Sony today announced a dramatic restructuring for its PlayStation and network services business- starting April 1, Sony Computer Entertainment (the custodian of the PlayStation business for over 20 years) and Sony Network Entertainment (the guys who handle Sony’s online services like PlayStation Network and PlayStation Vue) will no longer exist; instead, the two entities will be merged to form Sony Interactive Entertainment, a new company that will take over all existing operations of the previous two subsidiaries, including hardware, software, content and network services operations. SIE will be headquartered in San Mateo, California, the United States, and it will also have key global business operations in Tokyo and London.

“By integrating the strengths of PlayStation’s hardware, software, content and network operations, SIE will become an even stronger entity, with a clear objective to further accelerate the growth of the PlayStation business,” said Andrew House, President and Global CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. and Group Executive in charge of Network Entertainment of Sony Corporation. “Along with our business partners, SIE will develop pioneering services and products that will continue to inspire consumers’ imaginations and lead the market. We will work hard to maximize corporate value by coordinating global business operations across San Mateo, Tokyo, and London by leveraging local expertise.”

“The formation of SIE will create an even stronger PlayStation. That means an even bigger emphasis on developing pioneering platforms like PS4 and PlayStation VR, world-class games from our World Wide Studios development teams, and innovative network services such as PlayStation Vue. It also means a renewed commitment to making PlayStation the best place to play,” Sony’s Shawn Layden said, also saying that this move will “power the next 20 years of PlayStation innovation.”

So it sounds like Sony is consolidating its PlayStation business, and making it even more powerful- considering that PlayStation is one of Sony’s few profit making products, that does make sense.

Hopefully this means that the PS4’s UI, OS, and online services will now improve faster than the glacial pace that improvements have been subjected to thus far.

Tim Schaaff was the president of Sony Network Entertainment and will retire by December 31st, Sony has revealed. He will be on the board of directors but will have no power he had before. Andrew House who is currently the CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, becomes SNE president. It looks like Kaz Hirai really has a lot of faith in AN

“Tim has been a strong leader within Sony who truly embodied the ‘One Sony’ spirit by successfully leading corporate-wide initiatives across business units since he joined,” said Kazuo Hirai, President and CEO, Sony Corporation. “I thank Tim for his passion and innumerable contributions to the company.”

“Under the leadership of Kaz, and Sir Howard Stringer before him, Sony gave me tremendous support to build a global team to coordinate and lead the company’s network service business,” said Tim Schaaff.

“Together we created something of significant value that will be an important part of Sony’s future. I’m grateful to have had this unique opportunity, proud of the commitment my team has demonstrated, and encouraged about Sony’s prospects in this strategic area.”

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