Sony Corp. chairman and CEO Howard Stringer covered a lot of ground in a lengthy video interview with the FT (Full transcript here and here:

Sony and the Valley: Asked if SV’s tech will have to start changing attitudes towards content creators, Stringer talked about the way the disconnect began with the “smarter” companies and the way they deal with the “old, tired” companies, who bristled in return. “I think these days we’re more inclined to go there and say look, let’s work out a partnership, otherwise the combat will exhaust us all. I think you’ll see more and more of the content companies going up to Silicon Valley looking for peace in the valley rather than war. We’re not so confident of winning wars anymore and I think Silicon Valley recognizes that if we do without the content, life would not be so easy and we have, one way or another, one of our companies will have either the distribution or the technology or the devices that carry it. At some point it makes sense to be more thoughtful about how we interact.” (Does anyone else hear “One Tin Soldier” playing in the background?)

M&A/Club Penguin: Video acquisition Grouper is “going fine” eight months in—“obviously the big moment will come when PlayStation 3 is effectively networked.” But for now it’s smaller than YouTube and “obviously less successful” because of that. Stringer said he could see making more acquisitions in the online space: “If you notice that almost everybody has one acquisition, because they are very expensive, and if the public moves on, you are left holding thin air. I mean, the virtual world you inhabit, you inhabit at your peril if it runs out of energy or excitement for the customer. If it runs out of energy or excitement for the customer you can buy Penguin Club tomorrow and maybe it will be Seal Club the next day.”