Sony Sets Kazuo Hirai as Possible CEO Successor to Howard Stringer

Currently bearing the distinction of being the President of Sony Computer Entertainment—Sony’s videogame hardware arm that brought us the PlayStation—Kazuo “Kaz” Hirai (平井 一夫) may be looking forward to stranger pastures as he’s been tapped as the likely successor of Sony’s Chief Executive Howard Stinger. Sony said Thursday that they would conjoin their videogame and consumer-electronic buisnessses and promote Mr. Hirai to head the new department.

According to an article in The Wall Street Journal, his appointment suggests a change in Sony’s game plan to couple their strategies with movies, TV, videogames, and music.

Mr. Stringer, in an interview, confirmed the intent behind Mr. Hirai’s promotion. “He is the leading candidate,” said Mr. Stringer. “The logic [of the choice] is inescapable.”

Nobuo Kurahashi, an analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities in Tokyo, said the choice is not surprising given Sony’s recent strategic direction. “Unlike the past when Sony competed with just Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics or Panasonic, it is now taking on global technology players and he is suited to deal with that,” he said.

Mr. Stringer said Thursday that Mr. Hirai’s appointment as executive deputy president and representative corporate officer—a distinction shared by only Mr. Stringer and Vice Chairman Ryoji Chubachi, a former Sony president—is the first step in a systematic succession plan. He cautioned, however, that the plans are still not finalized.

Although Hirai is well liked in Sony, their stocks still rocked a bit on Thursday after the announcement—falling 73 cents to $34.26 in the New York Stock Exchange.

As an executive, Hirai has an excellent portfolio and he has built quite a few friends in his work bringing the PlayStation up as a mighty contender against Nintendo and Microsoft. In fact, Sony is currently looking forward to selling over 15 million PS3 units just this fiscal year, an expectant venture that ends this month in fact and we’ll see if it panned out.

There is no timetable set yet for Mr. Hirai’s ascension, and although there’s been warning that nothing is set it stone, the industry seems to think it’s a done deal. Especially with Mr. Stringer’s confirmation of the intent behind the appointment.

Perhaps we’re going to be seeing a lot of movement when it comes to media distribution sources and Sony—who have always been about the end product: the immediate delivery to the consumer—with further developments in Internet TV boxes and 3DTV displays.

Also, although the focus may shift to entertainment in general, here’s hoping that Sony maintains their growth and competition with Microsoft on the Move.Me verses Kinect technology as there’s a great deal of reach that even this sort of videogame technology could have for both consumers and IT in general (especially with the recent SDK release).

All eyes are on Kazuo Hirai and Sony today. Let’s see how far he can take this.

In the same vein:

• Move.Me: Sony’s Very Own Motion Capture SDK
• Video Chat While You Dominate on the PS Vita with Skype April 25th
• Sony’s New CEO Kazuo Hirai Will Need to Present a Clear Path to the Future
• The Revival Of Video Game Consoles: Just a Holiday Fling?
• Rumor: Is Microsoft really in the ‘early stages of licensing’ for a Kinect-enabled TV?
• The Gamer Plight: Console Price Wars, Virtual Goods Loss