Sony Corp’s vice president, global marketing division Kiyoshi Shikano said the move will provide customers with a good opportunity to compare the different brands before making a purchase. “And we hope they will choose Sony products.”

Shikano added that the counter at Best Denki is a “trial” for the Malaysian market. “If we see good results, we will expand this concept locally and to other countries.”

Commenting on Blu-ray as the next-generation movie disc techno-logy, Shikano said from the consumer’s point of view, having a single, new generation format is beneficial because they do not have to invest in multiple playback devices.

And from the manufacturer’s perspective, a single format is better because it is more generic, he explained.

“With Blu-ray as a single format, it will complete and enhance our product offerings within the Sony Full HD World concept.”

Meanwhile, Sony Malaysia’s managing director Naoi Sudo said Sony’s direction in Malaysia is towards promoting high definition through Sony Full HD World in which Bravia as the core brand offers connectivity with the Cyber-shot digital camera and Vaio notebook computer.