LAS VEGAS — Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai took a moment to acknowledge his company's failures at CES 2014. During an otherwise by-the-numbers keynote about big ideas and coming innovations, Hirai shifted for a few minutes to talk about Sony's many failed products.
One by one, Sony failures appeared on the giant screen behind Hirai, including the Evilla Internet applicance, Rolly dancing speaker and the Vaio UX "ultra-mobile" PC.
See also: 13 Tech Products That Stood Out in 2013
"You probably don't remember these products," Hirai said. "But that's OK, because the rest of the world doesn't either."
The interlude culminated in HIrai's comments on Betamax, the videotape format that lost a format war to VHS — probably Sony's most infamous failure. Hirai said Beta was likely "technologically superior" to VHS (which solicited claps from the tech-savvy crowd), but it didn't become the choice for consumers.
Hirai's trip down memory lane was intended to show how Sony embraces and learns from its mistakes, and that it's not afraid to take risks. It's also one of the most unconventional moments in a CES keynote we've seen.

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Image: Pete Pachal, Mashable
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