075《经济学家》读译参考之七十五持久战－索尼暗自发力欲扭转颓势.doc

《经济学家》读译参考 Translated Edited by Chen Jilong PAGE  Page  PAGE 4 of  NUMPAGES 4 TEXT 75 Playing a long game 持久战（陈继龙 编译） Nov 16th 2006 | LONDON, NEW YORK AND TOKYO From The Economist print edition Can the PlayStation 3 revive the ailing electronics giant? PS3能让这个近况堪忧的电子业巨人重振雄风吗？ THINGS have not been going well for Sony lately. Last month senior executives at the Japanese electronics giant issued an unprecedented apology after discovering that 9.6m laptop batteries, supplied to other computer-makers, were faulty and would have to be recalled at a cost of $436m. Sonys Blu-ray high-definition technology, launched this summer, has suffered from delays and component shortages, and is embroiled in a standards war with the rival HD-DVD format.（1） American regulators began investigating the company last month as part of an inquiry into allegations of price-fixing in the memory-chip market. And having long been the worlds most valuable electronics firm by stockmarket value, Sonys market capitalisation has fallen to less than half that of Samsung, its South Korean rival. “They really need some good news,” says Paul Jackson of Forrester, a consultancy. 近来索尼的情况一直都不太妙。10月，在发现960万块供给其它电脑制造商的笔记本电池存在瑕疵、必须予以召回之后，这个日本电子业巨人的高层主管史无前例地公开表示了歉意。此次召回事件使得索尼遭受的损失达到4.36亿美元。今年夏天索尼发布的蓝光（Blue-ray）高清晰技术曾数度被延迟上市，并遭遇元件短缺危机。现如今这一技术又卷入了与其竞争对手HD-DVD格式之间的DVD标准大战之中。上个月，为了核实索尼在内存条市场存在的价格垄断问题，美国监管部门对该公司进行了调查。索尼长期以来都是全球证券市场最有价值的电子公司，而现在其市场资本总额已经锐减，不到其韩国对手三星公司的一半。　Forrester咨询公司的保罗·杰克逊说：“他们真得需要点喜讯了。” （2）So a lot is riding on the PlayStation 3 (PS3), the latest incarnation of Sonys industry-leading games console, which was launched with much fanfare[1] in Japan on November 11th. In Akihabara, Tokyos neon-lit electronics district, stores drafted in extra workers to cope with easily the biggest product launch of the year. At the Yurakucho flagship store of Bic Camera, one of Japans largest electronics retailers, hundreds of gamers queued through a cold, damp night. Ken Kutaragi, who runs Sonys gaming di