Kaz Hirai Takes 50% Pay Cut as Sony Finances Suffer

Current CEO and President of Sony, Kaz Hirai, who was most famous for being one of the key figures in the start of the PlayStation brand and former president of the PlayStation division before becoming CEO in 2012, has recently announced that he is voluntarily taking a 50% pay cut and refusing his annual bonus as a 'show of solidarity' with the company, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier. This move is being followed by other Sony executives as Sony posts their fourth annual loss in five years.

This voluntary pay reduction, which mirrors Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata's, comes following poor financial results for the 2013 fiscal year, with Sony expecting a $1.26 billion loss, $200 million more than their February forecast predicted.

Whilst Sony is suffering financially thanks to its under performing electronics divisions, with their PC arm set to be sold off and the company failing to find profit in areas such as televisions and the revival of the Walkman brand, the PlayStation brand is becoming one of the company's primary focuses with the PlayStation 4 currently holding the crown as the best selling next generation console.

There are hopes that the console will turn around Sony's current financial woes, as they aim to shift 20 million PlayStation 4 consoles in the 2014 fiscal year, but only time will tell if that will be enough to turn the company's losses around.