Topic: Rest In Peace PSN: Sony Changing PSN to SEN

[Chozo Ghost]

http://playstationgang.com/rest-in-peace-psn-sony-changing-psn-to-sen/

PSN service  launched alongside the PlayStation 3 on November 11, 2006 but today the announced On February 8, 2012 Sony will take the final step to unifying their online services by introducing it’s users to the Sony Entertainment Network, or simply  SEN for short. Sony will not require you to alter your current PSN ID or password. Everything will stay the same
Sony is currently in the process of sending out e-mails to all PSN users about this. If you haven’t already received this e-mail,take a look blow to see the details the e-mail will contain
 

Dear Psyko_2000,
On February 8, 2012, your

“PlayStation®Network account” will be renamed a “Sony Entertainment Network account” or a “SEN account” in conjunction with Sony Computer Entertainment’s PlayStation®3 system software and PlayStation®Vita system software updates. (Note, this change will not be applied to the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system at this time.)
For general purposes, this account change is a change in name only. Your username or password will not change, nor are we asking you to change them. In accordance with this transition, some necessary naming changes will be made to the TOS and Privacy Policy.
This transition is based on Sony’s goal to enhance its unique digital entertainment offering. As a series of these activities Sony started last September, PlayStation®Network will be aligned with “Sony Entertainment Network.” This helps us get closer to our goal of establishing a global comprehensive network platform of services across games, movies, music and more, all accessible from one convenient account.
Thank you for your continued loyalty and support during this transition.
Sincerely,
 The Sony Entertainment Network Team

Considering the PSN name has been eternally trashed less than a year ago by hackers, I can't blame Sony for wanting to wipe the slate clean with a new name. Its still the same exact thing, though. Only the name is changing.


Another thought occurred to me, though. Could this name change suggest that the PS4 might go by a different brand name than Playstation? We already see Sony moving away from Playstation in the form of the Vita, so maybe the PS4 is going to have some new name also? The reason they may want to do that is because they are now in 3rd place, so the brand name isn't as high and mighty as it was 7 years ago. So PSN changing to SEN might be a pre-emptive move to make it ready for the PS4.

[Shaymin]

Like Scott Gomez, this move is pointless.

[TJ Spyke]

We already see Sony moving away from Playstation in the form of the Vita

How so? The name of the system is PlayStation Vita.

[broodwars]

Meh, whatever.  Maybe they'll be moving away from the Playstation brand with the Playstation 4, and maybe they just want to emphasize the "SONY" name in relation to their other electronic products (especially in light of their recent losses).  I rather liked "PSN" as a service acronym, but "SEN" is still easy to remember and reasonably catchy.  It's better than Nintendo's speculated "NN", anyway.

[BlackNMild2k1]

I think it's a move to integrate all their online enabled products, such as TV's, computers, tablets, phones, Bluray players & Playstation products, to connect to the same Sony branded network to share the same Sony content.

[Chozo Ghost]

Meh, whatever.  Maybe they'll be moving away from the Playstation brand with the Playstation 4, and maybe they just want to emphasize the "SONY" name in relation to their other electronic products (especially in light of their recent losses).  I rather liked "PSN" as a service acronym, but "SEN" is still easy to remember and reasonably catchy.  It's better than Nintendo's speculated "NN", anyway.

How do you pronounce "SEN"? Is it pronounced like "Sin"?

[NWR_insanolord]

Knowing Sony, I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to get people to pronounce it like "scene", with a horrible marketing campaign playing up how cool and hip it is, that they'd later argue was intended to be ironically bad.

[Chozo Ghost]

They could easily have made it "SCENE" by going with "Sony Computer Entertainment NEtwork. But they didn't, and that is their loss.

[broodwars]

Meh, whatever.  Maybe they'll be moving away from the Playstation brand with the Playstation 4, and maybe they just want to emphasize the "SONY" name in relation to their other electronic products (especially in light of their recent losses).  I rather liked "PSN" as a service acronym, but "SEN" is still easy to remember and reasonably catchy.  It's better than Nintendo's speculated "NN", anyway.

How do you pronounce "SEN"? Is it pronounced like "Sin"?

"Seh-n", like the river in Paris.

[BranDonk Kong]

Either way it's stupid. Even with PlayStation fucking their customers left and right, they still probably have a better rep as a brand than SONY does in general. On one hand it makes sense since they have Qrocity and other crap on PSN that isn't exactly PlayStation-branded, but on the other hand, no one cares about that other crap and PlayStation is their biggest success.

