Sony Ericsson
During a day in which Sony Ericsson released worst than expected figures for 2008, Sony haven’t exactly helped matters by allegedly refusing to allow Sony Ericsson to put the sacred PlayStation brand on a new range of gaming phones.

Rumours involving Sony’s snub have being circulating for sometime, but apparently Sony Ericsson made a formal proposal to the Sony board in December for access to the PlayStation brand that was categorically refused. Since then, relations between the two companies have become increasingly strained, leading some to wonder whether Sony is preparing to walk away from the partnership.

The announcement by Sony Ericsson of losses reaching EUR 129 million for the last quarter of 2008 (or a loss of EUR 262 million if you include restructuring costs) has only added fuel to the fire.

Sony and Ericsson set up Sony Ericsson to harness the best of each other’s core strengths: Ericsson’s network expertise and Sony’s consumer electronics expertise. So far this partnership has resulted in a number of successful ranges based on core Sony brands, such as the Walkman and CyberShot brands, and the Bravia TV brand in Japan.

The PlayStation brand is one brand too far, though.

A Sony spokeswoman said “In the past, we have been keen that our product proposition lives up to brand promise, and we feel at the moment the technical specs are not high enough to put such a prestigious brand on a phone.”

The Times recently reported that the company was on the verge of a “..series of sacred cow-slaying measures”, with “…with the lion’s share of the changes imposed on Sony’s domestic Japanese operations in the form of factory closures and the abolition of several major divisions.”

Since the article, there has been all sorts of speculation as to what sacred cows Sony will slay, with some even suggesting the PlayStation itself (or at least its portable version, the PSP) might be for the chop.

However, with Sony Ericsson’s recent disastrous sales figures and a rift between the two companies, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Sony Ericsson be the biggest victim in Sony’s impending corporate restructuring.

[Source: The Times, MobileToday]