Sony and The Playstation
One of the current "Big 3", Sony has firmly established itself as a dominate console manufacturer.
Sony Interactive Entertainment (abbreviated as SIE and formerly known as Sony Computer Entertainment) is a multinational video game and digital entertainment company that is a wholly owned subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Sony Corporation.
The company was founded in Tokyo, Japan, and established on November 16, 1993, as Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), to handle Sony's venture into video game development with its PlayStation brand. Since the successful launch of the original PlayStation console in 1994, the company has been developing the PlayStation lineup of home video game consoles and accessories. Expanding into North America and other countries, the company quickly became Sony's main resource for research and development in video games and interactive entertainment. In April 2016, SCE and Sony Network Entertainment International was restructured and reorganized into Sony Interactive Entertainment, carrying over the operations and primary objectives from both companies. The same year, SIE moved its headquarters from Tokyo to San Mateo, California.
Sony Interactive Entertainment handles the research and development, production, and sales of both hardware and software for the PlayStation video game systems. SIE is also a developer and publisher of video game titles, and operates several subsidiaries in Sony's largest markets: North America, Europe and Asia. By August 2018, the company had sold more than 525 million PlayStation consoles worldwide.
Establishment, PlayStation release, and North American expansion (1993–2005)
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. (SCEI) was jointly established by Sony and its subsidiary Sony Music Entertainment Japan in 1993 to handle the company's ventures into the video game industry. The original PlayStation console was released on December 3, 1994, in Japan. The company's North American operations, Sony Computer Entertainment of America (SCEA), were originally established in May 1995 as a division of Sony Electronic Publishing. Located in Foster City, California, the North American office was originally headed by Steve Race.
In the months prior to the release of the PlayStation in Western markets, the operations were restructured: All video game marketing from Sony Imagesoft was folded into SCEA in July 1995, with most affected employees transferred from Santa Monica to Foster City. On August 7, 1995, Race unexpectedly resigned and was named CEO of Spectrum HoloByte three days later. He was replaced by Sony Electronics veteran Martin Homlish. This proved to be the beginning of a run of exceptional managerial turnover, with SCEA going through four presidents in a single year. The PS console was released in the United States on September 9, 1995. As part of a worldwide restructuring at the beginning of 1997, SCEA and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) were both re-established as wholly owned subsidiaries of SCEI.
The launch of the second PS console, the PlayStation 2 was released in Japan on March 4, 2000, and the U.S. on October 26, 2000. On July 1, 2002, chairman of SCEI, Shigeo Maruyama, was replaced by Tamotsu Iba as chairman. Jack Tretton and Phil Harrison were also promoted to senior vice presidents of SCE. The PlayStation Portable (PSP) was SCEI's first foray into the small handheld console market. Its development was first announced during SCE's E3 conference in 2003, and it was officially unveiled during their E3 conference on May 11, 2004. The system was released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in Europe and Australia on September 1, 2005.
Creation of SCE Worldwide Studios, acquisitions, and restructure (2005–2011)
On September 14, 2005, SCEI formed Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios (SCE WWS), a single internal entity to oversee all wholly owned development studios within SCEI. It became responsible for the creative and strategic direction of development and production of all computer entertainment software by all SCEI-owned studios—all software is produced exclusively for the PS family of consoles. Shuhei Yoshida was named as President of SCE WWS on May 16, 2008, replacing Kazuo Hirai, who was serving interim after Harrison left the company in early 2008.
On December 8, 2005, video game developer Guerrilla Games, developers of the Killzone series, was acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment as part of its SCE WWS. On January 24, 2006, video game developer Zipper Interactive, developers of the Socom series, was acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment as part of its SCE WWS.
In March 2006, Sony announced the online network for its forthcoming PlayStation 3 (PS3) system at the 2006 PlayStation Business Briefing meeting in Tokyo, Japan, tentatively named "PlayStation Network Platform" and eventually called just PlayStation Network (PSN). Sony also stated that the service would always be connected, free, and include multiplayer support.
The launch date for the PS3 was announced by Hirai at the pre-Electronic Entertainment Expo conference held at the Sony Pictures Studios in Los Angeles, California, on May 8, 2006. The PS3 was released in Japan on November 11, 2006, and the U.S. date was November 17, 2006. The PSN was also launched in November 2006.
