technologies allow the advanced modelling of toys, which can help design them to be “tougher”. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/not-childs-play-the-serious-innovation-behind-toy-making-128211">Not child’s play: The serious innovation behind toy making</a>
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</em>
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<hr>
<p>They also allow manufacturers to move beyond simple (outer) case designs and towards advanced multi-material devices, where the case of the toy forms an active part of the toy’s function. </p>
<p>Examples of this include hand grips (found on console controls and toys including Nerf Blasters), advanced surface textures, and internal structures which support shock absorption to protect internal components, such as wheel suspensions in toy cars.</p>
<h2>Bot helpers and robot dogs</h2>
<p>Many recent advancements in toys are there to appease our admiration of automatons, or self operating machines. </p>
<p>The idea that an inanimate object is transcending its static world, or is “thinking”, is one of the magical elements that prompts us to attach emotions to toys. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307362/original/file-20191217-164454-10m1ehc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307362/original/file-20191217-164454-10m1ehc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307362/original/file-20191217-164454-10m1ehc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307362/original/file-20191217-164454-10m1ehc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307362/original/file-20191217-164454-10m1ehc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307362/original/file-20191217-164454-10m1ehc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307362/original/file-20191217-164454-10m1ehc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307362/original/file-20191217-164454-10m1ehc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Anki’s Cozmo (the Vector’s predecessor) is an example of a cloud-connected robotic toy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/robot-makes-origami-1317221207">shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And manufacturers know this, with some toys designed specifically to drive emotional attachment. My favourite example of this is roaming robots, such as the artificially intelligent <a href="https://www.anki.com/en-us/vector.html">Anki Vector</a>. </p>
<p>With sensors and internet connectivity, the Vector drives around and interacts with its environment, as well as you. It’s even <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Vector-Robot-Anki-Hangs-Helps/dp/B07G3ZNK4Y">integrated with Amazon Alexa</a>.</p>
<p>Another sophisticated toy is Sony’s Aibo. This robot pet shows how advanced robotics, microelectronics, actuators (which allow movement), sensors, and programming can be used to create a unique toy experience with emotional investment.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307359/original/file-20191217-164449-1voo3rp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307359/original/file-20191217-164449-1voo3rp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307359/original/file-20191217-164449-1voo3rp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307359/original/file-20191217-164449-1voo3rp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307359/original/file-20191217-164449-1voo3rp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307359/original/file-20191217-164449-1voo3rp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307359/original/file-20191217-164449-1voo3rp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307359/original/file-20191217-164449-1voo3rp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sony’s Aibo robot dog is cute, and robotic – it’s a geek’s dream pet.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/ho-chi-minh-city-vietnam-apr-1095006827">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Screens not included</h2>
<p>Toy manufacturers are also leveraging the rise of smartphones and portable computing. </p>
<p>Quadcopters (or drones) and other similar devices often don’t need to include their own display in the remote control, as video can be beamed to an attached device.</p>
<p>Some toys even use smartphones as the only control interface (used to control the toy), usually via an app, saving manufacturers from having to provide what is arguably the most expensive part of the toy.</p>
<p>This means a smartphone becomes an inherent requirement, without which the toy can’t be used. </p>
<p>It would be incredibly disappointing to buy a cool, new toy - only to realise you don’t own the very expensive device required to use it.</p>
<h2>My toys aren’t spying on me, surely?</h2>
<p>While spying may be the last thing you consider when buying a toy, there have been several reports of talking dolls <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/12/20/506208146/this-doll-may-be-recording-what-children-say-privacy-groups-charge">recording in-home conversations</a>. </p>
<p>There are similar concerns with smart-home assistants such as Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple’s Siri, which store <a href="https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2018/may/31/ro-khanna/your-amazon-alexa-spying-you/">your voice recordings in the cloud</a>.</p>
<p>These concerns might also be warranted with toys such as the Vector, and Aibo. </p>
<p>In fact, anything that has a microphone, camera or wireless connectivity can be considered a privacy concern.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/just-like-hal-your-voice-assistant-isnt-working-for-you-even-if-it-feels-like-it-is-111177">Just like HAL, your voice assistant isn't working for you even if it feels like it is</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Toys of the future</h2>
<p>We’ve established toys are becoming more sophisticated, but does that mean they’re getting better?</p>
<p><a href="https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/gartner-top-10-strategic-technology-trends-for-2020/">Various</a> <a href="https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insights/technology/technology-trends-2019">reports</a> indicate in 2020, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning will continue to be pervasive in our lives. </p>
<p>This means buying toys could become an even trickier task than it currently is. There are some factors shoppers can consider. </p>
<p>On the top of my list of concerns is the type and number of batteries a toy requires, and how to charge them. </p>
<p>If a device has <a href="https://theconversation.com/nearly-all-your-devices-run-on-lithium-batteries-heres-a-nobel-prizewinner-on-his-part-in-their-invention-and-their-future-126197">in-built lithium batteries</a>, can they be easily replaced? And if the toy is designed for outdoors, <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-batteries-have-started-catching-fire-so-often-68602">can it cope with the heat?</a> Most lithium-ion batteries degrade quickly in hot environments.</p>
<p>And does the device require an additional screen or smartphone? </p>
<p>It’s also worth being wary of what personal details are required to sign-up for a service associated with a toy - and if the toy can still function if its manufacturer should cease to exist, or the company should go bust.</p>
<p>And, as always, if you’re considering an advanced, “connected” toy, make sure to prioritise your security and privacy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/127503/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Maxwell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>At Christmas shopping, you may have noticed toys are becoming very complex. They fly, hop, jump and follow you around – some even need to be ‘connected’. But why are we seeing such technical advances?Andrew Maxwell, Senior Lecturer, University of Southern QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1189502019-07-01T19:28:30Z2019-07-01T19:28:30ZBusiness-to-artist: record labels and sub-labels in the digital age<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279819/original/file-20190617-118535-1hbts7i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C300%2C2448%2C1660&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/assorted-vinyl-record-lot-908965/">Robin McPherson/Pexels</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The history of recorded music has been marked by profound and continuous change – not just recording technology, but also musical form, style, technique and beyond. From the late 19th century until the present, technical change has been omnipresent – wax cylinders gave way to 78 rpm records, then LPs arrived and were surpassed in turn by CDs, downloading, and now streaming. </p>
<p>The evolving technology and shifting economics of the music industry have coincided with the emergence of major labels, which in turn have built diversified portfolios of sub-labels. From a marketing point of view, they’re intended to build brand equity, defined as “the added value a brand gives a product” (Farquhar, 1989). Having a better understanding of brand equity can help explain the abundance of labels and sub-labels in today’s digital world.</p>
<h2>Psychological and economic approaches</h2>
<p>When considering brand equity, there is the approach grounded in cognitive psychology, generally associated with Aaker’s work (Aaker, 1991) that encompasses brand associations, brand awareness, perceived quality, brand loyalty and other assets such as patents. There is also the economic approach dating back to Stigler (1961) and Stiglitz (1987) suggesting that branding and multiple brand development are related to decreased information costs and decreased risks from the consumer perspective.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279822/original/file-20190617-118530-hc542u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279822/original/file-20190617-118530-hc542u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279822/original/file-20190617-118530-hc542u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279822/original/file-20190617-118530-hc542u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279822/original/file-20190617-118530-hc542u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279822/original/file-20190617-118530-hc542u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=571&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279822/original/file-20190617-118530-hc542u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=571&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279822/original/file-20190617-118530-hc542u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=571&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Aaker (1991)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Major labels do not necessarily behave as traditional umbrella brands because their sub-labels do not always share the same musical identity or genre. Sub-labels benefit from their parent label’s financial and marketing support – artist recruitment, product development, promotion and distribution. </p>
<p>Let’s consider Sony, Warner and Universal as the three dominant major labels concerning economics based-theory, as well as Motown (Universal’s sub-label today) regarding the psychology based theory.</p>
<p><strong>Sony Entertainment</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279834/original/file-20190617-118526-1vkvuyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279834/original/file-20190617-118526-1vkvuyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=244&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279834/original/file-20190617-118526-1vkvuyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=244&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279834/original/file-20190617-118526-1vkvuyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=244&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279834/original/file-20190617-118526-1vkvuyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=307&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279834/original/file-20190617-118526-1vkvuyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=307&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279834/original/file-20190617-118526-1vkvuyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=307&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sony Music Entertainment Japan and other independent national companies are not included.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.discogs.com">discogs.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Universal Music Group</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279835/original/file-20190617-118514-1go52k5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279835/original/file-20190617-118514-1go52k5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279835/original/file-20190617-118514-1go52k5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279835/original/file-20190617-118514-1go52k5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279835/original/file-20190617-118514-1go52k5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279835/original/file-20190617-118514-1go52k5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279835/original/file-20190617-118514-1go52k5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Does not include all national companies.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.discogs.com">discogs.com</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Warner</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279836/original/file-20190617-118510-2g9qlh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279836/original/file-20190617-118510-2g9qlh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=188&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279836/original/file-20190617-118510-2g9qlh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=188&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279836/original/file-20190617-118510-2g9qlh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=188&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279836/original/file-20190617-118510-2g9qlh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=237&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279836/original/file-20190617-118510-2g9qlh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=237&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279836/original/file-20190617-118510-2g9qlh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=237&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.discogs.com">discogs.com</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Tracking sub-labels’ history can be difficult. For example, DefJam is currently a sub-label for Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1984 by Rick Rubin at New York University with early artists such as LL Cool J and the Beastie Boys. The label was distributed through CBS Records in the 1990s, went through some financial difficulties, then had several major owners including Sony, Polygram, and Universal Music Group (see a <a href="https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/8096177/def-jam-history-timeline-paul-rosenberg">timeline of Def Jam history</a>).</p>
