Sony Corporation announced today that Kazuo Hirai has been named President and Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1, 2012 (Um, is the joke on him?). Sir Howard Stringer, currently Chairman, CEO and President, "will become Chairman of the Board of Directors in June, 2012. Mr. Stringer recommended to the Sony Board of Directors that Mr. Hirai, currently Executive Deputy President, be his successor as President and CEO."

“As challenging as times are for Sony now, were it not for the strong leadership of Sir Howard Stringer these past seven years, we would have been in a much more difficult position. I am grateful to Sir Howard and to the Board for their confidence in me, and I look forward to working with everyone at Sony more closely than ever before to build a strong future for our customers, shareholders, partners and employees. The path we must take is clear: to drive the growth of our core electronics businesses - primarily digital imaging, smart mobile and game; to turn around the television business; and to accelerate the innovation that enables us to create new business domains. The foundations are now firmly in place for the new management team and me to fully leverage Sony’s diverse electronics product portfolio, in conjunction with our rich entertainment assets and growing array of networked services, to engage with our customers around the world in new and exciting ways,” said newly appointed CEO Kazuo Hirai.

As for its console, the PS3, the company is doing rather well. According to various stories and reports, the industry giant won't be making any announcements regarding the PS4 and time soon.