On November 30, 2006, president of SCEI, Ken Kutaragi, was appointed as chairman of SCEI, while Hirai, then president of SCEA, was promoted to president of SCEI. On April 26, 2007, Ken Kutaragi resigned from his position as chairman of SCEI and group CEO, passing on his duties to the recently appointed president of SCE, Hirai.
On September 20, 2007, video game developers Evolution Studios and Bigbig Studios, creators of the MotorStorm series, were acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment as part of its SCE WWS.
On April 15, 2009, David Reeves, president and CEO of SCE Europe, announced his forthcoming resignation from his post. He had joined the company in 1995 and was appointed as chairman of SCEE in 2003, and then president in 2005. His role of president and CEO of SCEE would be taken over by Andrew House, who joined Sony Corporation in 1990. The PSP Go was released on October 1, 2009, for North America and Europe, and on November 1, 2009, for Japan.
On April 1, 2010, SCEI was restructured to bring together Sony's mobile electronics and personal computers divisions. The main Japanese division of SCEI was temporarily renamed "SNE Platform Inc." (SNEP) on April 1, 2010, and was split into two divisions that focused on different aspects: "Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc.", consisting of 1,300 employees who focused on the console business, and the network service business consisting of 60 to 70 employees. The network service business of SCEI was absorbed into Sony Corp's Network Products & Service Group (NPSG), which had already been headed by Hirai since April 2009. The original SCEI was then dissolved after the restructuring.
The North American and European branches of SCEI were affected by the restructuring, and remained as SCEA and SCEE. Hirai, by that time SCEI CEO and Sony Corporation EVP, led both departments.
On March 2, 2010, video game developer Media Molecule, developers of the PlayStation 3 (PS3) game LittleBigPlanet, was acquired by SCEI as part of its SCE WWS. On August 23, 2010, the headquarters of the company moved from Minami-Aoyama to the Sony City[ja] (Sony Corporation's headquarters) in Kōnan, Minato, Tokyo. On April 20, 2011, SCEI was the victim of an attack on its PlayStation Network system, which also affected its online division, Sony Online Entertainment. On August 1, 2011, video game developer Sucker Punch Productions, developers of the Sly Cooper and Infamous series, was also acquired.
Launch of PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 4, expansion into China (2011–2016)
On January 2012, BigBig Studios was closed and Cambridge Studio—renamed Guerrilla Cambridge—becoming a sister studio of Guerrilla Games. On March 2012, Zipper Interactive, developers of the SOCOM series, MAG and Unit 13, was closed. On June 25, 2012, Hirai retired as chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment; however, he remains on the board of directors.
On July 2, 2012, Sony Computer Entertainment acquired Gaikai, a cloud-based gaming service. On August 2012, Sony Liverpool developer of the Wipeout and Formula One series was closed.
A press release was published on August 20, 2013, announcing the release date of the PlayStation 4 (PS4) console. On that date, SCEI introduced the CUH-1000A series system, and announced the launch date as November 15, 2013, for North American markets and November 29, 2013, for European, Australasian and Central and South American markets.
Following a January 2014 announcement by the Chinese government that the country's 14-year game console ban would be lifted, the PS4 was scheduled to be the first Sony video game console to be officially and legally released in China since the PlayStation 2—the ban was enacted in 2000 to protect the mental health of young people.
On March 6, 2014, Sony Computer Entertainment of America President and CEO, Tretton, announced he was resigning from his position at the end of the month, citing a mutual agreement between himself and SCEA for the cessation of his contract. Tretton had worked at SCEA since 1995 and was a founding member of the company's executive team. He was involved in the launch of all PlayStation platforms in North America, including the original PlayStation, PS2, PSP, PS3, PSN, PS Vita, and PS4. Tretton was replaced by Shawn Layden, who was the vice-president and chief operating officer (COO) of Sony Network Entertainment International, effective April 1, 2014. On April 2, 2015, it was announced that Sony Computer Entertainment had acquired the intellectual property of the cloud gaming service OnLive, and that its services would cease by the end of the month.
