■ Group Quarterly Meeting (GQM)

Over two days on August 3 and 4, we held the Group Quarterly Meeting (GQM). The key messages I wanted to share with everyone on this occasion were: "Essentially people's desires remain the same, and eventually anything can be realized by technology if it brings us closer to those desires,"and "At Sony, where our management approach is centered around the keywords of "Kando" and "People," I believe the three main desires that we must get closer to are people's desire to: 1. Experience Kando, 2. Pursue Creation and 3. Stay Connected." As a "creative entertainment company with a solid foundation of technology,"I want us to continue getting closer to people's desires and making them a reality through technology.

As I explained at the GQM, I believe the metaverse is closely aligned with the desires that Sony should get closer to. This was reflected in the extensive feedback I received from all of you in the survey that followed the GQM. Your proposals and suggestions included: "It would be good to build a trial space for internal use where employees could try out and experience the metaverse for themselves," "I imagine many employees have ideas for the metaverse or would like to submit patents, so maybe there should be a contact point they can reach out to for support," and "I believe there is strong potential for the metaverse in the medical business, and entertainment."

Last month, we welcomed Bungie into the Sony Group. While learning from their expertise in live services, I look forward to us further leveraging the diversity of our talent and businesses so that we can continue to take on new challenges in the metaverse space.

■ Movie Screenings

Of the films I have seen recently, in this blog I'd like to touch on "Bullet Train." A mystery/action movie starring Brad Pitt, it is based on Kotaro Isaka's best-selling novel "Maria Beetle." After opening in the US on August 5, it held the number one spot in the US box office for two weeks, and has so far grossed more than 114 million dollars (approximately 15.2 billion yen) ^* worldwide. In Japan the film is scheduled to open in theaters on September 1.

* As of August 15, based on exchange rate of 1 US dollar = 133 yen

(From left) Director David Leitch, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brad Pitt and Hiroyuki Sanada

Even with the COVID-19 pandemic making it more difficult for people to visit movie theaters, I have been thrilled to see SPE continue to demonstrate its amazing creativity and deliver new titles and enjoyment to people around the world. Let's continue to place great value on the live theater viewing experience and provide more such exhilarating entertainment.

At a screening of "Bullet Train" and "Where the Crawdads Sing" during my business trip to London in June.
Together with Wayne Garvie, President of Sony Pictures Television, International Production (left)

I attended a screening of "Bullet Train" at Sony Pictures Entertainment's Japan subsidiary (SPEJ), where I also experienced an intriguing Augmented Reality (AR) demonstration.

"AR MAP Solution"is a technology developed by Sony Semiconductor Solutions (SSS) that delivers a realistic AR experience through highly accurate position estimation technology, using sensing and AI image processing. In May this year, as part of our promotional activities for "Spider-Man: No Way Home," Spider-Man flew around the streets of Shibuya in Tokyo through AR. This time, I enjoyed another fusion of the real and virtual worlds, using a mobile device to view a near life-size Spider-Man flying around the offices of SPEJ. This demonstration was the result of collaboration between SSS and SPEJ, together with Sony Music Solutions (SMS), that brought these two companies together. I am very encouraged to see the progress of joint initiatives between our diverse businesses, and how they are enabling us to explore new forms of entertainment.

Screening for internal audience at SPEJ. Photo from August 25 screening.
Click on image for names of attendees

AR demonstration prior to the screening

As always, I look forward to receiving your feedback.