Sony Interactive Entertainment
Sony Interactive Entertainment (abbreviated as SIE and formerly known as Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) and Sony Network Entertainment) is an American multinational video game and digital entertainment company and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products and Services Group of Sony Corporation in Japan.
The company was founded in Tokyo, Japan, and established on November 16, 1993, as Sony Computer Entertainment, 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 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. Alongside, it is also a developer and publisher of video game titles and is composed of several subsidiaries of Sony's largest markets: North America, Europe and Asia. As of September 2016, the company has sold more than 486 million PlayStation consoles overall worldwide.