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PlayStation history
PlayStation company history timeline
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.
On August 7, 1995, Race unexpectedly resigned and was named CEO of Spectrum HoloByte three days later.
The PS console was released in the United States on September 9, 1995.
Taking approximately four years to develop, the PlayStation® game console was introduced in the United States in 1995.
Tretton had worked at SCEA since 1995 and was a founding member of the company's executive team.
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 company next set its sights on development of the PlayStation®2, which became available to consumers in November 2000.
A specially designed PS one® LCD monitor is introduced in November 2001 as a peripheral, providing the system with additional portability.
On July 1, 2002, chairman of SCEI, Shigeo Maruyama, was replaced by Tamotsu Iba as chairman.
In March 2005, the PlayStation®Portable (PSP®) was launched in North America, bringing an unparalleled gaming experience to a handheld platform.
The European release was originally set for March, 2005, but delayed due to high demand for the system in other territories.
On December 8, 2005, video game developer Guerrilla Games, developers of the Killzone series, was acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment as part of Worldwide Studios.
On January 24, 2006, video game developer Zipper Interactive, developers of the Socom series, was acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment as part of Worldwide Studios.
The PSN was also launched in November 2006.
The PS3 was released in Japan on November 11, 2006, and the United States date was November 17, 2006.
07July Chairman Shigeo Maruyama retires (retires from the board in June 2007)
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 Worldwide Studios.
Shuhei Yoshida was named as president of Worldwide Studios on May 16, 2008, replacing Kazuo Hirai, who was serving interim after Harrison left the company in early 2008.
On April 15, 2009, David Reeves, president and CEO of SCE Europe, announced his forthcoming resignation from his post.
The PSP Go was released on October 1, 2009, for North America and Europe, and on November 1, 2009, for Japan.
On August 1, 2011, video game developer Sucker Punch Productions, developers of the Sly Cooper and Infamous series, was also acquired.
In January 2012, BigBig Studios was closed and Cambridge Studio—renamed Guerrilla Cambridge—becoming a sister studio of Guerrilla Games.
On February 22, 2012, SCEA launched the revolutionary PlayStation®Vita.
In March 2012, Zipper Interactive, developers of the SOCOM series, MAG and Unit 13, was closed.
On July 2, 2012, Sony Computer Entertainment acquired Gaikai, a cloud-based gaming service.
A press release was published on August 20, 2013, announcing the release date of the PlayStation 4 (PS4) console.
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.
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 was replaced by Shawn Layden, who was the vice-president and chief operating officer (COO) of Sony Network Entertainment International, effective April 1, 2014.
The beta version of Sony's first-ever cloud-based television service, PlayStation Vue (PSVue), was launched in the United States in November 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.
* From October 2015, the SRP of "PlayStation 4" (500GB) has been reduced to \34,980 (tax excluded)/US $349/Europe €349.
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. It was only offered on an invite-only basis for PS3 and PS4 users, prior to its official launch in early 2015.
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.
According to one report, Sony was set to make a final decision on the possibility of the merger of the TV, film, and gaming businesses by the end of its fiscal year in March of the following year (2017). However, judging by Sony's activity in 2017, the rumored merger never materialized.
On August 19, 2019, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced that the company had entered into definitive agreements to acquire Insomniac Games.
SIE announced the formation of PlayStation Studios in May 2020 to be formally introduced alongside the PlayStation 5 later in 2020.
SIE's parent Sony bought a minority stake in Epic Games for $250 million in July 2020, giving the company about a 1.4% stake in Epic.
Sony plans to use the "PlayStation Studios" branding on both PlayStation 5 and new PlayStation 4 games to help with consumer recognition, though the branding was not ready for some of Sony's mid-2020 releases like The Last of Us Part II.
Video Games Chronicle observed that Sony had established a PlayStation PC label around April 2021 to handle the publication of its games on Windows.
On April 13, 2021, Epic Games announced that it received an additional $200 million strategic investment from SIE's parent Sony Group Corporation.
In June 2021, Sony confirmed that they are dedicated to PC gaming and value PC gamers, although the PlayStation consoles will still be the "first" and "best" places to play their games.
On June 29, 2021, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced the acquisition of Housemarque.
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PlayStation competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2k | - | $7.5M | 3,000 | 53 |
| ZeniMax Media | 1999 | $510.6M | 2,301 | 31 |
| SouthPeak Interactive CORP | 1996 | - | 50 | - |
| WildWorks | 2003 | $7.0M | 127 | - |
| Electronic Arts | 1982 | $7.6B | 9,800 | 33 |
| Zynga | 2007 | $2.8B | 1,777 | 55 |
| Trion Worlds | 2006 | $100.0M | 750 | - |
| Riot Games | 2006 | $1.5B | 2,500 | 55 |
| PRO Unlimited | 1982 | $562.0M | 200 | 1 |
| Epic Games | 1991 | $500.0M | 1,001 | 115 |
PlayStation history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of PlayStation, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about PlayStation. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at PlayStation. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by PlayStation. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of PlayStation and its employees or that of Zippia.
PlayStation may also be known as or be related to PlayStation, Sony Computer Entertainment (1993–2016), Sony Computer Entertainment America and Sony Computer Entertainment.