When Sony denied last week that it was planning any kind of launch event for its new PlayStation 5 console, that was only sort of true. Tokyo’s daily Covid-count was rising alarmingly into “third wave” territory, most of the initial sales of the machine were online anyway and no right-minded corporation wants its name associated with a pandemic cluster.
But when you have spent 74 years building your brand on consumer products — and have as powerful and deep-pocketed a rival as Microsoft on your tail — a flashy launch is tough to resist.A subscription helps you enjoy the best of our business content every day along with benefits such as exclusive Financial Times articles, ProfileData financial data, and digital access to the Sunday Times and Sunday Times Daily.