The beta version of Sony's first-ever cloud-based television service, PlayStation Vue (PSVue), was launched in the U.S. in November 2014. It was only offered on an invite-only basis for PS3 and PS4 users, prior to its official launch in early 2015. Sony signed deals with major networks, including CBS, Discovery, Fox, and Viacom, so that users can view live streaming video, as well as catch up and on-demand content, from more than 75 channels, such as Comedy Central and Nickelodeon. Although pricing and release dates for other regions was not publicized, Sony confirmed that PSVue will eventually be available on iPad, followed by other Sony and non-Sony devices.
As Sony Interactive Entertainment (2016–present)
On January 26, 2016, Sony announced that effective April 1, 2016, Sony Computer Entertainment and Sony Network Entertainment International would be re-organized and combined into a new company, Sony Interactive Entertainment. Unlike SCE, Sony Interactive Entertainment is based in San Mateo, California, and represents the entire PlayStation brand, regional subsidiaries, and its content operations. On March 24, 2016, Sony announced the establishment of ForwardWorks, a new studio dedicated to producing "full-fledged" games based on Sony intellectual properties for mobile platforms such as smartphones.
Corporate affairs
The president, and CEO of SIE is John (Tsuyoshi) Kodera, replacing Andrew House, who stepped down in October 2017. House served as chairman until the end of 2017. House replaced Kaz Hirai as president and CEO in 2011, who himself had replaced longtime CEO Ken Kutaragi, also known as "The Father of the PlayStation". Kutaragi retired from his executive position at SIE on June 19, 2007, and holds the title of honorary chairman at the company. Shawn Layden and Jim Ryan currently serve as chairman of SIE Worldwide Studios and Head of Global Sales and Marketing, respectively. Shuhei Yoshida is the current president of SIE Worldwide Studios.
Headquarters
SIE currently has three main headquarters around the world: the global and Americas region headquarters in San Mateo, California, United States (Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC); Kōnan, Minato, Tokyo, Japan (Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. and Sony Interactive Entertainment Japan Asia) which control operations in Asia and was also formerly the headquarters for Sony Computer Entertainment; and London, United Kingdom (Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe) which controls operations in Europe and Oceania. SIE also has smaller offices and distribution centers in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, San Diego, California U.S.; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Melbourne, Australia; and Seocho-gu, Seoul, South Korea and Liverpool, England, UK.
Game approval
SIE evaluates and approves games for its consoles. The process is more strict than for the Nintendo Seal of Quality, and developers submit game concepts to Sony early in the design process. Each SIE unit has its own evaluation process; SIEE, for example, approved Billy the Wizard for its consumers but SIEA did not. The company sometimes imposes additional restrictions, such as when it prohibited PS and PS2 games from being ported to the PSP without 30% of content being new to the Sony console.
Playstation 1/PSone
Development
The inception of what would become the released PlayStation dates back to 1986 with a joint venture between Nintendo and Sony. Nintendo had already produced floppy disk technology to complement cartridges, in the form of the Family Computer Disk System, and wanted to continue this complementary storage strategy for the Super Famicom. Nintendo approached Sony to develop a CD-ROM add-on, tentatively titled the "Play Station" or "SNES-CD". A contract was signed, and work began. Nintendo's choice of Sony was due to a prior dealing: Ken Kutaragi, the person who would later be dubbed "The Father of the PlayStation", was the individual who had sold Nintendo on using the Sony SPC-700 processor for use as the eight-channel ADPCM sound set in the Super Famicom/SNES console through an impressive demonstration of the processor's capabilities.
Kutaragi was nearly fired by Sony because he was originally working with Nintendo on the side without Sony's knowledge (while still employed by Sony). It was then-CEO, Norio Ohga, who recognised the potential in Kutaragi's chip, and in working with Nintendo on the project. Ohga kept Kutaragi on at Sony, and it was not until Nintendo cancelled the project that Sony decided to develop its own console.
Sony also planned to develop a Super NES-compatible, Sony-branded console, but one which would be more of a home entertainment system playing both Super NES cartridges and a new CD format which Sony would design. This was also to be the format used in SNES-CDs, giving a large degree of control to Sony despite Nintendo's leading position in the video gaming market.
