Sony’s PlayStation moving Tokyo office to San Mateo

Officials announced Tuesday it would unify the San Mateo-headquartered Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. and the Japan-headquartered Sony Network Entertainment International LLC into a single conglomerate called Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC, or SIE.

Beginning April 1, SIE will solidify all of its PlayStation and gaming operations to one central locale, instead of having its Tokyo office responsible for hardware and its U.S. employees focused on digital gaming and networking, according to the announcement.

Andrew House, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, will remain in charge of the new SIE as its president and CEO.

“By integrating the strengths of PlayStation’s hardware, software, content and network operations, SIE will become an even stronger entity, with a clear objective to further accelerate the growth of the PlayStation business,” House said in a press release. “Along with our business partners, SIE will develop pioneering services and products that will continue to inspire consumers’ imagination and lead the market. We will work hard to maximize corporate value by coordinating global business operation across San Mateo, Tokyo and London by leveraging local expertise.”

The leading game and console developer stated it would maintain operations in Tokyo and London but remained tight-lipped about whether there would be layoffs or how many employees would relocate to the Bay Area.

A company spokeswoman told the San Jose Mercury News, the 450,000-square-foot San Mateo campus currently hosts about 1,300 employees and more may come.

“We will continue to hire at this location and across other regions,” she told the Mercury news. “There is a possibility that a small number of staff will move to the U.S.”

San Mateo Deputy Mayor David Lim said he was excited by the prospect and welcomes Sony expanding in the city.

“We’re very excited to have someone with the stature of Sony bolstering their business presence here,” Lim said. Although a merger could mean layoffs or new hires and Lim said new jobs are encouraging, he noted it’s important to be mindful of the impacts.

In a region already stressed with a lack of housing and congested by traffic, the once attractive notion of new companies locating in the Bay Area has lost some of its appeal.

Cheryl Angeles, president of the San Mateo Chamber of Commerce, said she hopes Sony and other locally-headquartered corporations become community partners.

“I think it sounds exciting,” Angeles said. “But it’s hard to get some of these larger companies involved in the community. … They don’t really see what’s happening outside their offices. I really wish that would change; that they would care about our community and care that we’re having a housing problem and wage issues and all this and get engaged somehow.”

Not familiar with whether Sony has any internal corporate volunteer programs, Angeles noted it’d be rewarding to see more companies participate in helping local nonprofits like Samaritan House or supporting city parks. According to Sony’s website, it supports several nonprofits in cities such as Los Angeles and New York, as well as makes donations to various disaster programs and relief efforts. It also reportedly runs a global volunteer day at its various offices, according to Sony.

The company has grown immensely since the Japanese game console developer first launched in 1994. Its newest PlayStation 4 further expanded its computer networking entertainment offerings, selling nearly 36 million units globally since January, according to the company.

samantha@smdailyjournal.com

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