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Evolution of the Sony Group 1946 Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka founded an electronics repair shop known as Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo , which would grow to become a global conglomerate 1955 Tokyo Tsushin released the Sony TR-55 as Japan's first transistor radio , leading the company to prioritize export markets 1958 Following international success with its electronics, Tokyo Tsushin would reincorporate as the Sony Corporation 1960 Sony entered the United States market with the establishment of a subsidiary named Sony Corporation of America 1968 Columbia Records was brought under a joint venture with parent company CBS, Inc. and Sony being members of the partnership1970 Sony Corp became the first major Japanese company to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange 1979 The Sony Walkman was released, and it achieved massive success across the 1980s as a portable audio player 1982 Sony partnered with Philips to invent and standardize the CD format 1988 CBS Records was acquired and later renamed into Sony Music Entertainment 1989 Columbia Pictures Entertainment was acquired from the Coca-Cola Company , turning Sony into a major film studio1993 Sony Interactive Entertainment was established, and it launched the PlayStation console in 19941998 Columbia Pictures and Tristar Pictures were consolidated under the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group 2000 The PlayStation 2 was released, and it became the best-selling console of all time with over 160 million units sold 2004 Sony Music Entertainment buys half of Bertelsmann Music Group who owned RCA Records , Sony would later buy the remaining half of Sony BMG in 20082006 Sony launches the Blu-ray format, The PlayStation 3 was released, becoming the most expensive video game console at the time, Crunchyroll was established. 2013 The PlayStation 4 was released, having outsold Microsoft 's Xbox One a few months after launch. Sony sells the Vaio brand to Japan Industrial Partners 2016 Sony reacquired the remaining stake in Sony/ATV Music Publishing from the Estate of Michael Jackson 2019 Sony Music Group was established, and Sony Entertainment was dissolved2020 The PlayStation 5 was released. 2021 Sony Corporation rebrands as Sony Group Corporation , The Crunchyroll anime service was acquired from AT&T 's WarnerMedia , and integrated into Sony's Funimation
