Sony Computer Entertainment PS4 PlayStation 4 1

This is not the news that we expected to wake up to on a chilly Tuesday morning: Sony Computer Entertainment is no more. Don't panic, PlayStation is very much alive – but the iconic organisation housing the billion dollar brand has been renamed Sony Interactive Entertainment. It's very much the unexpected end of an era.

The platform holder claims that the change will power the next 20 years of PlayStation innovation, so what the flying fudge is actually going on? Well, according to SCEE boss Jim Ryan who was writing on the PlayStation Blog, the iconic Sony Computer Entertainment will be merging with Sony Network Entertainment to form the new firm.

Why? Well, if you look at recent developments it makes sense: the Japanese giant has been folding all of its online initiatives under the PlayStation umbrella, with TV streaming service PlayStation Vue and Spotify collaboration PlayStation Music two obvious examples. Situating these companies closer to the actual PlayStation business makes sense.

"The formation of SIE will create an even stronger PlayStation," Ryan said of the California-based company. "That means an even bigger emphasis on developing pioneering platforms like the PS4 and PlayStation VR, world-class games from our World Wide Studios development teams, and innovative network services such as PlayStation Vue."

But it also means that the iconic diamond logo, which has defined 20 glorious years of play, may well be no more. The firm hasn't revealed Sony Interactive Entertainment's logo just yet, but we'll naturally post it as soon as a potato-cam image leaks. What do you make of this shocking news? Do you think much is going to change? Remember the PSone start-up screen in the comments section below.

[source blog.eu.playstation.com]