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[PleoAibo29]

Hello everyone! I have a glimmer of hope for the AIBO community.
The play station 4 is probably coming in time for the holidays.
So, whats the big deal? Well, the truth is, Sony has taken MUCH too long to realease the new system. Making a system takes much littler time that SONY has. That brings us too the point, Sony is probobly realeasing something with the new PS4. In a magazene called Stuff, they realeased a rumor that Sony was realeasing and AIBO to communicate with the PS3. However, did that happen? No. BUT. The rumor might have mixed with other rumors and the truth. Mabie Sony is going to realease a new AIBO! 
PLEASE NOTE: I said this was a small glimmer of hope. There is no solid evedence of Sony realeasing a new AIBO.

Lets keep our hopes up. Theres no hurt in wishing.

[Zervoid]

That's good news.

Their must have been real talk about this within Sony for the rumors to have even started.

I wonder why Sony is focusing so much on what gamers want?  I hope they don't radically change Aibo to target the gaming demographic.

Sometimes I feel like a fish out of water talking on Aibo forums, everyone else seems to be heavily into either gaming,computers or technology, whereas I'm the complete opposite to that train of thought.

[Lunamione7]

That magazine article was an April Fools joke.

The magazine made it up, Sony never had any intention of releasing a new Aibo, they had nothing to do with it at all, it was just a photoshoped prank by the magazine.

[PleoAibo29]

Darn. I hate when people do those things. Its something i love and someone made a joke about it.
 

[Zervoid]

With all the interest in Aibo online I would have thought somebody from Sony would have seen the viability in the niche market that is companion robots, and to make a profit from us, considering Sony really has no competition in this market it would be easy for them to take the lead in it again.

Sony has a new leader, Kazuo Hirai who became the President and CEO early last year. He has been a key player in promoting and finding new ways to make the PlayStation( the fact that didn't come up as a spelling error with spell check tells you something about the iconic status of this Sony gaming console) appeal to a wider audience, so I wouldn't give up on the prospect that he may re-introduce Aibo, and will most probably make it have some functions that make it relevant to the PS4 similar to the virtual Sony Eyepet that Sony already has on their PS3 consoles.

I really think Sony under Japanese leadership will be a lot more creative and innovative than it was under it's predecessor.

It's almost been a year since CEO and President of the company Kazuo Hirai gained his position and I am sure he is thinking of some way to make a bold statement about his future vision for Sony soon. As nothing so far about his tenure as CEO has particularly struck me or stood out.

Hopefully with a new leader their will be a favorable change in attitude towards Aibo within Sony which would lead to a lot of exciting times to come for us. Perhaps you are right and the stalling of the PS4 release does have some significance?

[PleoAibo29]

I couldn't have said it better. Just like the user Zetathix (spelling?) said, the sun will rise and AIBO may return.

[Zervoid]

I really think their is a demand for Aibos, as everyone in the community is looking to purchase more all the time.

Why Sony does not take advantage of the lack of availability to high quality Aibo units by the community is beyond my understanding.

If Aibo wasn't such an outstanding example of autonomous AI I certainly would not be getting up on my soap box the way I have, BUT I really think their is a viable quality about Aibo that makes it up to date with current technology, their are aspects about it that prove to be even more advanced than what we see in current consumer robotics technology, which at it's relatively lower price when compared to it's current competitors make me wonder how the robots of the near future are going to fair in the dog eat dog world of the consumer society which expects so much and doesn't like to be disappointed.

If Aibo couldn't survive I don't see any of these new comers having the slightest chance of success.

[Zervoid]

I clearly had no idea what I was talking about when I said nothing about the new Sony leaders tenure had stood out. Simply due to lack of media coverage of this issue and that nobody on the Aibo forums ever discusses it I just assumed he was the same as his predecessor, what changes the new leader of Sony is implementing completely passed me by due to my own ignorance.

The new President and CEO of Sony, Kazuo Hirai really is making big changes in the company very quickly, considering he has been in the role less than a year.

I just visited Sony global and listened to the speech made by President and CEO Kazuo Hirai to their shareholders and I was left with the feeling their is genuine motivation behind Mr Hirai's words which are inspiring in a way I have never seen demonstrated by any other leader or politician before.

Here are some of the points I quoted from the speech made by President and CEO of Sony Corporation Kazuo Hirai on the Sony global webpage, and I quote:

"Maximize the spirit of Innovation."

"Guided by the strong vision of it's founders Sony has established a reputation as a company that produces groundbreaking products that inspire the curiosity of people the world over, usher in a new era of entertainment."

"My duty is to create a management foundation that allows every Sony employee to maximize the spirit of innovation- the Sony DNA."

"Address issues that must be resolved and continuously deliver results- this is the key to rebuilding Sony."

"People are looking to Sony to want appealing innovative products and services, compelling offering that will exemplify Sony's return to glory."

"Sony has talented engineers and a rich portfolio of innovative technologies."

"Recently changed the R&D structure to facilitate the smooth and timely transformation of these technologies into attractive new products and services."

"We have also eliminated the two layers of management that previously separated our consumers and need to be businesses- creating one single entity that is answerable directly to me under the banner of one management."

Quote source: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/financial/ar/2012/message/

President and CEO Kazuo Hirai's views for Sony's future look ambitious and show promise of change in Sony.

[PleoAibo29]

I think thats really saying something! 

[Zervoid]

This is interesting. http://www.channelnews.com.au/av_pro/CFYLUGCU.aspx

However I don't understand why Sony does not lock it's content to it's devices the way Apple locks content sold via iTunes to it's products. That would generate profit from the Entertainment arm and sell both content and devices at the same time. Surely that would be a more stable way of making profit than exposing the company to unforeseen risks and possible worse consequences that could result from splitting the company up.

Sony has a unique opportunity among companies that no other has in that it can control it's content distribution from inception at Sony Entertainment, via Sony Pictures and Sony Music, all the way through to completion and release on it's devices, such as the Vaio line of Computers,Xperia phones, Walkman or Bravia line of TV's.

I don't understand how a song or movie can be produced through Sony Music or Sony Pictures yet end up being locked to Apples iTunes store and not available freely for users of other platforms such as Sony's phones or computers.

In regards to Aibo I don't see it ever coming back. Sony just has too many other options for profit and doesn't need to take the risk of re-introducing Aibo to make a profit.

However one does wonder what Sony would be like today if it took advantage of it's content and products and put the two together before Apple became the leader in digital content distribution and took the step of locking it's content pre iTunes to be consumed only through Sony products and kept the robotics going at the same time.

[robodog]

One Aibo is worth a thousand PS4s. Some things you do for the art rather than for profit. I can't see how it would hurt Sony financially to continue making Aibos in small enough numbers and they might even be able to make a small profit. They could use them to promote the company, like a mascot even. I know I had a heck of a lot more respect for Sony back when they were making Aibos and working on Qrio. Now they aren't even on my radar anymore.