The product, dubbed the "Play Station" was to be announced at the May 1991 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). However, when Nintendo's Hiroshi Yamauchi read the original 1988 contract between Sony and Nintendo, he realized that the earlier agreement essentially handed Sony complete control over any and all titles written on the SNES CD-ROM format. Yamauchi decided that the contract was totally unacceptable and he secretly cancelled all plans for the joint Nintendo-Sony SNES CD attachment. Instead of announcing a partnership between Sony and Nintendo, at 9 am the day of the CES, Nintendo chairman Howard Lincoln stepped onto the stage and revealed that Nintendo was now allied with Philips, and Nintendo was planning on abandoning all the previous work Nintendo and Sony had accomplished. Lincoln and Minoru Arakawa had, unbeknownst to Sony, flown to Philips' global headquarters in the Netherlands and formed an alliance of a decidedly different nature—one that would give Nintendo total control over its licenses on Philips machines.
After the collapse of the joint-Nintendo project, Sony briefly considered allying itself with Sega to produce a stand-alone console. The Sega CEO at the time, Tom Kalinske, took the proposal to Sega's Board of Directors in Tokyo, who promptly vetoed the idea. Kalinske, in a 2013 interview recalled them saying "that’s a stupid idea, Sony doesn't know how to make hardware. They don’t know how to make software either. Why would we want to do this?". This prompted Sony into halting their research, but ultimately the company decided to use what it had developed so far with both Nintendo and Sega to make it into a complete console based upon the Super Famicom. As a result, Nintendo filed a lawsuit claiming breach of contract and attempted, in US federal court, to obtain an injunction against the release of what was originally christened the "Play Station", on the grounds that Nintendo owned the name. The federal judge presiding over the case denied the injunction and, in October 1991, the first incarnation of the aforementioned brand new game system was revealed. However, it is theorised that only 200 or so of these machines were ever produced.
By the end of 1992, Sony and Nintendo reached a deal whereby the "Play Station" would still have a port for SNES games, but Nintendo would own the rights and receive the bulk of the profits from the games, and the SNES would continue to use the Sony-designed audio chip. However, Sony decided in early 1993 to begin reworking the "Play Station" concept to target a new generation of hardware and software. As part of this process the SNES cartridge port was dropped and the space between the names "Play Station" was removed becoming "PlayStation", thereby ending Nintendo's involvement with the project. According to a Sony engineer, all work on the console from the time of the partnership with Nintendo was eventually scrapped, and the PlayStation design was restarted from scratch. Sony's North American division, known as Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA), originally planned to market the new console under the alternative branding "PSX" following the negative feedback regarding "PlayStation" in focus group studies. Early advertising prior to the console's launch in North America referenced PSX, but the term was scrapped before launch.
According to SCE's producer Ryoji Akagawa and chairman Shigeo Maruyama, there was uncertainty over whether the console should primarily focus on 2D sprite graphics or 3D polygon graphics. It was only after witnessing the success of Sega's Virtua Fighter in Japanese arcades that "the direction of the PlayStation became instantly clear" and 3D polygon graphics became the console's primary focus.
Unlike Sega, Sony had no arcade division from which to draw console-selling ports, or any in-house development to speak of. To solve this problem, Sony acquired studios such as Psygnosis and signed exclusivity deals with hot arcade publishers Namco and Williams Entertainment.
Industry hype for the console spread quickly, and in early 1994 GamePro reported that "many video game companies [feel] that in the near future, the video game platforms to contend with will be from Nintendo, Sega... and Sony." [emphasis in original]
Launch
The PlayStation was released in Japan on 3 December 1994, North America on 9 September 1995, Europe on 29 September 1995, and Oceania on 15 November 1995. The console was an immediate success in Japan, selling over 2 million units within its first six months on the market. In the US, 800,000 were sold in 1995 (i.e. four months on the market), giving the PlayStation a commanding lead over the other consoles of its generation, though it was still being outsold by the older Super NES and Sega Genesis. The launch price in the US market was US$299 and Sony enjoyed a very successful launch with titles of almost every genre, including Battle Arena Toshinden, Warhawk, Air Combat, Philosoma, Ridge Racer and Rayman. Unlike the vast majority of gaming consoles of the time, the PlayStation did not include a pack-in game at launch. Sony reported strong software sales in the months following launch, with an attach rate of 4:1.
