Sony announced that two of its main corporate divisions will merge in order to offer clients a better, integrated service.
PlayStation users will get their hardware, software and services from the new entity named Sony Interactive Entertainment. It contains the former Sony Computer Entertainment (the division in charge of the hardware and software components of PlayStation) and Sony Network Entertainment (services such as the PlayStation Store and PlayStation Vue).
Sony Interactive Entertainment will start its activity on Apr. 1, 2016. This means that all the business units of SNEI (the networking division) and SCE (the PlayStation division) will be under the same roof, at the new headquarters in San Mateo, California.
Changes will also take place at management level. The reorganization puts Shawn Layden, the former leader of Sony Computer Entertainment America, at the reins of the global studios of Sony Interactive Entertainment.
Layden answers directly to the leader of the SIE. Meanwhile, the previous leader of the worldwide Sony studious, Shuhei Yoshida, reports directly to Layden. To summarize, Yoshida remains president of the studios, while Layden is their chairman.
@JeffGrubb I'll report to Shawn.
— Shuhei Yoshida (@yosp) January 26, 2016
The new enterprise aims to concentrate all the strong points of PlayStation's software, hardware, content and network operations, making SIE "a stronger entity, with a clear objective" that can develop and quicken the growth of the PlayStation business.
"Along with our business partners, SIE will develop pioneering services and products that will continue to inspire consumers' imaginations and lead the market," President and Global CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment and group executive in charge of Network Entertainment at Sony, Andrew House, said.
House underlines that the rebranded Sony will invest every resource it has to increase corporate value. He added that "local expertise" from San Mateo, London and Tokyo will be employed to fit this goal.
The history behind SCE takes us back to 1993, when the original PlayStation console was released.
The year 2010 brought the SNEI division that provided PlayStation Store entertainment and online games. The two units which were established 17 years apart will now work together as a whole.
No official information exists with regards to the jobs from each department.
There are multiple objectives that the new division sets to achieve. Increasing user engagement and maximizing revenue per paying user (or, as it is known in mobile gaming, ARPPU) being only two of them.
The financial target of SIE ranges between 1,400 and 1,600 billion yen in sales. SIE also aims to score a five to six percent operating income margin in the fiscal year that ends in Mar. 2018.
It should be noted that American-based SIE will be in charge of Research&Development of future PlayStation activities.
Observant techies know that Sony is struggling to keep its global financial balance afloat. One indicator of this was the sale the Vaio computer line, and the mobile division of the tech giant does not fare particularly well, either. Luckily for Sony, its photo cameras and PlayStation division managed to attract enough revenue into the company to keep it running.