<p>Today, Motown is a sub-label of Universal music Group, but was originally founded by Berry Gordy and became the Motown Record Company in 1960. The label has always benefitted from a strong, reputation for bringing together African-American musical genres and pop music featuring artists as Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Four Tops, and The Jackson 5 (see a <a href="https://classic.motown.com/history/">timeline of Motown’s history</a>). Certainly, the Motown roster boasts strong consumer awareness, loyalty and brand associations (Aaker, 1991).</p>
<h2>From marketing to risk-management tools</h2>
<p>While pricing, promotion, product quality and brand credibility are important factors for major labels and sub-labels, risk reduction by portfolio management is now one of the key motivations for major labels that manage sub-labels as separate assets.</p>
<p>Non financial risks are those that may threaten the image or the operations of the company. Today, the importance of the music label to consumers is less evident, and they primarily act as financial and marketing organizations. In this sense, we observe a shift from the label as having a highly visible business-to-consumer (B2C) function to something closer to business-to-business (B2B) or even business-to-artist (B2A).</p>
<p>We define B2A as the relationships between a company (or label) and an artist (a musician or a group) requiring financial support for recruitment, production, product distribution and promotion. We interpret the proliferation of sub-labels primarily as a risk-aversion brand strategy. Record labels know that brands’ rate of mortality has always been high, with an uncertain return on investment. A closer look at labels’ management practices in our current digital age does question the reason beyond taking such risks.</p>
<p>Music labels benefit from the profitability attached to their selling music to consumers. The artist benefits from having resources to make their music known to the market. In the past, consumers recognized the label-artist connection. Today, the brand is the artist, and the label as a brand in and of itself is vanishing. This disappearance is reinforced by digital technologies, and what remains is the label’s support for the artist. What is new is that labels and sub-labels stand in the shadow of the artist so that an artist can be managed as a personified global brand.</p>
<h2>B2A and the artist’s value chain in the digital era</h2>
<p>An artist’s value chain once involved business and tour managers, label representatives, marketers, and executives, and promotion and distribution specialists. Nowadays, small independent labels are embedded in the artist’s digitalized and simplified value chain.</p>
<p>Besides basic career or business functions, an artist’s manager can coach the artist in multiple dimensions of her or his identity, leveraging social media to distribute music and promote aspects of the artist’s existence, including lifestyle and performance and practice skills (Cartwright, Küssner and Williamon, 2019). The key is to spin online popularity and create meaningful experiences within a virtual community of consumers, fans or experts. The promise is a long-term instant online conversation. Our B2A concept is also linked to the stream of research called <a href="http://cctweb.org/">consumer culture theory</a>, which explores the world of consumer tribes and shows how they pursue common consumption interests and ways of life.</p>
<p>By creating strong interactive experiences with their fans, artists can keep fans engaged. A group like <a href="http://www.umphreys.com/">Umphrey’s McGee</a> has stayed successful in this way, experimenting with many genres since the band’s first studio album released in 1996 up through their most recent album in 2018. Their website even allowing fans to record their own personal shows and leave reviews on the band’s performances.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279826/original/file-20190617-118501-8ib79g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279826/original/file-20190617-118501-8ib79g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279826/original/file-20190617-118501-8ib79g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279826/original/file-20190617-118501-8ib79g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279826/original/file-20190617-118501-8ib79g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279826/original/file-20190617-118501-8ib79g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279826/original/file-20190617-118501-8ib79g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279826/original/file-20190617-118501-8ib79g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When it comes to digital sales today, generally there is no obvious display of the labels on the cover artwork of albums. The gap is extremely plain when comparing the original LP of the Beatles’ album <em>Meet the Beatles</em>, released in 1964, with how it is currently presented on Amazon. On the LP, the label name is extremely present, particularly above the song list. As now presented on Amazon, the label’s logo is in small type on the original cover, but not in the listing at all.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279828/original/file-20190617-118505-aith6o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279828/original/file-20190617-118505-aith6o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279828/original/file-20190617-118505-aith6o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279828/original/file-20190617-118505-aith6o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279828/original/file-20190617-118505-aith6o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279828/original/file-20190617-118505-aith6o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279828/original/file-20190617-118505-aith6o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279828/original/file-20190617-118505-aith6o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Beatles, <em>Meet the Beatles</em>.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GJ7ROX4/ref=cm_sw_r_pi_dp_U_x_DN0UCb75QC7YX">Amazon.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Compare this to Beyoncé’s <em>I Am Sasha Fierce</em>, released in 2008 by Columbia Records and Music World Entertainment. Here, the label isn’t visible at all.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279829/original/file-20190617-118497-1rcdo7h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279829/original/file-20190617-118497-1rcdo7h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279829/original/file-20190617-118497-1rcdo7h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279829/original/file-20190617-118497-1rcdo7h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279829/original/file-20190617-118497-1rcdo7h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279829/original/file-20190617-118497-1rcdo7h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279829/original/file-20190617-118497-1rcdo7h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279829/original/file-20190617-118497-1rcdo7h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Beyoncé, <em>I am Sasha fierce</em>.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/i-am-sasha-fierce/id296016891">iTunes</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>B2A thus serves labels’ and sub-labels’ identity shift inside the ever-changing digital music marketplace. They exist as brands that have become removed from the consumer awareness and now mainly serve as financial and marketing companies. </p>
<p>Ultimately, the artist is the brand, pushing labels to focus on the management of financial and non-financial risks via a proliferation of sub-labels that belong to a broader portfolio management strategy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118950/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Les auteurs ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>The history of recorded music has been marked by endless artistic and technological changes. While music labels persist, digital technology has profoundly altered why they exist and how they work.Françoise Passerard, Professeur assistant en Marketing, PSB Paris School of BusinessPhillip Cartwright, Professor of Economics, PSB Paris School of Business and Visiting Researcher, Royal College of Music, PSB Paris School of BusinessLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1192232019-06-25T17:34:17Z2019-06-25T17:34:17ZThe guts of an Apple iPhone show exactly what Trump gets wrong about trade<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280803/original/file-20190621-61747-osnr1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The components of an iPhone add up to a different cost than the phone itself.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/chiangrai-thailand-may-19-2017-apple-644432827?src=xh1-rM_N3DKr4AUykMO18w-1-6&studio=1">Poravute Siriphiroon/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Crack open an iPhone and you’ll begin to see why President Donald Trump’s ongoing trade war with China doesn’t make sense. </p>
<p>On paper, imports of the popular smartphone and other goods from China look like a big loss to the U.S. The president certainly thinks so and has often cited the massive U.S.-China bilateral trade deficit – <a href="https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c5700.html">US$420 billion in 2018</a> – as a reason to fight his trade war. </p>
<p>When an iPhone X arrives in the U.S., <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-it-costs-to-build-the-iphone-x-2017-11">it adds about $370</a> – its factory cost – to the deficit. All told, iPhones add tens of billions of dollars a year to the U.S. deficit with China, which is the gap between imports and exports. But, thanks to the globe-spanning supply chains that run through China, trade deficits in the modern economy are not always what they seem. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=Dedrick+Kraemer+Linden&btnG=">research</a> on the breakdown of an iPhone’s costs – where all its components and labor come from and who actually benefits – shows that China gets less value from its iPhone exports than you might think. </p>
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<h2>Who really makes the iPhone?</h2>
<p>As part of his escalating trade war, Trump <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/06/trump-says-tariffs-on-china-could-be-raised-by-another-300-billion.html">says he may soon</a> slap 25% tariffs on $300 billion in imports from China. That would mean virtually all products shipped to the U.S. from China are subject to high tariffs. </p>
<p>Apple’s iPhone, which is assembled in China, would be among those affected by the new tariffs. Apple <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-20/apple-says-tariffs-would-reduce-its-contribution-to-u-s-economy?srnd=premium">is urging the administration</a> to halt its plans, which the company says would hurt its sales.</p>
<p>Trump seems to believe that imports of iPhones, televisions and everything else from China <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/19/business/china-trade-war-peter-navarro.html">represent money it’s “taking out”</a> of the U.S. and using to “rebuild” China. </p>
<p>To see how much value China is actually getting, let’s examine an older model of the iPhone – the iPhone 7 – a little more closely.</p>
<p>Start with the most valuable components that make up an iPhone: the touch-screen display, memory chips, microprocessors and so on. They come from a mix of U.S., Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese companies, such as Intel, Sony, Samsung and Foxconn. Almost none of them is manufactured in China. Apple buys the components and has them shipped to China; then they leave China inside an iPhone.</p>
<p>So what about all of those famous factories in China with millions of workers making iPhones? The companies that own those factories, including Foxconn, are all based in Taiwan. Of the <a href="http://www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/en/wipo_pub_econstat_wp_41.pdf">factory-cost estimate</a> of $237.45 from IHS Markit at the time the iPhone 7 was released in late 2016, we calculate that all that’s earned in China is about $8.46, or 3.6% of the total. That includes a battery supplied by a Chinese company and the labor used for assembly. </p>
<p>The other $228.99 goes elsewhere. The U.S. and Japan each take a roughly $68 cut, Taiwan gets about $48 and a little under $17 goes to South Korea. And we estimate that about $283 of gross profit from the retail price – about $649 for a 32 GB model when the phone debuted – goes straight to Apple’s coffers.</p>
<p>We believe you’d get a similar a breakdown from newer iPhones as well.</p>
<p>In short, China gets a lot of low-paid jobs, while the profits flow to other countries.</p>
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<h2>The trade balance in perspective</h2>
<p>A better way of thinking about the U.S.-China trade deficit associated with one iPhone would be to only count the value added in China, $8.50, rather than the $240 that shows up as a Chinese import to the U.S. </p>
<p>Scholars have found <a href="https://econpapers.repec.org/article/eeeinecon/v_3a86_3ay_3a2012_3ai_3a2_3ap_3a224-236.htm">similar results for the broader U.S.-China trade balance</a>, although the disparity is less extreme than in the iPhone example. Of the 2017 trade deficit of $375 billion, probably one-third actually involves inputs that came from elsewhere – including the U.S.</p>
<p>The use of China as a giant assembly floor has been good for the U.S. economy, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/17/business/worldbusiness/17iht-glob18.1.5316471.html">if not for U.S. factory workers</a>. By taking advantage of a vast, highly efficient global supply chain, Apple can bring new products to market at prices comparable to its competitors, most notably the Korean giant Samsung. </p>
<p>Consumers benefit from innovative products, and thousands of companies and individuals have built businesses around creating apps to sell in the app store. Apple uses its profits to pay its armies of hardware and software engineers, marketers, executives, lawyers and Apple store employees. And most of these jobs are in the U.S.</p>
<p>If the next round of tariffs makes the iPhone more expensive, demand will fall – hence Apple’s <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-20/apple-says-tariffs-would-reduce-its-contribution-to-u-s-economy?srnd=premium">plea to the administration</a>. Meanwhile Samsung, <a href="http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=8785">which makes over half its phones in Korea and Vietnam</a>, with a lower share of U.S. parts, will not be affected as much by a tariff on goods from China and will be able to gain market share from Apple, shifting profits and high wage jobs from the U.S. to South Korea.</p>
