Early April Fools - Sony Announces the Formation of Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC

The combined powers of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. & Sony Network Entertainment International LLC.

In big business, there comes a time when companies decide to make moves solely for the purpose of being agile. Such reasoning could be placed behind Sony's latest announcement. In essence, the business unit behind PlayStation hardware and software, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., and Sony Network Entertainment International LLC, the business unit behind PSN, the PlayStation Store, PS Plus, PS Now, PS View, etc. are coming together under the moniker Sony Interactive Entertainment, LLC.

Here, from Sony, is the reasoning for the move:

Through the formation of SIE, the companies combine resources across their hardware, software, content and fast-growing network businesses, positioning the company for enhanced competitiveness, continued expansion and market leadership in all areas. SIE will better respond to the needs of consumers and the evolving digital market to deliver unparalleled interactive entertainment experiences under the PlayStation brand.

The new business unit will be located in San Mateo, California and will officially come together on April 1st, 2016. Sony has shared an overview of the new unit's leadership structure which includes many of the usual suspects for the PlayStation brand.

No doubt, the business of PlayStation, which is so crucial for Sony, is much more than consoles and discs. Moving forward, the titan-sized PSN, PlayStation Store, and PlayStation Plus are as important as anything that Sony does, shy of creating a new hit product segment. Having that business more closely tied into the more traditional hardware and software side does make sense, and could even be a major factor for something like PlayStation VR. Certainly, anything like a PS4 successor ought to bear this combined importance. One thing that Sony is already doing is getting the PlayStation brand onto other devices, like TVs and set-top boxes. This is being done via PlayStation Now and the PS3 software library, and appears to be far grander in adoption than anything that Sony has tried in terms of bringing PlayStation to smartphones and tablets.

Does this mean that PS4 owners can expect a greater emphasis on feature updates? Does this mean that PlayStation Plus could be a service that is eventually offered on non-Sony made devices? One thing is clear. The new unit has a stated goal to "retain and expand PlayStation user engagement, increase Average Revenue Per Paying Users (ARPPU) and drive ancillary revenue."

Source: SCEI