Sony CEO: 90% of PSN Users Have Returned

Howard Stringer responds as shareholders ask that he step down.

2011-06-28 14:39 / Anoop Gantayat / 7 Comments

The recent PlayStation Network outage was one of the major topics at Sony's annual shareholder's meeting today. As reported at Impress Watch, Sony CEO Howard Stringer told shareholders that 90% of users have returned following the restoration of PSN. The trust towards the Sony brand is rising, he said.

Stringer's comments came during a Q&A session where he was asked to step down due to the loss of trust and falling stock value. Stringer admitted that the question was reasonable, as Sony's stock has dropped following the March earthquake and tsunami. Regarding the hacking attack, he apologized for the worries and inconvenience and said that Sony is working to strengthen its information management system.

Another shareholder suggested that the hacker attacks may have been in response to inappropriate comments made from Sony's management. Stringer replied that Sony was simply attempting to protect its games-related intellectual properties from those who would attempt to gain free access. Executive Vice President Kaz Hirai also stepped in and said that Sony was targeted because they took a variety of steps to protect their intellectual property. This is something they were doing not just for themselves, but for a global eco system that includes developers, third party publishers and retailers.

Held in Tokyo today, the 94th installment of Sony's annual shareholders meeting was attended by 8,360 shareholders. This was the largest attendance ever for Sony.