<p>Put another way, research has shown globalization hurt some Americans while it <a href="https://piie.com/publications/chapters_preview/3802/2iie3802.pdf">made life better for many others</a>. Putting globalization in reverse with tariffs will also create winners and losers – and there could be far more of the latter. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280782/original/file-20190621-61729-b22y2n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280782/original/file-20190621-61729-b22y2n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280782/original/file-20190621-61729-b22y2n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280782/original/file-20190621-61729-b22y2n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280782/original/file-20190621-61729-b22y2n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280782/original/file-20190621-61729-b22y2n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280782/original/file-20190621-61729-b22y2n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">China doesn’t get as much value from its exports of consumer electronics like the iPhone as Trump thinks.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Trump-China-Tariffs/2ef2b9f349ee4061ab72425b8d6a31ff/4/0">AP Photo/Andy Wong</a></span>
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<h2>Why not make the iPhone in America?</h2>
<p>When we discuss these topics with policymakers and the media, we’re often asked, “Why can’t Apple just make iPhones in the U.S.?” </p>
<p>The main problem is that the manufacturing side of the global electronics industry was <a href="http://pcic.merage.uci.edu/papers/2007/GlobalizationOfInnovation.pdf">moved to Asia in the 1980s and 1990s</a>. Companies like Apple have to deal with this reality. </p>
<p>As the numbers we’ve cited make clear, there’s not much value to be gained for the U.S. economy or its workers from simply assembling iPhones here from parts made in Asia. </p>
<p>While it’s possible to do so, it would take at least a few years to set it up, cost more per unit than production in Asia, and require a lot of carrots and sticks from policymakers to get the many companies involved to do so – like the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/09/18/scott-walker-signs-3-billion-foxconn-deal-in-wisconsin/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.d1c92b8b14d0">potential $3 billion in subsidies</a> Wisconsin gave to Foxconn to build an LCD factory there. </p>
<p>Given that the tariffs are aimed specifically at China, it’s more likely that Apple’s suppliers would move assembly to third-party countries where they already have production. While this would reduce the United States’ trade deficit with China, its trade deficit with the world would stay exactly the same. </p>
<h2>Flawed response to the China challenge</h2>
<p>There is, of course, plenty for the U.S. to complain about when it comes to China’s high-tech industry and policies, whether it’s the lack of intellectual property protection or <a href="http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2123957/china-vs-google-facebook-and-other-us-internet-giants-lesson">nontariff barriers</a> that keep major tech companies such as Google and Facebook out of the huge Chinese market. There is room for much tougher and more sophisticated bargaining to address these issues.</p>
<p>Trump’s trade war is based on a simplistic understanding of the trade balance. Expanding tariffs to more and more goods will weigh on U.S. consumers, workers and businesses. And there’s no guarantee that the final outcome will be good when the dispute ends.</p>
<p>This is a war that should never have been started.</p>
<p><em>This is an updated version of an <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-estimate-china-only-makes-8-46-from-an-iphone-and-thats-why-trumps-trade-war-is-futile-99258">article originally published</a> on July 6, 2018.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/119223/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jason Dedrick has received funding from the National Science Foundation and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Greg Linden has in the past received funding from the Sloan Foundation and from the Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund (Sylff). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kenneth L. Kraemer received funding from the National Science Foundation and the Sloan Foundation of New York in the past, but does not currently and has not for five or more years. </span></em></p>Trump believes the money Americans spend on Chinese imports like the iPhone goes straight into China’s pockets. In reality, China gets very little value from it.Jason Dedrick, Professor of Information Studies, Syracuse UniversityGreg Linden, Research Associate, University of California, BerkeleyKenneth L. Kraemer, Research Professor of Business, University of California, IrvineLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1104612019-01-24T16:03:25Z2019-01-24T16:03:25ZDyson’s move may not be about Brexit – but the timing was bound to fan flames<p>If a private company with around 5,000 employees moved its headquarters overseas a few years ago, it might not have attracted much attention beyond concerns for the local economic impact. But these are no ordinary times. </p>
<p>The announcement that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/jan/22/dyson-to-move-company-hq-to-singapore">Dyson is switching its HQ</a> from the English county of Wiltshire to Singapore has <a href="https://www.theweek.co.uk/99153/twitter-reacts-to-dyson-s-singapore-move">provoked a huge reaction</a>. The company was keen to downplay any possible link between the move and Brexit (of which Sir James Dyson is a vocal supporter). Nevertheless, the news has attracted many critics, many of them not typically engrossed with long term corporate strategy.</p>
<p>There are valid reasons to accept Dyson’s statement at face value when understanding why the HQ move makes business sense. While Dyson still experiences a stable level of growth in its established European and American markets, this is dwarfed by a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/mar/01/dyson-hoovers-up-801m-profit-in-asian-spending-boom">vast sales increase</a> in Asia. </p>
<p>To capitalise on this growing market, the company has already <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45950377">established Singapore</a> as a production base for its electric cars, along with its assembly work taking place in Malaysia and the Philippines. </p>
<p>Singapore has also <a href="https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/singapore-china-sign-free-trade-agreement-upgrade-10922790">recently agreed</a> a bilateral free trade pact with China, allowing Dyson to enjoy a level of market access that would not be available in the UK or the EU.</p>
<p>Dyson was also quick to allay fears regarding its employees in the UK. As production has largely moved overseas in the last decade, nearly all of its workforce in the UK are employed as scientists or engineers (where the majority of their products are designed and developed). And as the company continues to expand its research activities and significantly invest in graduate careers and academic research, there are no clear signs that the move will affect its economic activity in the UK for the foreseeable future.</p>
<p>While this all gives Dyson a defence for a strategic move, it is also easy to understand why this announcement has attracted criticism. First, the timing is notable, in a week when several other companies drew attention for their strategic decisions. </p>
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<p>These include Sony (which is <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46968720">moving its European headquarters</a> to the Netherlands), P&O (re-flagging its UK registered English Channel fleet <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/po-post-brexit-plan-to-register-channel-fleet-in-cyprus-11614554">to Cyprus</a>) and Pets at Home (<a href="https://news.sky.com/story/pets-at-home-to-stockpile-up-to-8m-of-products-in-case-of-hard-brexit-11614312">announcing a possible</a> stockpiling of its inventories). </p>
<p>What’s different about these announcements is their explicit link to issues concerning Brexit. This pragmatism was also evident in the CEO of Airbus <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46984229">hinting at relocating</a> the company’s operations. (He was also very blunt about the damage that a no-deal Brexit could potentially cause.) </p>
<h2>Business abhors a vacuum</h2>
<p>While it may be perfectly true that Dyson’s relocation has little to do with Brexit, announcing it when many other businesses are publicly expressing opinions on Brexit (that on the surface appear quite opposed to Sir James’s personal views) means it is inevitable that it will be discussed in the context of the surrounding news.</p>
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<p>Another factor gives critics of Brexit further ammunition against Dyson. The move to Singapore appears to highlight the perceived disconnect between Brexit’s most affluent supporters and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/oct/30/no-deal-brexit-would-trigger-lengthy-uk-recession-warns-sp">concerns</a> over average living standards in the immediate aftermath of any Brexit. </p>
<p>For well-known figures such as Dyson, any public support of Brexit can risk accusations of being out of touch with ordinary citizens (ironically, a similar charge to that often levelled at visible Remain campaigners).</p>
<p>Some <a href="http://lordashcroftpolls.com/2016/06/how-the-united-kingdom-voted-and-why/">polling has shown</a> that the majority of those supporting Brexit fall into the older demographic, generally citing ideological reasons rather than economic ones. The particular danger that business figures such as Dyson face when championing Brexit as an ideology, is that their economic situation will come under scrutiny. This in turn may strengthen perceptions that any economic changes to the country will not personally affect them or their quality of life.<br>
As a result, any comments they give on the state of the economy, such as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/mar/01/dyson-hoovers-up-801m-profit-in-asian-spending-boom">Sir James’s</a> “hope (that the UK economy) will bounce back” in February 2018, can come across as quite glib.</p>
<p>That said, criticism on social media probably means very little to Dyson as a company, which continues to enjoy unrivalled success in the UK and overseas. But this episode shows that business figures (particularly those expressing strong views on Brexit) need to be aware of how much more examination their comments and decisions will attract.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/110461/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gavin Midgley does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Its billionaire boss was a strong supporter of exiting the EU. Now the company is moving its headquarters out of Britain, too.Gavin Midgley, Senior Teaching Fellow in Accounting, University of SouthamptonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1001172018-07-23T16:00:40Z2018-07-23T16:00:40Z‘World music’: a defunct label in a globalised world of sounds<p>The global music business is experiencing demonstrable growth for the first time since the 1990s, and according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) sales of music <a href="http://www.ifpi.org/news/IFPI-GLOBAL-MUSIC-REPORT-2018">reached US$17.3 billion in 2017</a> an increase of 8.1% on 2016. But this increase in the global marketplace is not representative of certain areas of the world. In particular, popular music in Africa has benefited from shrewd independent artists and self-promotion, largely through global social media channels such as <a href="http://mdundo.com/">Mdundo</a>, which covers East Africa and allows artists to upload their music themselves.</p>
<p>Like Sony, which has made <a href="http://www.ifpi.org/africa.php">significant investment in Africa</a> in recent years, the global giant Universal Music Group has turned its attention to African artists, evident in the signing of performers such as <a href="http://reglo.org/posts/locko-arthur-the-cameroonian-american-5141">Locko from Cameroon</a>, <a href="http://inspireafrika.com/en/toofan-the-triumph-of-original-african-music/">Togo’s Toofan</a> and <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/artists/e448f041-b88b-44f2-86b6-5209793eebda">Kiff No Beat</a> from Côte d'Ivoire. But Sony and Universal’s strategies for their own stakes in a pan-African music industry are not entirely new. </p>
<p>More than 50 years ago, British conglomerate EMI established <a href="https://www.discogs.com/label/327821-EMI-Nigeria-Ltd">EMI (Nigeria) Ltd</a>, and many other Nigerian releases carried various imprints of Western labels such as His Master’s Voice, Parlophone and Polydor through the latter half of the 20th century. Outside Africa, RCA, Columbia and Odeon Records manufactured records in Brazil, the Philippines and India, releasing music by national as well as Western artists. </p>
<p>In the early 1960s, the American ethnomusicologist <a href="https://www.allmusic.com/artist/robert-e-brown-mn0001518776">Robert E Brown</a> coined the term “world music” to describe the music of artists he was working with from Asia, Africa and Indonesia. But it was during the Western industry boom of the 1980s that the term took off as a way of cataloguing and marketing non-Western, traditional and vernacular music. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228816/original/file-20180723-189341-3bft8z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228816/original/file-20180723-189341-3bft8z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228816/original/file-20180723-189341-3bft8z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228816/original/file-20180723-189341-3bft8z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228816/original/file-20180723-189341-3bft8z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228816/original/file-20180723-189341-3bft8z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228816/original/file-20180723-189341-3bft8z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Kiff No Beat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pan2409</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>During the mid-1980s, thousands of youths across Britain would tune in to BBC Radio 1 to hear John Peel and Andy Kershaw – champions of world music – playing the Bhundu Boys, The Kilimambogo Brothers and Ali Farka Touré alongside Timbuk 3, Ivor Cutler and The Smiths. Then, the term world music may have been a useful way to signpost non-Western music to listeners who had previously only known performers from the UK and US. </p>
