Sony Corporation is one of the largest manufacturers of audio, video communications and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. In May 1946, Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita founded Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Company. They changed the name to Sony Corporation in 1958, a name derived from the Latin word sonus, meaning sound, and the English sonny meaning a young man.

Sony is the pioneer in introducing audio and video electronic gadgets. It developed the world's first transistor radio in 1955. The Company further developed revolutionary products such as the Trinitron Color TV (1968), Walkman (1979), Compact Disc Player (1982), Betacam for broadcast use (1982), Floppy Disk (1983), Handycam (1985) and the PlayStation (1994). Sony's music, pictures and computer entertainment operations make it one of the most comprehensive entertainment companies in the world. More than 100 million units of the Walkman have been sold in the US alone. Sony employs 170,000 people worldwide.

Sony's principal businesses include Sony Electronics, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Music Entertainment, and Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. Sony recorded consolidated annual sales of over $56.9 bn for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2002. Sony is a leading motion picture and television production company. It is also the co-developer of the CD, DVD, and SACD. Sony has become the developer, manufacturer, and marketer of PlayStation® and PlayStation®2 game consoles. A publicly held company, with shares listed on 16 stock exchanges worldwide, including Tokyo, New York, and London, Sony has 1,068 consolidated subsidiaries worldwide.

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