What did Sony do wrong ?

I believe options 2 & 3 is the primary cause of Sony's financial mishap. 

I'll go with answer 3.  In today's world of electronics market, sony could have succeeded highly.i hope they worked on products that are not necessary for the market.  Blue rays is one among them. Many companies like Apple, even sony started removing DVD drives from their Laptops as SSD's are more compact and safe. Introducing a product like a Blueray is clear stupidity. I have never seen a futuristic product from sony in recent years

2- In today's world, Sony's executives failed to innovative and predict the needs of the people in the near future. 

3- Marketing managers hasn't done enough to attract customers unlike successful companies(Iphone, Samsung,etc) who have developed more futuristic products.

Well,l since we're to choose ONLY one option, I'd go with 3.

In an indirect way, the 3 option actually includes the 2nd and 4th options.

Sony was (and still is) considered one of the World's giants in technology and innovation. The problem with Sony is that they did amazing technology based on specific standards that ONLY they cared about. Sony, with a lot of their standards, they did NOT follow the IEEE - thinking because the product is still immature, they can influence the International Standards to incorporate what they've done. Now, that being said, a lot of money was spent on R&D for obsolete technology, that those who bought it, ended up regretting the move.

By looking at the above, we see that Sony developed products based on their beliefs, and not based on client needs. They didn't assess the market as much as they are assessing the value of their brand and what would a new product on the market mean to them (not to the client)

With that being said, I don't recall seeing that much commercials for Sony products.

Yes, Sony Xperia is a great phone, but didn't stand a chance in the market against Apple, Samsung, Google (Nexus), and even LG. The phone was designed with care and looked pretty slick. And as always, the world's best camera lens was integrated (Carl Zeiss lenses), but the question is, who were the audience for the phone? A top notch phone (based on design and features), that lacked an eye-candy software touch, and dazzling features (like on Samsung), and doesn't have the reputation of iPhone's - with barely any marketing strategy.

At the end of the day, the situation with Sony isn't someone's fault, but it's the entire corporation's fault.

- A management that set unrealistic goals which don't meet client needs

- R&D looking at products that mean nothing to the client

- Upper management not checking what the market reports really say

- BOD allowing the cash to be directed into what is meaningless instead of promoting the company name and reputation again

The list of reasons can go on forever...

i think its option 1 and 4

Leave to the experts, May be all the mentioned reasons responsibe. As compettion came from unexpected quarters Sony failed to withstand the popularity other brands and could not compete with them.

I believe sony's products are reliable. So I choose number 3.

Sony deviated from its marketing and only focused on growing the technology without understanding the latest needs/demands of the market.

3- Marketing managers hasn't done enough to attract customers unlike successful companies(Iphone, Samsung,etc) who have developed more futuristic products.

4- They developed and deployed too many non standard technologies that they refused to open such as Betamax, minidisc, digital audio tape, ATRAC compression, Universal Media disc, memory stick.  

Firstly: I believe that  Sony’s financial problem primarily caused by a crisis of marketing identity because Sony builds high quality electronics, but its marketing strategies  haven’t pushed the boat out enough to really make the brands noticeable to a broader market segment so their Mobile and electronic products didn't stand out regarding competitors as Samsung and Apple.

Secondly: Sony's products Price and features just don’t compete with rivalry brands perhaps, the company is a victim of how competitive the market is these days.

Thirdly: The problem extends from marketing to products designs  with so many similar looking and sounding products, it’s tough for consumers to know where they stand with Sony. 

Fourthly: Maybe it would be in Sony’s interest to downsize its mobile and electronics operations and release a smaller selection of focused, more unique products but from my view It is disappointed to see the Sony's brands sold off or disappear altogether, but I can understand why Sony company is frustrated and shift from electronics to media due to Earlier this week, Sony announced that its corporate strategy for 2015 to 2017 involves electing to focus most of its attention on areas that it thinks there is room for real growth like the Playstation platform, image sensors for mobile and camera, as well as its entertainment business..

Madam,

as per me,

If a branded company losses its market, It means people get attracted by some other company, may be of quality, may be of price or some other spects. Also I think sony didn't had much advertising too. If they want market to continue, or if they feels their market is going down, they must conduct some immediate survay in market considering their 3 or 6 months sales. whatever, Apple became a status symbol one, so most people prefer apple as their brand. sony is a branded one. if considering their mobile, there have some problem, the sound from its speaker become low after using for some months. mostly normal people prefers quality with low price. electronic market is a high, tough competed one. so if we cannot reduce price, we must introduce new technology, price reduction is the last thing in market. try to make market by providing quality and innovated technology with design. whatever, for me, i think they lost market cuz of much advertisement. they must spend some amount for advertising to keep their goodwill.

sorry for not chosing your option madam