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<p>Kershaw, in particular, brought many of these sounds to a broader audience – and it was possible to track down some of the music he played in HMV and Tower Records’ world music sections the following week. Despite this, consumers were merely scratching the surface of an incredible range of different vernacular music produced in a multitude of locations across the globe. </p>
<h2>I HATE world music</h2>
<p>So how appropriate is the term world music in the contemporary post-global world of popular music? The answer surely is, not very – yet one can wander into a high street record shop and, next to blues or country, find a section of eclectic and diverse music neatly labelled “world music”. There have been extensive discussions in the field of ethnomusicology in recent times regarding this issue. As far back as 1995, <a href="https://www.sibetrans.com/trans/articulo/300/new-perspectives-in-ethnomusicology-a-critical-survey">James Porter stated</a> that the definition of world music as non-Western music is problematic due to its exclusion of Western-made art music.</p>
<p>More publicly, David Byrne’s <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage-9901EED8163EF930A35753C1A96F958260.html">piece in The New York Times</a> in October 1999 opened with the statement “I HATE world music” – which continued by explaining the term as dismissive of “exotic” artists’ music as something foreign, somehow “irrelevant to one’s own life”. </p>
<p>But the term also evades any connection with a sense of culture or place. Even rap music has a plethora of sub-categories including crunk, grime, trap, drill, and so on, all of which are regional but still exist in the Western world only. “World music” is also a vague, general term that excludes Western-made fusion and hybrid music. </p>
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<p>Attempts have been made to align the work of these artists under the labels of <a href="https://www.allmusic.com/subgenre/worldbeat-ma0000011922">worldbeat</a>, ethnic, world and global fusion, but these terms also stigmatise by their generalist tone. Splitting music and lumping it together under the labels of “Western” and “non-Western”, which is essentially what the world music label does, misses the point and generates a perception of otherness – of places which exist exotically. It’s worryingly parochial, and embodies an almost imperialist ideal.</p>
<h2>Let’s dance</h2>
<p>So where do we go from here? Western interest in music from non-Western places is <a href="https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/8239752/africa-record-labels-looking-next-global-pop-star">increasing dramatically</a>, and record labels in Europe are producing many official reissues such as Xtasy’s Ẹ Jẹ́ Ká Jó (Let’s Dance) album. The sourcing of new music by listeners through social media platforms in recent years has resulted in a paradigm shift in how music is consumed as listeners discover an unprecedented range of music from across the globe. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mYZrdx2By8I?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>As Universal fully launches its new infrastructure in Africa, the industry would do well to remember that at a time when, in the West, even sub-genres of music require further sub-genres, music from places other than the West deserve to be properly defined and marketed to fully and accurately represent the artists creating it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100117/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adam de Paor-Evans does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>There are many sub-genres of Hip Hop, so why is all non-Anglophone music lumped under the label ‘world music’?Adam de Paor-Evans, Principal Lecturer in Cultural Theory / Research and Innovation Lead, School of Art, Design and Fashion, Faculty of Culture and the Creative Industries, University of Central LancashireLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/506192016-01-04T10:54:36Z2016-01-04T10:54:36ZHow Betamax bit the dust – and other tales of forgotten tech<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105864/original/image-20151214-9501-1vxj4s9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Off to the great video library in the sky...</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-34776424">Sony are to no longer make Betamax video cassette tapes</a> – something that will come as a surprise to many people who thought that Betamax had long since bitten the dust. But 28 years after it lost the battle to the VHS (or Vertical Helical Scan) format produced by JVC, Sony – which stopped manufacturing Betamax recorders in 2002 – will cease production of the tapes, too.</p>
<p>It’s a long, strange tale, set against a technology landscape that has changed quickly. Betamax was the first major attempt to provide high-quality record and playback capabilities of broadcast and domestic material to the average home. </p>
<p>So why did VHS – a <a href="http://www.cnet.com/uk/news/format-wars-the-tech-that-should-have-won/">technically inferior standard</a> – win the standardisation battle in Europe and worldwide? As with all technological advances, just having the best technical performer doesn’t necessarily mean that you will succeed and get widescale adoption. The per-unit cost to produce and to the end user define, in most cases, how viable a new technology launch will be.</p>
<p>The deals that the VHS lobby made with film studios, the fact that the VHS cassette could hold more minutes of material, and the lower unit cost of VHS meant that Betamax’s days as a domestic standard were always going to be numbered. Betamax lost the numbers game and lost the momentum. And the public’s trust and desire are difficult to regain once they have wavered.</p>
<p>Of course, just because the public went with VHS doesn’t mean that the industry didn’t care about Betamax. Professional broadcasters used a variation on Betamax’s core technology – Betacam, Betacam SP and Digital Betacam – for years after Betamax was no longer considered suitable for home use.</p>
<h2>Round and round we go</h2>
<p>But then many formats have fought similar battles. Vinyl was seen as a prime target for digital replacement when Philips launched its compact disc (CD) player – there was no stylus to replace and you didn’t have to worry about the vinyl warping or getting significantly scratched.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105860/original/image-20151214-9540-vg7grj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105860/original/image-20151214-9540-vg7grj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105860/original/image-20151214-9540-vg7grj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105860/original/image-20151214-9540-vg7grj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105860/original/image-20151214-9540-vg7grj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105860/original/image-20151214-9540-vg7grj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105860/original/image-20151214-9540-vg7grj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/105860/original/image-20151214-9540-vg7grj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">For the record, professionals prefer vinyl.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But vinyl has a redeeming feature – it’s an analogue system. When a vinyl disk plays it isn’t a sampled, <a href="http://www.mediacollege.com/glossary/q/quantization.html">quantised</a>, chopped-down and compressed version of the analogue music. Humans are analogue – our ears and eyes are analogue and as we can’t see the matrix we don’t assimilate digital directly – it has to be returned to an analogue expression for us to perceive it. Which may be one reason why vinyl <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-biggest-music-comeback-of-2014-vinyl-records-1418323133">is still hugely popular</a>.</p>
<p>The nature of digitising discards information which is reconstituted later in the process – for a purist, this loss of information is unacceptable. That’s why musicians and DJs tend to like vinyl and will fight to keep the standard alive.</p>
<h2>Blu-ray vs HD DVD</h2>
<p>The last significant disc technology standard battle fought in the home was between Blu-ray and HD DVD. On paper, HD DVD <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/20/two-years-of-battle-between-hd-dvd-and-blu-ray-a-retrospective/">had it in the bag</a>. A high-definition extension of an existing global standard, HD DVD had the early backing of major film studios while Blu-ray looked to be a riskier, unsupported option. </p>
<p>Blu-ray was a new technology and format – more delicate than HD DVD and initially more costly to produce as it involved completely new production facilities. </p>
<p>Blu-ray’s success can be attributed to many factors but one of the most significant was the <a href="http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2007/01/6658/">inclusion of a Blu-ray drive in the Sony Playstation 3 games console</a>, a master stroke of forward planning and a significant gamble. </p>
<p>Sony was a major player in Blu-ray as a standard and it wanted a way to give the public access to the new disks – so they made a Blu-ray player the main drive in the PS3. Even though the games didn’t benefit from Blu-ray technology at the time, the move positioned a next generation Blu-ray drive in the living room of every gamer with a PS3. </p>
<p>Sony made <a href="http://metue.com/12-21-2006/sonys-gamble/">significant losses on the PS3</a> in its first years as it was such an expensive drive. But the picture quality of Blu-ray began to gain ground as Blu-rays could be seen in full HD and, once the cinema companies aligned themselves with Blu-ray, the penetration in the living room market proved to be the long-game tipping point which meant that it became the standard for high definition disk delivery.</p>
<p>Toshiba, the main backer of HD DVD, <a href="http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1898610_1898625_1898629,00.html">made substantial losses</a> when they called time on HD DVD as a standard. Manufacturers are very wary of another format and an all-out standards war isn’t now viewed as good for business.</p>
<p>Ultra high-definition Blu-ray (UHD) is <a href="http://www.whathifi.com/news/ultra-hd-blu-ray-everything-you-need-to-know">due for release in early 2016</a>, the first UH DTV physical media standard for the home.</p>
<p>Blu-ray UHD could be the last significant physical non-streamed delivery standard for the home. The explosion in the streamed delivery of music, film and media through providers such as Netflix and Amazon, accessible from the Cloud and mobile devices, coupled with improved broadband speeds means that the need for a physical disk or delivery standard is debatable.</p>
<p>Disks could quite quickly become as redundant a technology as Betamax – certainly as long as the internet works and continues to develop.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/50619/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laurence Murphy is affiliated and a professional member of
SMPTE - Society of motion Picture engineers, IET- The institution of engineering and technology and the BCS- The British computing society</span></em></p>The rise and fall of video and music formats.Laurence Murphy, Senior Lecturer & Researcher in Media Technology, University of SalfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/505892015-11-13T04:25:19Z2015-11-13T04:25:19ZThe end of Sony’s Betamax video tape: but the format wars continue in a digital world<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101775/original/image-20151113-12386-1pa8abh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A typical Betamax video tape.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gilgongo/5172664736/">Flickr/Gilgongo </a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Sony <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-34776424">announced</a> this week that it will stop selling Betamax cassettes from March 2016. It was a format that appeared not to succeed as Sony had desired. </p>
<p>Betamax was introduced by Sony on April 16, 1975, with the <a href="http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/History/SonyHistory/2-01.html">SL-6300 video cassette recorder (VCR) deck</a> and the LV-1801, a television/VCR combination unit that incorporated the <a href="http://www.rewindmuseum.com/betamax.htm">SL-6300</a> and an 18-inch Trinitron colour television.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101772/original/image-20151113-12382-16v2yj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101772/original/image-20151113-12382-16v2yj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101772/original/image-20151113-12382-16v2yj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101772/original/image-20151113-12382-16v2yj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101772/original/image-20151113-12382-16v2yj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101772/original/image-20151113-12382-16v2yj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101772/original/image-20151113-12382-16v2yj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101772/original/image-20151113-12382-16v2yj4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The LV-1901 Sony Trinitron television and Betamax VCR, one of the first Betamax products on the market.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/120499087@N03/13184490353/">Flickr/Wally Gobetz</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The name Betamax came <a href="http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/History/SonyHistory/2-01.html">from</a> combining “beta”, a Japanese word which described the recording process, with “max”, which came from the tape path when viewed from above closely resembling the Greek letter of beta.</p>
<h2>Betamax battles – uptake and legality</h2>
<p>Developing the technology was only the first battle. Sony had to also convince the consumers that this new technology should be introduced into their homes.</p>
<p>For Sony the uptake of television was on its side. At the time of introducing the new Betamax VCR desk more than 90% of Japanese households had a colour television. With the release of Betamax television, <a href="http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/History/SonyHistory/2-01.html">time-shift</a> viewing, a term commonly used in association with television viewing today, commenced and allowed the public to “watch, whatever, whenever” on their television.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101771/original/image-20151113-12377-5bmt4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101771/original/image-20151113-12377-5bmt4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101771/original/image-20151113-12377-5bmt4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=839&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101771/original/image-20151113-12377-5bmt4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=839&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101771/original/image-20151113-12377-5bmt4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=839&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101771/original/image-20151113-12377-5bmt4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1054&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101771/original/image-20151113-12377-5bmt4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1054&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101771/original/image-20151113-12377-5bmt4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1054&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A typical ad for Sony’s Betamax video recorder.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nesster/3714783252/">Flickr/Nesster</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The concept of time-shifting and recording content created tension between Sony and content creators. Universal Studios and Walt Disney were two of the film industry corporations that attempted to bring an end to video recording technology, in a US <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/464/417/case.html">court case battle</a>.</p>
