History of Sony Timeline

(1946 - Present)

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate founded in 1946 by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita in Tokyo. Originally named Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo (Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation), the company pioneered iconic products such as the transistor radio, the Trinitron television, the Walkman, the PlayStation console, and the CD. Over the decades, Sony expanded from consumer electronics into music, movies, financial services, and gaming, becoming one of the world's most influential technology and entertainment companies. More Less

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Founding and Early Years

Masaru Ibuka opens a radio repair shop in Tokyo

Sep 1945

In September 1945, after the end of World War II, Masaru Ibuka started a radio repair shop in the bomb-damaged Shirokiya department store building in the Nihonbashi district of Tokyo.

Image source: Sony

Founding of Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo K.K

May 7, 1946

The next year, Ibuka was joined by his wartime research colleague Akio Morita, and on 7 May 1946 they founded a company called Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo K.K., marking the beginning of Sony's history as a Japanese multinational conglomerate dating back to 1946.

Corporate Milestones

Sony's role in the tech industry alongside HP and IBM

1950 - 2000

Sony played a significant role in the tech industry in the second half of the 20th century alongside Hewlett-Packard and IBM.

Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo renamed Sony

1958

Following its first success in the American consumer market, Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo changed its name to Sony in 1958 as people outside Japan struggled to pronounce the original name.

Establishment of Sony Corporation of America

1960

Sony established Sony Corporation of America in 1960, the company's first subsidiary in America.

Image source: Sony Corporation of America

Sony's role in Japan's rise as an export power

1970 - 2000

Sony played a major role in the development of Japan as a powerful exporter during the late 20th century.

Defective lithium-ion battery scandal

2006

Sony had been the leader in the rechargeable battery industry until a massive defective battery scandal occurred in 2006, ending its dominance in that market.

Image source: Lithium-ion battery

Headquarters moves from Shinagawa to Minato, Tokyo

Dec 2006

Sony's headquarters moved to Minato, Tokyo from Shinagawa, Tokyo around the end of 2006.

Consumer Electronics

First transistor radio built by Regency and Texas Instruments

1954

Although American companies Regency Electronics and Texas Instruments built the first transistor radio as a joint venture in 1954, it would be Ibuka's company that made them commercially successful for the first time.

Image source: Transistor radio

American teens fuel transistor radio boom

1955 - 1968

By the mid-1950s, American teens had begun buying portable transistor radios in huge numbers, helping to propel the fledgling industry from an estimated 100,000 units in 1955 to 5,000,000 units by the end of 1968.

Release of the Sony TR-55 transistor radio

Aug 1955

In August 1955, Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo released the Sony TR-55, Japan's first commercially produced transistor radio.

Image source: TR-55

Release of the TR-6 transistor radio

May 1956

In May 1956, the company released the TR-6, which featured an innovative slim design and sound quality capable of rivaling portable tube radios.

Release of the TR-63, then the smallest transistor radio

1957

In 1957, Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo came out with the TR-63 model, then the smallest (112 × 71 × 32 mm) transistor radio in commercial production.

TR-63 cracks open the U.S. market

1957

The TR-63 of 1957 cracked open the U.S. market and launched the new industry of consumer microelectronics.

Launch of the PV-100 compact transistor VTR

1961

In 1961, Sony launched the world's first compact transistor VTR, the PV-100.

Official launch of the VP-1100

1963

Following the success of the PV-100 compact transistor VTR, this led to the official launch of the VP-1100 two years later.

Launch of the world's first integrated circuit radio, the ICR-100

1967

Sony also launched the world's first integrated circuit radio, the ICR-100, in 1967.

Launch of the Trinitron color television

1968

In 1968, Sony launched the legendary color television set, the Trinitron.

Trinitron makes Sony the world's largest TV manufacturer

1968 - 2006

The Trinitron was the reason that Sony had been the world's largest TV manufacturer in terms of annual revenue until 2006.

Launch of the Sony TC-50 cassette recorder

1969

In 1969, Sony launched the Sony TC-50, a compact cassette recorder.

Sony receives Emmy for developing the Trinitron

1973

Sony received the Emmy in 1973 for developing the Trinitron.

Image source: Trinitron

Launch of Betamax

1975

In 1975, Sony launched the Betamax, which took part and lost in the video format war.

Image source: Betamax

Launch of the Walkman

1979

The Walkman, the first stereo cassette player, was launched in 1979.

Image source: Walkman

Launch of the Sony CDP-101, the first Compact Disc player

1981

The year 1981 is considered a starting point of the Digital Revolution with Sony launching the world's first Compact Disc player, the Sony CDP-101, with the Compact Disc itself being a new data storage format co-developed by Sony and Philips.

Image source: Sony CDP-101

Release of the Sony Mavica electronic still camera prototype

1981

The Sony Mavica, released in 1981, is a prototype of the world's first commercial electronic still camera.

Image source: Sony Mavica

Release of the first commercial lithium-ion battery

1991

In 1991, Sony released the first commercial lithium-ion battery jointly with Asahi Kasei and had been the leader in the rechargeable battery industry until a massive defective battery scandal occurred in 2006.

Introduction of Memory Stick

1998

Sony introduced Memory Stick, a flash memory storage format, in 1998, a year earlier than the announcement of the SD card.

Image source: Memory Stick

Release of the Blu-ray Disc format

Jun 2006

In June 2006, Sony released the Blu-ray Disc format, a high-definition optical disc format developed by the company in association with the Blu-ray Disc Association, of which Sony is a member alongside Philips, Panasonic and LG Electronics.

Image source: Blu-ray

Gaming

Sony begins selling Hit Bit products for MSX

1983

In 1983, Sony Corporation began selling the Hit Bit product line for the MSX, which included computers, and also published video games for the system — its first entry into game publishing. It sold well in Japan, South America, Spain (through Sony Spain) and Europe, but was never released in North America.

Image source: MSX

Genesis of Sony's video game publishing business

1983 - 1991

Sony's genesis into video game publishing was a predecessor to Sony Music Entertainment Japan (formerly CBS Sony Group), which later turned out Famicom games and evolved into Sony Computer Entertainment (now Sony Interactive Entertainment), and CSG Imagesoft, which became Sony Electronic Publishing with Sony Imagesoft as one of its labels in 1991, later evolving into Sony Computer Entertainment America and Europe (now part of Sony Interactive Entertainment).

Image source: Sony Interactive Entertainment

Key Facts

Sony was founded on May 7, 1946, in Tokyo as Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita with about 20 employees.
In 1955, Sony released Japan's first transistor radio, and in 1958 it officially changed its company name to 'Sony.'
The Sony Walkman, launched in 1979, revolutionized portable music listening and became a global cultural phenomenon.
Sony partnered with Philips to develop the compact disc (CD), introduced in 1982, transforming digital audio storage.
The launch of the original PlayStation in 1994 established Sony as a dominant force in the video game industry.

Source

This History of Sony timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

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