Then Microsoft chairman, Bill Gates, preferred Sony's console to the competition from Sega, saying "Our game designer likes the Sony machine." Microsoft would later compete with Sony with its Xbox console. In a special Game Machine Cross Review in May 1995, Famicom Tsūshin would score the PlayStation console a 19 out of 40. The staff of Next Generation reviewed the PlayStation a few weeks after its North American launch. They commented that while the CPU is "fairly average", the supplementary custom hardware such as the GPU and sound processor is stunningly powerful. They particularly praised its focus on 3D, and also remarked positively on the comfort of the controller and the convenience of the memory cards. Giving the system 4 1/2 out of 5 stars, they concluded, "To succeed in this extremely cut-throat market, you need a combination of great hardware, great games, and great marketing. Whether by skill, luck, or just deep pockets, Sony has scored three out of three in the first salvo of this war." An advertisement slogan used in marketing the console was, "Live in your world. Play in ours." It is stylised as, "LIVE IN YUR WRLD. PLY IN URS." Another briefly used advertising campaign was titled "You Are Not Ready" or "U R NOT E." Sony's CCO Lee Clow explained that "it's the ultimate challenge. Gamers love to respond to that tag line and say "Bullshit. Let me show you how ready I am."
Market success
One of the key factors in the PlayStation's success was Sony's approach to third party developers. Whereas Sega and Nintendo took an isolationist approach, focusing on first party development while generally leaving third party developers to their own devices, Sony took efforts to streamline game production by providing a range of programming libraries which were constantly updated online, organising third party technical support teams, and in some cases giving direct development support to third party companies.[42] At the close of 1996, there were approximately 400 games in development for the PlayStation, as compared to approximately 200 games in development for the Saturn and 60 for the Nintendo 64.
While the Sega Saturn was marketed towards 18 to 34 year-olds, the PlayStation was marketed roughly, but not exclusively, towards 12 to 24 year-olds. Both Sega and Sony reasoned that because younger players typically look up to older, more experienced players, they would be drawn in by advertising targeted at teens and adults. Additionally, Sony found that adults are best targeted by advertising geared towards teenagers; according to Lee Clow, "One of the first things we resolved early on was that everyone is 17 when they play videogames. The young people look up to the best gamer who is usually a little older and more practiced and talented. Then there are people who start working and grow up, but when they go into their room and sit down with their videogames, they're regressing and becoming 17 again." Initially PlayStation demographics were skewed towards adults, but after the first price drop the audience began broadening.
In 1996, the high demand for PlayStation games contributed to Sony's decision to expand their CD production facilities in Springfield, Oregon, increasing their monthly output from 4 million discs to 6.5 million discs. PlayStation sales were running at twice the rate of Saturn sales, and dramatically increased their lead when both the PlayStation and Saturn dropped in price to $199 in May, in large part because some retailers (such as KB Toys) did not stock the Saturn. The PlayStation was outselling the Saturn at a similar ratio in Europe as well during 1996, with an accumulated 2.2 million consoles sold in the region by the end of the year. Sales figures for PlayStation hardware and software only increased following the launch of the Nintendo 64.
The PlayStation took more time to achieve dominance in Japan. After the PlayStation and Saturn had been on the market for nearly two years, Sony Computer Entertainment president Teruhisa Tokunaka said the competition between them was still "very close", and that neither console had yet held the lead in sales for any meaningful length of time.
Functionality
In addition to playing games, select PlayStation models have the ability to play audio CDs; further, Asian model SCPH-5903 can also play Video CDs. Like most domestic CD players, the PlayStation has the ability to shuffle the playback order, play the songs in a programmed order, and repeat one song or the entire disc. Later PlayStation models can utilize a music visualization function called SoundScope. This function, as well as a memory card manager, can be accessed by starting the console either without inserting a game or keeping the CD tray open, thereby accessing a GUI for the PlayStation BIOS.
The actual GUI for both PS one and PlayStation differ graphically depending on firmware versions: the original PlayStation GUI had a dark blue background with rainbow graffiti used as buttons; the early PAL PlayStation and PS one GUI had a grey blocked background with 2 icons in the middle, different on each version. If the CD lid is closed with a game inside at any time while at the menu, the game will immediately start.