The Japanese electronics giant currently operates a number of entertainment stores, such as Qriocity, Sony's streaming music and video service; Ps Network; and others. Several sources tell CNET that Sony may roll out a brand new name for those services during IFA 2011 next month in Berlin. That name happens to be known within the company as "Sony Entertainment Network, " or SEN.
Does this mean people will turn on their PS3s or PSPs one day soon and see Sony Entertainment Network instead of PlayStation Network? Not quite. Our sources indicate that Qriocity Music Unlimited and also the VOD service would be first to move under the SEN umbrella. Other services might then be moved to SEN later; this may include the PSN and also the Reader Store.
A possible reason for the transition, our sources say, is actually that soon-to-be-chairman Kazuo Hirai desires a unified Sony user experience, as it's been fragmented over the last decade. Hirai oversees all of Sony's consumer consumer electronics, including PlayStation products, so the PSN transitioning to the rubric of SEN appears plausible. It also wouldn't hurt to move away from PSN after the embarrassing hacking scandal that breached an incredible number of accounts and caused service interruption for 23 days.
The name-change information also aligns nicely using the Sony S tablet ad sheet revealed yesterday by Engadget, which shows how the name "Qriocity" is curiously missing from the literature. The only listed shops include "Music Unlimited" and "Movies Unlimited, " while a small Q logo design is nearby; those will be the names of the two stores below SEN.
Qriocity arrived in a "soft launch" nearly two years ago like a streaming movie portal, and added music streaming months later. The oddly named store marked the start of Sony's broad aspiration to compete with the horde of cloud-based streaming providers.
Despite a wide range of features, shared log-in with PSN, and a good expansive catalog, the service never really took off. Qriocity was also the very first major project of Sony Network Entertainment, a subsidiary company that launched this year. One CNET source believes another motivational factor behind the big name change is how the name "Qriocity" didn't resonate with consumers.
Further strong evidence of the name "Sony Entertainment Network" are available in the WHOIS lookup for Sonyentertainmentnetwork. com, which lists Fara Becker of Sony Network Entertainment International LLC since the registrant.