[nickmitch]

We already see Sony moving away from Playstation in the form of the Vita

How so? The name of the system is PlayStation Vita.

Because unlike the PSP, you can just call it the Vita. The name PlayStation isn't integrated in to the short hand.

[TJ Spyke]

You could say that with PSP too since you rarely heard anyone say PlayStation Portable (the systems name). And it doesn't mean Sony is moving away from the PlayStation brand, it's like how people tend to just say 3DS instead of Nintendo 3DS. Sony itself uses "PS Vita" as the shorthand. What consumers tend to call something is not the same as the branding of the product.

[nickmitch]

I couldn't say that with the PSP because I said, "The name PlayStation isn't integrated in to the short hand," and the "PS" in PSP stands for PlayStation. When you say, "PS2/PS3/PSP" that "PS" keeps the PlayStation name in there. Sony could've easily referred to it as "PSV" (eventhough it sounds a bit too similar to PSP), keeping with their regular nomenclature. And they have to spell out PlayStation because it's a new system. Laymen wouldn't respond to "Sony Vita" without the PlayStation part.

Anyway, I don't think they're dropping the PlayStation brand. I just wanted to explain how that could work.

[Chozo Ghost]

The difference between the PSP and the Vita is that no one called the PSP just "Portable" and calling it "Playstation Portable" is too long to say or write, so everyone uses the abbreviation "PSP". But with the "Playstation Vita" everyone is going to be calling it "Vita". A few may call it "PSV", but the word "Vita" is sufficiently short enough that its probably going to be used most often and this means in informal usage the "playstation" part of it is going to be dropped.

Another thing to keep in mind is "Portable" is an adjective, but "Vita" is a noun. So that is a very huge difference right there.

[TJ Spyke]

But it's not Sony doing that, so it is not a change in the branding. That was my point.

[Chozo Ghost]

But it's not Sony doing that, so it is not a change in the branding. That was my point.

It may not become a de jure change in branding, but it might become a de facto change.

[TJ Spyke]

Consumers don't choose how something is branded. It's not logical to say Sony is moving away from the PlayStation brand when they aren't.

[broodwars]

Consumers don't choose how something is branded.

Indeed.  The "Wii" brand is testament to that.  No one liked that name when it was announced (at best, people seem to be indifferent to it now), but Nintendo's stuck with it.

[Chozo Ghost]

Consumers don't choose how something is branded.

Indeed.  The "Wii" brand is testament to that.  No one liked that name when it was announced (at best, people seem to be indifferent to it now), but Nintendo's stuck with it.

But there are rumors Nintendo is considering changing the name of the Wii U. We will find out at E3 if those rumors have any weight to them.

[TJ Spyke]

Even if they change the Wii U's name (I am fine with the name), it's a safe bet that the new name will still have "Wii" in it.

[Shaymin]

So apparently the PSP didn't get the memo; I bought a couple of games from the store today and the receipt still said "Playstation Network".

Unless I'm missing something and they're timing the change with the release of the Vita in North America.

[TJ Spyke]

Sony said the update would not apply to the PSP right now (http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/720500/sony-entertainment-network-to-replace-psn-accounts/).

[BranDonk Kong]

As long as SONY stick to their guns about fucking their customers, it's all good.

[Stogi]

I think it's a move to integrate all their online enabled products, such as TV's, computers, tablets, phones, Bluray players & Playstation products, to connect to the same Sony branded network to share the same Sony content.

THIS.

It's honestly a no-brainer, but still a considerably smart move if they hope to compete with Microsoft in unifying product services across the board.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Kaz Hiriai's first order of business as the new Sony CEO was to actually unify the companies products and services.

So delivering all of Sony's digital content through one service to any Sony device capable of receiving it is something Stringer should have done years ago. Maybe now they can deliver on the idea of all of Sony's (cell) products communicating with each other and creating a sort of network that would make owning all devices from one brand (initally until other manufacturers started licensing the tech) beneficial.

I already think it's cool that my TV knows when my DVD player turns on and will automatically switch over to that input so the movie can start. It would be nice to see that kind of connectivity spread throughout all the devices, like a music player could stream to your stereo when you enter the room, or your phone can wireless display media up on the TV, your DVD player could stream to your tablet, your computer will pull up artist info of whats playing on your stereo(music recognition) etc. etc.