Sony has announced that it will be merging two of its entertainment businesses into a single company later this year. The company is looking to integrate all of its PlayStation activities under one roof in San Mateo, California.
Effective April 1, the Sony Computer Entertainment and Sony Network Entertainment business units will combine to form Sony Interactive Entertainment, LLC. The new company will be led by Andrew House, the current president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. in Tokyo. Kazuo Hirai, the former PlayStation boss — and current CEO of all of Sony — will serve on the board as well.
In a statement released by Sony, Andrew House stated: “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.”
The move to San Mateo appears to reflect a shifting of priorities and business of the PlayStation consoles. Sony Computer Entertainment has long been headquartered in Tokyo, since its establishment in 1993. Sony Network Entertainment International, which houses all of Sony’s online content business (PlayStation Network, PlayStation Vue television service, and PlayStation Music among others) was established more recently in 2010.
The PlayStation 4 has been a major bright spot within the Sony corporation. The company announced earlier this month that the console has sold over 35 million units worldwide since its launch in 2013.