<p>The District Court <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/464/417/case.html">found</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Even if it were deemed that home-use recording of copyrighted material constituted infringement, the Betamax could still legally be used to record noncopyrighted material or material whose owners consented to the copying. An injunction would deprive the public of the ability to use the Betamax for this noninfringing off-the-air recording.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Despite appeals, the Supreme Court agreed and the Betamax ruling <a href="https://w2.eff.org/legal/cases/betamax/">still has implications today</a> for the manufacturers of technology designed for legitimate use, but which can also be used to infringe copyright.</p>
<p>The debate of the <a href="https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lc8vAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1Y0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5630%2C870934">VCR’s impact on various media</a> industries continued into the 1980s but Betamax didn’t just have to battle public uptake and the legalities, it also <a href="http://www.technofileonline.com/texts/howbetadied.htm">battled a competing format</a>.</p>
<h2>VHS killed the Betamax</h2>
<p>A year after the release of Betamax, the rival Japanese tech manufacturer <a href="http://www.jvc.com/company/index.jsp?pageID=2">JVC</a> released its own VCR format called Video Home System, better known as VHS.</p>
<p>Sony <a href="http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/History/SonyHistory/2-02.html">argued</a> that JVC’s VHS incorporated the Betamax format. This was due to Sony freely disclosing information about Betamax to JVC, in a hope to unify their product specifications. Another Japanese tech manufacturer Matsushita was also approached. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101778/original/image-20151113-12402-1b6ifok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101778/original/image-20151113-12402-1b6ifok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101778/original/image-20151113-12402-1b6ifok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101778/original/image-20151113-12402-1b6ifok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101778/original/image-20151113-12402-1b6ifok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101778/original/image-20151113-12402-1b6ifok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101778/original/image-20151113-12402-1b6ifok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101778/original/image-20151113-12402-1b6ifok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">VHS became the more popular video tape format in the home.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/marmella/4489098152/">Flickr/Marian Ladiona</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Despite their similarities, the two formats differed in size and were incompatible. This created a battle between the two formats around the home VCR market.</p>
<p>The success of VHS over the rival Betamax was evident in the US. In its first year of sales, VHS took 40% of Sony’s business. By 1987, 90% of the US$5.25 billion VCR <a href="http://www.wired.com/2010/06/0604vhs-ces/">market sales</a> were VHS. Further more by 1988, 170 million VCR’s had been <a href="http://www.technofileonline.com/texts/howbetadied.htm">sold world wide</a>, of which only 20 million (12%) were Betamax.</p>
<p>Sony admitted <a href="http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,966523,00.html">defeat</a> and by 1988 commenced selling the VHS format in conjunction with its Betamax format.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ddYZITaxlTQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>There are many arguments put forward as to why VHS won the battle. Was it due to the fact that VHS could record two hours, double that of Betamax? Was it the marketing of VHS, or simply due to “<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2003/jan/25/comment.comment">the whole product</a>” doing want consumers wanting for the right price?</p>
<h2>The disc wars</h2>
<p>The media format wars had not finished by any means, now the format battle was associated with disc media. Recently there has been the battle of high definition DVDs, Sony’s Blu-ray versus Toshiba’s HD DVD. This time Sony won. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101782/original/image-20151113-12373-7l58q1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101782/original/image-20151113-12373-7l58q1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101782/original/image-20151113-12373-7l58q1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101782/original/image-20151113-12373-7l58q1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101782/original/image-20151113-12373-7l58q1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101782/original/image-20151113-12373-7l58q1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101782/original/image-20151113-12373-7l58q1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101782/original/image-20151113-12373-7l58q1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Star Wars charts to the format wars: from VHS through DVD to Blu-ray.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nickstone333/6139560533/">Flickr/Peter Taylor</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Sony has also recently announced the arrival of its <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2015/11/10/sony-4k-ultra-hd-blu-ray-2016/">Ultra HD Blu-ray</a> opening the battle grounds of the Ultra High-definition (4K) disc market. </p>
<p>But in a digital world, consumers are watching their video content via the internet, across multiple screens with no physical media, tape, disc or otherwise. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kesMOzzNBiQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>So do all of these formats matter? Will disc media die? Will varying formats become less of an issue in a digital world?</p>
<h2>The format wars in a digital world</h2>
<p>Digital video compression was first associated with H.120 in 1984 and since then there have been <a href="http://visual.ly/brief-history-digital-video">several improvements in image quality</a>. This is without looking at the variation in file extensions.</p>
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<p>Format wars will not go away anytime soon. Unlike the battle of physical media, where a consumer would purchase one device which was associated with one format, digital allows one device that can access multiple formats.</p>
<p>While some may argue this to be a positive, this choice in digital formats may create more frustration for consumers. To watch content they maybe required to change the software, upgrade the software or download specific software associated with that video format. </p>
<p>From a professional perspective, no longer can producers of video content think about a singular platform, but must make sure that the content is available across a number of platforms, in a number of formats, which all have individual specifications.</p>
<p>These various changes in media formats have all occurred in the the 40 years since Sony’s Betamax was released. I wonder where the format wars will be in 40 years time?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/50589/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marc C-Scott is a board member of C31 Melbourne (Community Television Station)</span></em></p>The tech giant Sony may have signalled the end to its video tape but the format wars continue in the digital world.Marc C-Scott, Lecturer in Screen Media, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/358792015-01-06T14:14:31Z2015-01-06T14:14:31ZCasting Idris Elba as the first black James Bond wouldn’t make the films less troubling<p>Whether Bond can be black or not is a debate that has rumbled on past the pre-Christmas Sony hack revelations that <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/sony-hacking-idris-elba-should-be-next-james-bond-sony-chief-said-in-leaked-email-9937631.html">Idris Elba was proposed as the next Bond</a>. <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/30636810">Kanye West waded in</a> just before the new year in full support, and American right-wing commentator Rush Limbaugh has <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/rush-limbaugh-has-more-say-761206">returned to defend</a> his <a href="https://tv.yahoo.com/news/rush-limbaugh-condemns-idris-elba-210600205.html">opposition to casting Elba</a> due to his race. He said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We had 50 years of white Bonds because Bond is white. Bond was never black. Ian Fleming never created a black Brit to play James Bond. The character was always white. He was always Scottish. He always drank vodka shaken not stirred and all that.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>While most people of all political stripes have decried this view, a perhaps even more serious concern has been missed in the ongoing media storm. The controversy is particularly interesting in light of the recently <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/cia-torture-report">released Senate report detailing</a> the CIAs regular use of torture as a matter of policy during the “War on Terror”. Given these findings, it strikes me as rather trivial to argue over whether Bond is played by a black or white actor.</p>
<p>Regardless of Bond’s race, these films present a romanticised version of Western intelligence exactly at a moment when its less savoury reality is being so exposed to the world. In addition to justifying UK and US’s historical and present imperialism, the films also often reinforce the “ticking time bomb” scenario so central to the legitimisation of torture by these agencies.</p>
<h2>Whitewashing intelligence</h2>
<p>Spy films have a rather undistinguished legacy of romanticising otherwise less than altruistic Western foreign policy. While the CIA and MI5 were engaged in overthrowing democratically elected governments, <a href="http://www.douglasvalentine.com/the_phoenix_program_11712.htm">conducting torture programs</a> and doing all it could to support US corporate interests abroad, the popular entertainment of the 1950s, 60s and 70s was populated by films and television shows such as James Bond and Mission Impossible. These made international espionage seem <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01956051.1994.9943983?journalCode=vjpf20#.VJ4KMshA">both glamorous and high minded</a>.</p>
<p>The casting of a black actor to play Bond wouldn’t change this fundamental romanticising of the dirty business of Western intelligence gathering. While it would be a victory for multiculturalism, it would also have no effect on the continued whitewashing of both history and the present. This is especially problematic given that so much of this activity results in a global system where whites still have the dominant share of power at the expense of majority black nations.</p>
<p>This is reminiscent of the starring turn Bill Cosby in the US Television show <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058816/">I Spy</a> at the height of America’s involvement in Vietnam. The casting of a black actor like Cosby in a leading role was <a href="http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/41067169?sid=21105514574083&uid=3738032&uid=2&uid=4">undeniably revolutionary and important</a>, especially at the time. But it also threatened to distract from the fact that during this period the US military was not fighting evil villains but engaged in a bloody and ultimately futile conflict that left upwards of over a million casualties.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Casino Royale features a scene where Bond is tortured.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>A torturous fiction</h2>
<p>The enjoyment of a spy film does not, of course, mean that one wholeheartedly endorses the actions and policies of their real-life CIA or MI5 counterparts. Yet it does tread a dangerous line between mere escapism and legitimisation. This is especially true in light of the widespread use of torture as a matter of policy by the US and its global allies in the ongoing War on Terror.</p>
<p>A common theme in many of these films was the reversal of roles – in which the Western spy was the victim not the perpetrator of torture. Think of the awful torture scene with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_y7YEIphts">Daniel Craig as Bond in Casino Royale</a>. Or in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8faMMOTA0WI">Die Another Day</a> (Pierce Brosnan). Or secret agent <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYDh5m9-dE4">Ethan Hunt in Mission Impossible III</a>. </p>
<p>Here the secret agent was trapped in the clutches of an “evil villain” who they ultimately manage to narrowly escape. While British governments were <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-27714715">abusing Northern Irish “terrorist” suspects</a> and the US was training foreign leaders in torture techniques at its <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestoryamericas/2012/09/201292081054585410.html">infamous School of Americas in Georgia</a>, cinema audiences were captivated by the courage of its spy heroes, remaining strong in the face of pain at the hands of nefarious foreign agents.</p>
<p>Even more troubling is that when the “good guy” secret agents do resort to torture, it is only stop the <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/04/the-tortured-logic-of-the-ticking-time-bomb-scenario/361345/">proverbial “ticking time bomb” scenario</a> so popular in the use of “enhanced interrogation” in the current political environment. This is where these films are at their most threatening. Such moments present a visceral imprint on an often already scared public that evil enemies of our way of life are planning our mass destruction and can only be stopped by resorting to extreme measures.</p>
<h2>Troubling in black or white</h2>
