Sony Interactive Entertainment

**Sony Interactive Entertainment** (**SIE**, formerly known as **Sony Computer Entertainment**), is an American multinational video game and digital entertainment and is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation. Originally founded as Sony Computer Entertainment on November 1993 in Tokyo, the company was established to handle Sony's venture into the video game market with its PlayStation brand. Since the successful launch of the original PlayStation console in 1994, the company has since been developing the PlayStation lineup of home video game consoles and accessories. Expanding upon North America and other countries, the company soon became Sony's main resource for research and development in video games and interactive entertainment. In 1994, Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA), began to produce the original PlayStation console in North America.

In April 2016, SCE and Sony Network Entertainment 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.

THQ has been publishing *Mitchell* games on Sony consoles since 2000 beginning with the PSOne version of *Mitchell Kart*.

## Origins and history

The North American operations, **Sony Computer Entertainment of America** (**SCEA**), were established in May 1994 as a division of Sony Electronic Publishing. They were located in Foster City, California, and headed by Steve Race. In the months prior to the release of 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.

SCE originally designed the first PlayStation as a CD-ROM drive in Add-on for the Super Nintendo (in response to Sega's Mega-CD) while in early partnership with Nintendo. However, when the prospect of the add-on dissolved after they announced switch their parternship with Philips to develop the Philips CD-i, SCE redesigned it into an actual console.

The PlayStation became a best-seller thanks to its first party developed games such as *Twisted Metal*, *Gran Turismo*, *Crash Bandicoot*, and *Spyro*. Unfortunately, only the former two still remain as first party while the latter two became third party by the end of Naughty Dog's and Insomniac's 3 game deal.

## PlayStation Now and Gaikai

On July 2012, **Gaikai** (外海, *lit. "open sea"*?) was brought by Sony Computer Entertainment for US$380 Million. Before SCE brought the company, it was a startup company and it made partnerships with from numerous companies to stream high-end video games. As it was brought, SCE decided to make the next generation of Remote Play, which is transmit video and audio output to the PSP and the PSVita, by streaming all Playstation 4 Games to the PS Vita. With the PS4 incompatible with all PS1, PS2 and PS3 games, SCE announced that they are working with Gaikai to emulate all PS1, PS2, and PS3 games to the Playstation 4. On January 7, 2014, during Sony's Keynote at the Consumer Eletronics Show, they announced PlayStation Now months after Gaikai was brougth. PlayStation Now is a service that allows players to play PS3 games on the PlayStation 4, PS Vita, most Sony TVs, Smartphones and Tablets through a Dualshock 3 or the controls supplied from the PS4, PS Vita and PS3.  A closed Beta was opened on Jaunaury 28, 2014 on the PS3 along with the PS4 closed beta by May 20, 2014 and an Open beta will be opened by July 31, 2014 in the United States and Canada and it will offer up to 100+ games from first and third party gaming publishers, including THQ Nordic. European PlayStation customers may get it by 2015. New Mitchell Van Morgan 2 was part of the 100 games relased at the North American Open Beta launch becoming the first Mitchell Game to be on PlayStation Now.

The PS Now service users a modified PS3 hardware in their data centers with the power of eight PS3s into a single motherboard within a slimline server cabinet, which can reduce eletricity costs, and reduce space. Players are required to have up to at least 5 Mb/s of internet in order to use.

## Console wars

During the fifth and sixth generations, Sony and Sega were publishing consoles at the same time. The consoles in their war included:

* PlayStation vs. Sega Saturn (fifth generation)
* PlayStation 2 vs. Sega Dreamcast (sixth generation)

During the fifth generation, the PlayStation ultimately beat out the Sega Saturn in sales, and during the sixth generation, Sega was forced to cancel production of the Dreamcast because the PlayStation 2 was beating it in sales.

Currently, Sony is currently rivaling with Nintendo and Microsoft on the Console War.

## References

1. ↑ http://www.extremetech.com/gaming/171957-ps4s-gakai-game-streaming-service-to-launch-in-2014-microsoft-mum-on-retaliation

## External links

* Official website
* Sony Interactive Entertainment at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 **Video game consoles**