14 DAY TRIAL // Electronic consumer giant Sony has announced at the CES 2012 trade show in Las Vegas that it would expand the Sony Entertainment Network, which has grown from the PlayStation Network, as a central hub which will deliver content and experiences to the PlayStation line of entertainment consoles, the Xperia smartphones, television sets and other devices.
The PlayStation will have a leading role in the new cloud centric experience as Sony tries to give all users a unique identification for the Sony Entertainment Network and the PSN is the most likely entry point at the moment.
Howard Stringer, who is the current president and Chief Executive Officer at Sony, stated, “We have a stake in every part of the entertainment revolution.”
The already on sale PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita will continue to be aimed at hardcore gamers and those who plan to become part of that group while a new line of PlayStation Certified products, which will include smartphones and tablets, will allow others to get media content from the PSN.
Kaz Hirai, who had lead the PlayStation division at Sony and is seen as next in line to lead the company, added, “Whether you’re playing games, watching movies or TV, or sharing photos or videos, you’re really doing one thing – experiencing the content you want to.”
Sony has revealed that the PlayStation Vita has managed to sell 500,000 devices since its December 17 launch in Japan and has announced an expanded line-up of music and movie content to be available when the platform launches in the West in late February.
Sony also announced that it will be adding more social features to both the PlayStation 3 home console and the PSP line of handhelds, making sure that gamers feel connected to their groups at all times.
The company made no suggestion that it will announce or launch a new home console during 2012.