<p>The shocking contents of the CIA torture report should raise new questions regarding how espionage and intelligence gathering is depicted on the big and small screen. The imaginary world of gadgets and thrilling adventures bears little resemblance to the reality of rectal feeding and water boarding.</p>
<p>Those who would oppose the casting of a black Bond, like Limbaugh, should be duly criticised. The selection of Elba would be a triumph for diversity in entertainment. It would undoubtedly be a positive step forward in further improving the representation of all races within popular culture.</p>
<p>But this would not make these films any less ethically problematic. Behind this potential victory for diversity lies the potential to once again whitewash the CIA and MI5’s worst excesses. Not only do such films camouflage – and even explicitly reinforce – their use of torture, they also continue to position Western foreign policy as a necessary good in the face of international evil forces.</p>
<p>Regardless of the race of their stars, Western spy films remain politically troubling entertainment in the 21st century. No casting decision can change the immorality of current Western intelligence and the entertainment that steadfastly ignores it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/35879/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Bloom does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Whether Bond can be black or not is a debate that has rumbled on past the pre-Christmas Sony hack revelations that Idris Elba was proposed as the next Bond. Kanye West waded in just before the new year…Peter Bloom, Lecturer in Organisation Studies, Department of People and Organisation, The Open UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/357342014-12-19T13:44:30Z2014-12-19T13:44:30ZSony must release The Interview<p>Is The Interview a good movie? We may never know. After the theft by North Korean hackers of vast quantities of confidential emails, pay information and unreleased film scripts, the drip-drip leaking of all this to the media, and an explicit threat of terrorism, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-30528772">Sony Pictures has caved</a>. It has cancelled not just the premiere and US theatrical release of the film, but also all DVD and VOD launches. Worldwide.</p>
<p>Sony, in short, has taken a $42m bath (plus prints and advertising costs) on the off-chance that we may laugh unacceptably loudly at the portrayal of a hyper-violent buffoon. </p>
<p>The cancellation of the premiere and release of the film has caused a wave of protest, especially from Hollywood insiders. Most recently, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/dec/19/george-clooney-sony-pictures-hack-the-interview">George Clooney attacked the press and Hollywood</a>) for failing to stand up to the hackers, with Sony. Aaron Sorkin, always an eloquent defender of liberal values, complained that the US was succumbing “to an unprecedented attack on our most cherished, bedrock principle of free speech”. </p>
<p>Similar sentiments were expressed by Ben Stiller, Rob Lowe, Judd Apatow, Jimmy Kimmel and many others. <a href="http://deadline.com/2014/12/gore-verbinski-north-korea-steve-carell-film-cancellation-1201328823/">A thriller called Pyongyang, starring Steve Carell and Gore Verbinski, has also been cancelled</a> because 20th Century Fox has withdrawn an undertaking to distribute. </p>
<h2>What’s at stake?</h2>
<p>So why withdraw the film? Let’s deal with an easy one first. Embarrassment. The hackers revealed that Sony executive Amy Pascal (that rare species, a woman in a position of power in Hollywood) and independent producer Scott Rudin exchanged private, scathing comments about Angelina Jolie and her ambition to jumpstart what seems like a colossal turkey in the remaking: Cleopatra.</p>
<p>What’s the revelation here? That Hollywood is a back-bitey place? Really? Well hold the front page! I doubt that anyone on the receiving end is truly offended by any of this. On the contrary, if it plays out the way it usually does when someone’s been indiscreet, Jolie will simply bank the insults as future bargaining chips. Maybe Cleopatra will be foisted on us after all. And anyway, a little transient shame never did anyone any real harm. It’s good for the soul. </p>
<p>We also learned that <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/dec/12/sony-email-hack-jennifer-lawrence-paid-less-american-hustle">Jennifer Lawrence was paid two net points less</a> than her male co-stars in <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1800241/">American Hustle</a>. Newsflash: Hollywood is sexist.</p>
<p>Hollywood accounting practices actually mean that net points (a share of the profits after every single expense from now until Doomsday has been deducted) are meaningless, there to soothe egos rather than for stashing away as a retirement nest egg. There are no profits in Hollywood; x(net)=0. It’s the E=mc<sup>2</sup> of Tinseltown. They are magicked away, so that people on net points get nothing. Empires – or at least, movie moguls’ mansions in Bel Air – have been built on this. </p>
<p>So if Sony wants to make this go away it can offer Lawrence the additional 2% of nothing and, just like Woody Allen, everybody’s happy. Hollywood sexism won’t end with this revelation – but on the whole, it might be a good thing to see it exposed in this way.</p>
<p>Racism? <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/12/business/media/scott-rudin-and-amy-pascal-of-sony-apologize-for-racially-tinged-comments-on-obama.html?_r=0">Joking about Obama and Django Unchained</a> was certainly racist. But again, who knew Hollywood could be such a thing? The same Hollywood, that is, which seems to have racism stitched into its DNA, from DW Griffiths’s <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0004972/">Birth of a Nation</a>, excerpts of which were used as recruitment tools by a resurgent Ku Klux Klan, to William Friedkin’s recent execrable, anti-Arab <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0160797/">Rules of Engagement</a>. Let alone the <a href="https://theconversation.com/ridley-scotts-casting-of-white-actors-is-symptomatic-of-larger-problems-35527">lack of colour-blind casting</a>.</p>
<p>So by exposing the casual racism of these email exchanges, the hackers have, by the law of unintended consequences, performed a sort of public duty.</p>
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<h2>Freedom of expression</h2>
<p>Which brings us to the heart of this: freedom of expression. Shutting down the movie and trying to imagine it never happened is shameful. Firstly, there’s the suspicion that Sony executives have cancelled merely to hide their embarrassment at all these, and more, revelations (although it may be foolish of them to think that cancelling the film will stop the flow of indiscreet emails). Then there’s a question of whether this has anything to do with regional politics in East Asia – Sony is, after all, a Japanese company. But worst of all is that Sony has surrendered not just in the face of a terrorist threat, but one that, if it’s real, <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/12/17/north-korea-sony-hack/20558135/">is directly state-sponsored</a>. </p>
<p>There is an alternative. Sony could say to the hackers and their presumed state puppet masters: thanks for bringing such shameful acts and utterances to our attention – we’ve learned a lot – and, in return, we want to make this a learning experience for you too. You can learn how freedom of expression works. We’ll release our film and you are welcome to come over and shoot your own comedy about our political leaders. We even have a White House set somewhere – use that! Then we could put both pictures out at the same time and compare opening weekend box-office takings in Variety over lattes and skinny muffins.</p>
<p>Most of all, though, Sony must tell the hackers: we have to release our film – and our cinema chains must show it. Because if we don’t we’re sending out a message that you can shut us down with the mere utterance of a barely credible threat. And we have to do this not just because we have to defend the idea of freedom of expression, but because allowing you to get away with this will encourage you to believe you can get away with anything.</p>
<p>You cannot be in a position to make similar threats about something far more important. Say, a documentary about your brutal gulags, or an investigative report about your regime’s practices of torture and murder. </p>
<p>If this film isn’t released, North Korea will inevitably be tempted to try and shut down more filmmakers and journalists with similar stupid threats.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/35734/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Hickman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Is The Interview a good movie? We may never know. After the theft by North Korean hackers of vast quantities of confidential emails, pay information and unreleased film scripts, the drip-drip leaking of…David Hickman, Senior Lecturer in Film & Television Production, University of YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/349312014-12-02T12:38:25Z2014-12-02T12:38:25ZCyber whodunnit: North Korea prime suspect but there are many potential culprits<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66064/original/image-20141202-20565-1wxp4yc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Did they get any Jennifer Lawrence pics?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Rodong Sinmun</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The recent cyber attack on Sony Pictures was so extensive there were notices placed on the entrance doors telling staff not to log in to the company’s network when they reached their desks.</p>
<p>Sony’s entire network had to be taken down as the film company tried to deal with a sustained attack by hackers threatening to release sensitive documents to the public unless a ransom was paid. Since then, <a href="http://thenextweb.com/insider/2014/12/02/hackers-release-confidential-sony-pictures-documents-massive-attack/">files and ripped films</a> have appeared online.</p>
<p>The clear-up continues and Sony has employed a leading US cyber-security company to seek out the smoking gun. Meanwhile, speculation is rife as to who was responsible. Conspiracy theories have been fuelled by the FBI, which issued a <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/02/us-sony-cybersecurity-malware-idUSKCN0JF3FE20141202">flash alert</a>, warning that cyber-attackers were launching malware that could destroy whole networks and result in total data loss.</p>
<p>At the moment, any accusations about who carried out the Sony attack are pure speculation. Like a good crime novel, people are combining motive, means and opportunity to identify the culprit.</p>
<h2>Motive</h2>
<p>That’s how they’ve landed on North Korea. Its motive is rage about a forthcoming Sony film The Interview, which parodies Kim Jung Un. North Korea has already said it considers the release of the film to be an <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-28014069">act of war</a>. The national government has also apparently written to the UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, to express its annoyance about the film and has <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-30283573">refused to comment</a> when asked if the attack was launched from its shores. All this has been sufficient to convince some people of North Korea’s guilt.</p>
<p>But let’s just take a step back for a moment. Is there really no one else that could have a motive for this attack? What about a competitor? Hiring hacks as a service has become a growing trend and many cyber-criminals even advertise online, offering to do some form of cyber-damage to your commercial competition for the right price. And what about criminals hunting for content they can then pirate? Copyright theft is one of the fastest-growing crimes online – and the financial gains for the criminals are enormous.</p>
<h2>Capability</h2>
<p>Then comes means. Could North Korea really launch such a sophisticated attack? The short answer is yes. We don’t know for certain but it is indeed possible that it has the capability. The internet has levelled the playing field when it comes to crime and warfare. You no longer need an army, just a relatively small group of skilled people and some cheap hardware to develop malware.</p>
<p>We know that up to 90% of successful hacks involve some form of human failure. It might be that, in this case, someone at Sony made a simple error that let in the attackers. Even technically sophisticated attacks can be carried out by people without much knowledge, thanks to the toolkits available online.</p>
<p>But attacks on the internet have one other feature that conventional physical attacks do not. When you launch your weapon, your victim can – if it has the skill – capture the code and <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-koreas-cyber-war-ambitions-could-backfire-badly-23628">repurpose it</a> to use back against you. Rather like biological weapons, it is dangerous to unleash these weapons because they have a nasty habit of infecting friendly systems, albeit in slightly modified forms.</p>
<h2>Remote launch</h2>
<p>What about opportunity? Some say that North Korea is so disconnected as a country that it couldn’t launch a cyber-attack on any meaningful scale. This fails to recognise one of the great advantages of launching attacks on the internet – you can do it from anywhere in the world. It’s not like launching a rocket and hoping no one traces it back to its launch point. Many attacks quite deliberately use false flag operations so the person suffering the attack has little chance of using the point of origin to find the attacker.</p>
<p>Worse still, many of us are unwittingly helping attackers by allowing our computers to become part of a <a href="https://theconversation.com/in-the-webs-hidden-darknet-criminal-enterprise-is-thriving-32440">botnet</a> which is then used as a platform from which to launch attacks. Nearly all denial-of-service attacks are “distributed” denial-of-service attacks – the flood of data that cripples the victims network comes from many, many machines spread across the globe. That’s what makes then so difficult to combat.</p>
<p>North Korea quite possibly has motive, means and opportunity to carry out this attack on Sony, but as with any successful prosecution, that isn’t enough. We need evidence. We will have to wait for the detailed forensic work to complete before we stand a realistic chance of knowing for certain.</p>
<p>That may or may not be forthcoming, but in the meantime we should consider what this event tells us about the balance of power in cyberspace. In a world in which major disruption can be caused with scant resources and little skill, all enemies are a threat. North Korea might be the rogue state that everyone loves to hate but there are plenty of others who could have done it. </p>
<p>There is no longer a tiered approach of superpowers fighting proxy wars in smaller, developing nations. Now those developing nations can fight back, and you might not even know it was them.</p>
