In the late 1980s, Audio Cassettes and Cassette players had reached the decline stage of the product

lifecycle and the launch of the Compact Disc [CD] was the new audio format of choice. By 1986 Sony Music Entertainment Inc. had begun new product development on the Mini Disc [MD] which Sony planned to be the next-generation portable audio device. [Sony, 2012; Barker & Hart, 2007; Mulyanegara, 2012; Emeran, 2008] According to [Sony, 2012] It was the world's first, a device with recording and playback capabilities - allowing listeners to both play and record their favourite tunes without having to buy expensive recording equipment. It was smaller than CD players with a smaller disc - almost one-half the size of a CD, with anti-skip technology, and a variety of additional useful features. Most importantly, it offered CD quality sound. [Sony, 2012; Emeran, 2008]

When the MD was launched into the portable audio device market in 1992, it was met with great success in Japan, but dreary sales in the United States with a fewer than 50,000 units being sold in the first year. It was hailed as the next big thing but crashed and burned commercially [Malik, O, 1998]. [Barker & Hart, 2007; Sony, 2012; Mulyanegara, 2012; Emeran, 2008] There are many identifiable causes of the product failure firstly The Minidisc came on the market at a time when several competing formats were also being introduced, such as digital compact cassettes. Later in the 1990s, recordable and rewritable CDs came onto the market, further diminishing the Minidisc's market share. [Minidisc.org, 2012]

In the screening ideas and in the business analysis stage of the new product development process, Sony should have recognised the smaller market size for home recording. The fact is that not many people share our enthusiasm for home recording. A Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association (CEMA) study revealed that only 52% of Americans whose stereo systems include both a CD player and a cassette deck ever make audio recordings, and less than 20% of those do so frequently. [No Author, 1997; Barker & Hart, 2007; Mulyanegara, 2012; Emeran, 2008]

Secondly the product price point - The first MD players were priced just under $550, much higher than a CD player at $120. Jeffrey Trachtenberg of the Wall Street Journal describes Sony's blunder: "Sony mistakenly targeted its advertising and marketing efforts at the MTV generation, who couldn't afford Mini Disc players or recorders." [Seong-Shin Hong, 2000; Trachtenberg, J, n.d] Another cause of failure is Sony using Japan for market testing a market that spends more disposable income on gadgets and is known to have many early adaptors compared to other markets. Japanese consumers are often viewed as technophiles because they purchase the newest technologies despite their outrageous prices. When the MD debuted in 1992, perhaps these technophiles helped to create a significant demand for MD products. [Seong-Shin Hong, 2000; Trachtenberg, J, n.d; No Author, 1997] Sony could of prevented failure by testing the MD in a different market than technology loving Japan or even in more than one market; this would have given a more realistic view on potential market size and market worth. With more research in the screening ideas stage of the New Product Development process Sony wouldve been more thorough in developing a product that was more desirable to consumers. More Concept testing [Mulyanegara, 2012]

References: Barker, M & Hart, S, 2007, Product Strategy and Management, Essex, Pearson Education Limited. Emeran, R, 2008, The Ground Work, Trusted Reviews, [accessed 5th April 2012], Available at: http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinions/music-on-the-move

Malik, O, 1998, Back to the future: the Minidisc, Forbes, [accessed 1st April 2012], Available at: http://www.forbes.com/1998/04/18/feat.html Minidisc.org, 2012, [accessed 5th April 2012], Available at: http://www.minidisc.org/

Mulyanegara, R, 2012, Introduction to Product Strategy Week 1- 6, lecture notes distributed in MAR270 Product Management at Swinburne University, OUA.

Seong-Shin Hong, B, 2000, The Sony MiniDisc. Stanford University, [Online], Econ113 , STS107, [accessed 2nd April 2012] Available at: http://www.minidisc.org/econ113-paper.htm

Sony, 2012, [accessed 5th April 2012], Available at: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/History/sonyhistory-e.html

The MiniDisc revisited, 1997, Popular Electronics, Vol. 14 Issue 9, p21, 2p, 1 Color Photography

Trachtenberg, J, n.d., Sony Rolls Out MiniDisc For Third Time In U.S., Wall Street Journal, [accessed 2nd April 2012], Available at: http://www.minidisc.org/wsj_article.html