Sony promoting character business, sees resurgence in popularity of "Pingu"

TOKYO - Sony Group Corp. is promoting character goods and events sales as a part of its efforts to strengthen its thriving content business, with one such character, Swiss-born "Pingu," recently seeing a resurgence in its popularity.

Merchandise sales of the penguin character, the marketing rights of which have been held in Japan by Sony since 1991, doubled in fiscal 2025 from the previous year, as the company has promoted it on social media and through collaborations with other companies.