<p><em>Next read: <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-koreas-cyber-war-ambitions-could-backfire-badly-23628">South Korea’s cyber-war ambitions could backfire badly</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/34931/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alan Woodward does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The recent cyber attack on Sony Pictures was so extensive there were notices placed on the entrance doors telling staff not to log in to the company’s network when they reached their desks. Sony’s entire…Alan Woodward, Visiting Professor , University of SurreyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/236762014-02-26T14:53:38Z2014-02-26T14:53:38ZMany phones, little innovation at Mobile World Congress<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/42567/original/mc4p9wjd-1393415718.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">JK Shin unveils the latest Samsung Galaxy phone.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/samsungtomorrow/12760722174/sizes/o/">samsungtomorrow</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Mobile World congress in Barcelona is the largest mobile phone exhibition in the technology calendar and is the place to see the new mobile technologies that will be attempting to claim your money and a place in your pocket over the next year.</p>
<p>The message coming out of this year’s event though is that while there are lots of new phones coming, we shouldn’t expect a great technological leap from any of them. Most of the phones are incremental updates, running the latest version of Android’s mobile phone operating system <a href="http://www.android.com/kitkat/">KitKat</a>.</p>
<p>Exhibitors were much more interested in displaying their wearable technology innovations this year. There were a few nice designs and some clangers to avoid. </p>
<p>Samsung continues to plug away at the smartwatch market with an updated version of its rather clunky Galaxy Gear. The new watch is lighter and has extra features like TV control. More interesting is their new Gear Fit, which is attempting to converge the smartwatch and fitness band.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/42571/original/s9yx6thp-1393417918.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/42571/original/s9yx6thp-1393417918.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/42571/original/s9yx6thp-1393417918.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42571/original/s9yx6thp-1393417918.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42571/original/s9yx6thp-1393417918.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42571/original/s9yx6thp-1393417918.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42571/original/s9yx6thp-1393417918.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42571/original/s9yx6thp-1393417918.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Logging your every move in life with Sony.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sony</span></span>
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<p>Sony has followed with its <a href="http://www.sonymobile.com/us/products/smartwear/">SmartBand</a>, which will be on the market in March for £80. It looks more like a wristband than a watch and offers standard step and activity recording, along with the ability to take “life snapshots” using a combination of photos, GPS and Facebook services using a connected phone app. So if you’re out with friends at a party having a good time, you tap the “life bookmark” button on your wristband and everything to do with that moment is remembered “forever”. That includes where you were, who you were with and even what music you were listening to at the time.</p>
<p>The Sony device looks rather elegant compared to the Galaxy Gear, although some commentators have described the all-encompassing life logging feature as creepy. </p>
<h2>Playing it safe</h2>
<p>It’s a good job there is so much happening in wearable tech because mobile makers are playing it safe when it comes to phones.</p>
<p>Samsung has a fifth iteration of its successful Galaxy phone, with small improvement in the internals and a slightly bulkier similar design to the last. The S5 has the same screen as the S4 but a better camera and a slightly better processor. Following in the footsteps of Apple, Samsung has added a fingerprint scanner to its latest phone and has gone a bit further by making the device waterproof to up to 3 metres, making it safe for bathtime.</p>
<p>Samsung has also gone big on health by adding a heart rate monitor to the S5. Having sought to woo fitness fans with its smartwatches and other wearable tech, it now appears to be attempting to link the whole range of products together under the fitness banner. This may be aimed at boosting sales of the smartwatches, which <a href="http://venturebeat.com/2013/10/28/samsung-galaxy-gear-smartwatches-have-embarrassing-30-return-rate/">haven’t been going too well so far</a>.</p>
<p>HTC has also taken inspiration from Apple with its latest phone. It has promised a follow up to its widely regarded HTC One in about a month but has filled the gap with a mid-range device. The strategy is not dissimilar to Apple’s latest iPhone release and neither is the phone itself, which comes with a <a href="http://store.apple.com/uk/buy-iphone/iphone5c">distinctly familiar</a> <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2014/02/24/htc-desire-816/">plastic casing</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/42569/original/xkcbnjw3-1393416412.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/42569/original/xkcbnjw3-1393416412.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/42569/original/xkcbnjw3-1393416412.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42569/original/xkcbnjw3-1393416412.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42569/original/xkcbnjw3-1393416412.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42569/original/xkcbnjw3-1393416412.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42569/original/xkcbnjw3-1393416412.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42569/original/xkcbnjw3-1393416412.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tee Nokia 220. Cheap and cheerful.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://press.nokia.com/wp-content/uploads/mediaplugin/photo/nokia_220_front_yellow_social.jpg">Nokia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Nokia is innovating, but with price rather than technology. While competitors seek to produce ever shinier devices for ever richer customers, one of Nokia’s latest models comes in at just €29. This is the Nokia 220, which is being pitched as an affordable device for all.</p>
<p>Nokia has grouped its phones in four price brackets at this year’s congress, starting with the 220 at the low end. Next comes the Asha 230, which is being aimed at emerging economies and comes with an affordable price tag of €45. Then there’s the <a href="http://press.nokia.com/2014/02/24/nokia-connects-the-next-billion-with-affordable-smartphones/">Nokia X</a> family of phones, which will cost between €89 and €109 and its existing Lumia range – which is fully integrated into the Microsoft ecosystem. </p>
<p>It seems clear that these low cost devices are aimed at emerging markets such as Africa where price points have typically been very low. Whether the features on offer are enough to steer people away from the full Android experience will probably come to marketing spend and the level of cloud infrastructure support. </p>
<h2>Striking out boldly</h2>
<p>Outside the biggest names, there is some innovation happening in Barcelona this year, with varying degrees of success.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/42491/original/xkzm3fzf-1393350869.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/42491/original/xkzm3fzf-1393350869.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/42491/original/xkzm3fzf-1393350869.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42491/original/xkzm3fzf-1393350869.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42491/original/xkzm3fzf-1393350869.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42491/original/xkzm3fzf-1393350869.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42491/original/xkzm3fzf-1393350869.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42491/original/xkzm3fzf-1393350869.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ugly but new and coming to an IT department near you soon.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.fujitsu.com/global/news/pr/archives/month/2014/20140218-01.html">Fujitsu press release</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Fujitsu deserves an honourable mention for its attempt to actually bring something new to the table rather than producing a tweaked version of its own, or indeed someone else’s, device. Unfortunately, it may have gone too far with its rather strange looking <a href="http://www.fujitsu.com/global/news/pr/archives/month/2014/20140218-01.html">glove-and-glasses combination</a>. It’s a good job the glove is aimed at tech professionals, who will be able to use it to point at broken bits of machinary and receive information about what to do about the problem on the glasses. It is far too ugly to succeed in the consumer market.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Russian company Yota has a phone with screens on either side of the device, which is certainly unique. Over in the we’ve-seen-that-before category sit the Lenova S660 and the Sony Xperia M2. Both of these are perfectly fine devices, but will have to offer more if they wish to command a greater market share.</p>
<p>There are one or two interesting devices coming out of this year’s congress but nothing too innovative or different. Apple no longer attends other people’s parties, having realised that it can command more direct attention running its own events. If rumour is to be believed, Apple will release a <a href="http://9to5mac.com/2014/02/07/from-fashion-to-fitness-the-experts-behind-apples-wearable-future/">wearable device</a> in a few months. We might expect something innovative from that, or from Intel’s range of 64 bit processors but both are at least six to eight months off.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/23676/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Barry Avery does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Mobile World congress in Barcelona is the largest mobile phone exhibition in the technology calendar and is the place to see the new mobile technologies that will be attempting to claim your money…Barry Avery, Associate Professor, Informatics and Operations , Kingston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/124162013-03-05T03:35:10Z2013-03-05T03:35:10ZPlayStation 4: the platform’s more important than the power<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/20681/original/4z5t69qt-1361922126.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sony CEO Andrew House launching the PlayStation 4 last month - will it change the face of gaming?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Peter Foley</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Sony fired its salvo in the next-generation console wars with last month’s <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/feb/21/sony-launch-playstation-4-console">announcement of the PlayStation 4</a>, set to be released later this year. But the hardware specifications of the new console – placed smack-bang at the centre of the media event – may be something of a red herring. </p>
<p>On release, the PlayStation 4 will enter into a broader and ever-competitive gaming landscape where it will have to compete against <a href="http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/147469/New_Xbox_to_be_rolled_out_April_26__report">whatever Microsoft has planned</a>, Nintendo’s <a href="">Wii-U</a>, as well as the resurgence of PC gaming.</p>
<h2>The specifications</h2>
<p>The specifications of Sony’s new console were clearly intended to impress. Amid the <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/25/playstation-4-processor/">teraflops and cores</a> that power the PlayStation 4’s processor, there was one particularly meaningful piece of information at the launch: the console is based on the <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,1237,t=x86&i=54979,00.asp">x86 architecture</a> of a desktop PC. </p>
<p>Unfortunately for Sony, that means the specifications were immediately compared to those of current and future gaming PCs. And compared to the state-of-the-art desktop PCs, the PlayStation 4 doesn’t stack up. </p>
<p>The central processing unit is a fairly low-to-mid-range processor, and the high-speed <a href="http://www.amd.com/us/products/technologies/gddr5/Pages/gddr5.aspx">GDDR5</a> (Graphics Double Data Rate, version 5) memory still amounts to only 8 gigabytes of shared system memory. It might be fast memory, but as the latest <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey?platform=pc">Steam hardware survey</a> shows, 8 gigabytes of memory would hardly be remarkable in a gaming PC, and the PlayStation 4 will have to share that memory between system and graphics functionality.</p>
<p>The PlayStation 4’s hardware specifications will blow the doors off a standard office computer, but they can’t compete with a PC gaming “beast” now, let alone in a few years time. It’s a mystery that Sony would try to dazzle with such unimpressive specifications.</p>
<p>But I’d suggest the hardware specifications don’t really matter. </p>
<p>Yes, sharing the x86 architecture means you can compare the PlayStation 4’s specifications to a gaming PC, but a console is not a gaming PC: it’s a gaming platform, which is to say that the physical console hardware exists as the basis of a whole product ecosystem. What actually matters is how well it runs games, which has a lot more to do with how much support it gets from developers. </p>
<p>Current consoles massively out-perform PCs with equivalent specifications because games can be optimised for the console’s standardised hardware. And they out-perform on cost as well: Microsoft’s <a href="http://www.xbox.com/en-US/">Xbox 360</a> launched in 2005, and eight years later it can run <a href="http://www.elderscrolls.com/">The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim</a> far, far better than any PC bought at the same time, for the same price, possibly could. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/20684/original/bfv9kyzg-1361925836.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/20684/original/bfv9kyzg-1361925836.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/20684/original/bfv9kyzg-1361925836.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/20684/original/bfv9kyzg-1361925836.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/20684/original/bfv9kyzg-1361925836.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=661&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/20684/original/bfv9kyzg-1361925836.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=661&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/20684/original/bfv9kyzg-1361925836.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=661&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The latest ‘Dualshock’ controller, to be released with the PS4.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Peter Foley</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The reality is, the specifications Sony trumpeted at their media event are virtually meaningless, because there’s no real standard to compare them against.</p>
