TOKYO — Sony’s iconic gadgetry and the star appeal of Hollywood may have appeared to be a perfect match when the electronics giant bought Columbia Pictures in 1989. A quarter century later, it’s apparent that Sony has not attained the magic synergy it was hoping for.

The stolid silence of Sony’s Tokyo headquarters over the hoopla surrounding Sony Pictures Entertainment’s “The Interview” underscores the longstanding divide between the Japanese parent company and its U.S.-led and -run motion pictures subsidiary, successor to Columbia Pictures.

Marrying the cultures of Sony, a quintessentially Japanese company, and its Hollywood studio was such a challenge that company founder Akio Morita and his successor as chairman, Norio Ohga, never really tried, analysts say. Instead, they left Sony Pictures to mostly run itself.

“They’re separate businesses run by separate management,” said Damian Thong, a senior analyst at Macquarie Capital Securities. “Since the late 1990s it’s been run basically as a stand-alone business.”

Sony in Tokyo refused requests for comment on developments related to “The Interview,” referring all inquiries to Sony Pictures in the U.S. After first withdrawing the movie from a planned Christmas release on as many as 3,000 screens, Sony Pictures made the movie available on various digital platforms Wednesday, a day after Sony and independent theaters agreed to release it in over 300 venues on Christmas.

As entertainment has shifted to digital delivery systems, technology analysts say it has become increasingly clear that Sony botched an opportunity to outdo Apple in creating a far more influential and valuable business from melding its consumer electronics expertise with ownership of a major movie studio and recording label.

“It feels like there has been a lot of fumbling and a lack of coordination there for too long,” said Rosenblatt Securities analyst Martin Pyykkonen. “They really haven’t won in anything in a long time when they could have been a leader in terms of bringing devices and technology together. So shame on them.”

Sony Pictures has its ups and downs but has been a relatively strong performer in recent years, with hits like “American Hustle” and “22 Jump Street.”

“Sony Pictures overall is quite important from a marketing relationship point of view, just because it’s one of the few properties now that is really getting people to see the Sony name anymore,” said Benjamin Cavender, a senior consumer electronics analyst.