<h2>The gaming platform</h2>
<p>What was presented over the rest of Sony’s media event suggests the hardware specifications are meaningless on an even more fundamental level. A <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/feb/22/playstation-4-what-games-like">succession of developers</a> insisted the games they’re making for the upcoming console are not just improved by the machine’s hardware, but that they required this new hardware in order to create truly new and innovative games. </p>
<p>Those words rang hollow against what was actually shown, which included derivative first-person shooters, iterations of racing games, and a slew of social media and communication add-ons that may have benefited from specialised hardware but owed little to the raw hardware power Sony bragged of. </p>
<p>Developer Jonathan Blow talked about his upcoming game <a href="http://the-witness.net/news/">The Witness</a>, which promised to be innovative, but didn’t seem to need the Playstation 4’s special hardware at all.</p>
<p>Blow praised Sony not for the hardware power it promised, but for the accessibility its gaming platform promised for smaller developers. And this praise has to be read in the context of Blow’s <a href="http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/122327-Jonathan-Blow-Clarifies-The-Witness-PS4-Exclusivity">harsh words</a> on the accessibility of Microsoft’s current platform. </p>
<p>This, then, is what really matters: not the raw hardware of the Playstation 4, but the gaming platform Sony will need to build around it.</p>
<h2>The new generation</h2>
<p>Once it launches, the Playstation 4 will be compared not so much against other gaming hardware but against other gaming platforms.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/x7QhUL8NUK4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Sony’s PS4 launch video.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Along with console gaming systems, PC gaming has gone through something of a revival in recent years. Game company <a href="http://www.valvesoftware.com/">Valve</a>, in particular, has promised to make the PC a more unified and accessible platform with its <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/2/6/3958162/valve-steam-box-cake">Steam Box initiative</a>. And then there’s mobile and tablet gaming, which is very much focused on platforms over hardware.</p>
<p>One aspect of Sony’s media event was widely commented on: at no point did anyone reveal <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2013/feb/21/playstation-4-launch">what the console itself looks like</a>. I suspect this is because the company recognises it doesn’t matter. </p>
<p>While Sony opened its presentation with the hardware specifications of its new console, the company is already likely aware of the one truism of the new console generation: the platform will be far more important than the raw hardware.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/12416/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adrian Forest does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Sony fired its salvo in the next-generation console wars with last month’s announcement of the PlayStation 4, set to be released later this year. But the hardware specifications of the new console – placed…Adrian Forest, PhD candidate, Videogames Studies, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/42702011-11-14T19:37:37Z2011-11-14T19:37:37ZHackers hit Steam: is it time to open the Valve on e-commerce regulation?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/5466/original/Screen_shot_2011-11-14_at_10.37.01_AM.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1%2C4%2C621%2C428&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Compromising E-commerce sites has become the bread and butter of many hackers.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">http://store.steampowered.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>One of the world’s largest online video gaming networks, <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/">Steam</a>, has been hacked and its 35 million users may have had their accounts “compromised”. And yes, “compromised” means their (encrypted) credit card details may have been stolen. </p>
<p>At the risk of asking the obvious, have we finally reached the moment for stricter regulation of e-commerce, the buying and selling of products online? In Australia, the amount of cash spent in this way now sits at around <a href="http://www.ecommercereport.com.au/?p=1952">AU$30 billion a year</a>; globally online spending is <a href="http://www.powerretail.com.au/news/cisco-global-e-commerce-to-hit-1-4-trillion-by-2015/">projected to reach</a> US$1.24 trillion a year by 2015.</p>
<p>Staff at the game company <a href="http://www.valvesoftware.com/">Valve</a>, which owns and operates Steam, uncovered an intrusion into a user database while investigating a security breach of its discussion forums earlier this month. At first the firm said the discussion groups were offline for maintenance.</p>
<p>But a <a href="http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/announcement.php?f=14">message posted</a> on Steam by Valve co-founder Gabe Newell last week revealed the sites were shut down because of defacement – and that the breach may have gone beyond the company’s discussion forums. </p>
<h2>The worst of times</h2>
<p>The Steam hack comes in an already bad year for internet companies and their reputations for data management – not least the Sony Playstation Network, which saw <a href="http://theconversation.com/credibility-at-risk-in-sony-hacking-scandal-1038">77 million accounts</a> compromised by hackers in May. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2390677,00.asp#fbid=UMuHudFsSLB">E-commerce sites</a> have become something of a staple for hackers. Even <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/technology/security/hacked-security-firm-leaves-aussies-vulnerable-20110321-1c2i4.html">security firms</a> offering security devices that are meant to protect customers by providing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-level_ISP">second level</a> log-in security have been hacked.</p>
<p>The hackers, in the case of Steam, gained access to “information including user names, hashed and salted passwords, game purchases, email addresses, billing addresses and encrypted credit card information”.</p>
<p>Newell stated that he was “truly sorry”, and tried to assure users that, “We don’t have evidence of credit card misuse at this time. Nonetheless you should watch your credit card activity and statements closely”.</p>
<p>Yet another company closing the stable door after the horse has bolted. </p>
<p>The big question I’d be asking myself as a user is: will Valve take responsibility for any losses incurred by me? No information has been issued on this as yet.</p>
<p>Newell recommended Steam and forum account passwords be changed, but was not going to “force” users to do this. </p>
<p>Steam account passwords can be different to the forum passwords, which is why he added: “if you have used your Steam forum password on other accounts you should change those passwords as well”.</p>
<p>One golden rule should be instilled, very clearly, in everyone’s mind: you should never, under any circumstances, use the same password for more than one site on which you use your credit card. </p>
<p>There are solutions, provided there is will – and it’s getting hard to argue against doing something urgently.</p>
<p>Credit card companies should force large and medium e-commerce sites to utilise secondary security such as tokens or SMS confirmation when users log in. Some of the Australian banks now offer secondary security and this should be replicated throughout e-commerce more generally.</p>
<p>Further regulation of online e-commerce providers is necessary – internet crime is growing and governments need to act now to reverse this trend.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/4270/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark A Gregory does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>One of the world’s largest online video gaming networks, Steam, has been hacked and its 35 million users may have had their accounts “compromised”. And yes, “compromised” means their (encrypted) credit…Mark A Gregory, Senior Lecturer in Electrical and Computer Engineering, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/16972011-06-06T04:52:43Z2011-06-06T04:52:43ZSony hacked again: ‘it’s very worrying from a customer’s point of view’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/1531/original/aapone-20110524000320322095-japan_sony-original_1_.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Does Sony have unique vulnerabilities, or has it just been unlucky?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Everett Kennedy Brown/EPA</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Recent high-profile cyber attacks have dented the image of Japanese technology giant Sony and left millions of customers worried about the security of their personal information. </p>
<p><a href="http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2011/04/28/playstation-network-and-qriocity-outage-faq/">An attack in April</a> resulted in the company’s Sony’s Playstation Network being taken offline; the personal information – including credit card details – of more than 77 million users was compromised.</p>
<p><a href="http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2011/06/04/sony-europe-hacked-by-lebanese-hacker-again/">Subsequent attacks</a> in the past few days have exposed further vulnerabilities in Sony’s infrastructure, with more users’ information being released to the public. </p>
<p><a href="http://caia.swin.edu.au/cv/pbranch/">Dr Philip Branch</a> is a network security expert at Swinburne University.</p>
<h2>Why has Sony been targeted in this way?</h2>
<p>Sony is a big target and a well-known target, and there’s a lot of kudos within the hacker community for these sorts of exploits. But I think the reason the company’s facing repeat attacks is that its security probably isn’t as good as it could be. </p>
<p>Certain people may have seen the <a href="http://uk.playstation.com/psn/news/articles/detail/item369506/PSN-Qriocity-Service-Update/">first, really big attack</a>, felt that security at Sony is inadequate and thought: “What else can we get up to?”</p>
<p>So it comes down to being a prominent target, but also a juicy target.</p>
<h2>Why are hackers finding it so easy to access information being stored on Sony’s servers? Isn’t this information encrypted?</h2>
<p>Encryption is fine if someone loses a back-up but a piece of software needs to be able to “see” the data whether it’s encrypted or not. This software presents some kind of credential to the system which essentially says: “Here I am, give it to me”. </p>
<p>Maybe the data on Sony’s servers <em>is</em> encrypted but as far as the software accessing the data is concerned, the data is in its raw form.</p>
<h2>The Sony hackers used a type of attack known as an “SQL injection”. What is this, and how do these attacks work?</h2>
<p>SQL (<a href="http://www.w3schools.com/sql/default.asp">Structured Query Language</a>) is what’s known as a query language for databases – a way that applications, programs and systems can query databases.</p>
<p>SQL allows a user to say things such as: “give me this value in the field”, or “give me this particular email address” or “give me this user ID” or “give me all values between here and here”. </p>
<p>On any site there will be a range of forms: “Join our mailing list”, for example – those sorts of forms. </p>
<p>SQL injection attacks work by putting in the basic commands the SQL database recognises, which will return results. </p>
<p>So the form might say: “Enter your email address”. You can put in a couple of SQL commands, with a few characters to say “we’re talking to the database”, and it will spit out some of the tables in the database.</p>
<p>This is surprisingly simple to do, which is why it’s so strange people at Sony haven’t defended the company against this kind of attack.</p>
<h2>What steps can be taken to prevent such attacks?</h2>
<p>The first thing would be what’s known as “input validation”. If you’ve got a field that’s only meant to accept email addresses, you make sure that what’s entered looks like an email address. </p>
<p>My email address is pbranch@swin.edu.au – so if I started putting in slashes and stars and spaces when I log in, my address would be rejected by the system.</p>
<p>The second thing is something called “stored procedures” and this puts a lot of restrictions on what people can do. These procedures actually write the SQL (which adds information to the database) and the user issues the SQL command with parameters by filling in the form.</p>
<h2>Given these attacks are simple to prevent, why was Sony vulnerable?</h2>
<p>I really don’t know. Maybe something got missed during development, or got missed during testing: maybe they didn’t do much testing of the security. </p>
<p>I’m at a loss to understand how it could happen.</p>
<h2>Would other companies of Sony’s size be vulnerable to these sorts of attacks?</h2>
<p>I think it’s extremely unlikely Sony is alone in having these vulnerabilities, which is frightening.</p>
<p>Most companies have lots of different systems. Someone that puts together a particular system, a form for signing up for a newsletter, say, might not have the expertise or understanding of these security-related matters. I think Sony is unlucky, actually.</p>
<h2>So what’s next for Sony and its subscribers?</h2>
<p>It seems Sony is doing all the right things at this point. The company has engaged external security firms to look for evidence of identity theft and so on, but if I were a subscriber I’d have a very close look out for strange transactions on my credit card. I’d consider changing my credit card.</p>
<p>The reason these attacks are so spectacular is because, not only did these hackers get so many people’s data in these attacks, they seemed to get everything there is to <em>know</em> about these people. </p>
<p>It’s very worrying from a consumer’s point of view.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/1697/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Recent high-profile cyber attacks have dented the image of Japanese technology giant Sony and left millions of customers worried about the security of their personal information. An attack in April resulted…Matt de Neef, EditorLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.