Expanded Company Timeline

1993

• November – Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. is established as a joint venture between Sony Corporation and Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc.

1994

• May – Sony Computer Entertainment America is established, a division of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI)
• December – PlayStation® launches in Japan

1995

• January – Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is established, A division of Sony Electronic Publishing Ltd.
• April – Deputy President Teruhisa Tokunaka appointed as President
• September – PlayStation launches in North America and Europe

1996

• December – 10 million PlayStation consoles shipped worldwide
• December – PlayStation launches in Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia

1997

• August – 20 million PlayStation consoles shipped worldwide
• September – Sony Computer Entertainment Hong Kong Ltd., a fully owned subsidiary of SCEI, is established
• October – Deputy President Shigeo Maruyama appointed as Vice Chairman
• October – Ken Kutaragi appointed as Deputy President
• October – Akira Sato appointed as Deputy President

1998

• February – 30 million PlayStation consoles shipped worldwide
• April – The “Gran Turismo” production team is split off to become Polyphony Digital Inc., a fully owned subsidiary of SCEI
• August – 40 million PlayStation consoles shipped worldwide
• December 12 – 50 million PlayStation consoles shipped worldwide

1999

• April – President Teruhisa Tokunaka retires (retires from the board in June 2004)
• April – Deputy President Ken Kutaragi appointed as President
• April – Sony Computer Entertainment Japan is established as a division company of SCEI
• December – 70 million PlayStation consoles shipped worldwide

2000

• March – PlayStation®2 launches in Japan
• July – PS one® launches in Japan
• September – PS one launches in the U.K. and North America
• October – PlayStation 2 launches in North America
• November – PS one launches in Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Taiwan
• November – PlayStation 2 launches in Europe

2001

• March – 10 million PlayStation 2 systems shipped worldwide
• April – Vice Chairman Shigeo Maruyama appointed as Chairman
• April – President Ken Kutaragi appointed as President and CEO
• April – Deputy President Akira Sato appointed as Deputy President and COO
• October – 20 million PlayStation 2 systems shipped worldwide
• December – PlayStation 2 launches in Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia

2002

• January – PlayStation 2 launches in Taiwan
• February – PlayStation 2 launches in South Korea
• May – 30 million PlayStation 2 systems shipped worldwide
• July – Chairman Shigeo Maruyama retires (retires from the board in June 2007)
• July – Masaru Kato appointed as Deputy President and CFO
• September – 40 million PlayStation 2 systems shipped worldwide

2003

• January – 50 million PlayStation 2 systems shipped worldwide

2004

• January – 70 million PlayStation 2 systems shipped worldwide
• April – President and CEO Ken Kutaragi appointed as President and Group CEO
• April – Deputy President and CFO Masaru Kato appointed as Deputy President and Group CFO
• May – 100 million PlayStation consoles (originally PS® or PS one®) shipped worldwide, the first 100 million-selling gaming system
• November – PlayStation 2 (redesign) launches in North America, Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan
• December – PlayStation®Portable (PSP®) launches in Japan
• December – PlayStation 2 launches in Singapore

2005

• March – PlayStation Portable launches in North America
• April – Deputy President and COO Akira Sato appointed as Deputy President and Group COO
• May – PlayStation Portable launches in South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan
• July – Sony Computer Entertainment Asia is established as a division company of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
• July – Deputy President and CFO Masaru Kato appointed as Deputy President and Group CFO
• September – PlayStation Portable launches in Europe
• September – Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios is established to combine game development studios in Japan, North America and Europe
• September – Acquisition of U.K. based SN Systems Ltd.
• October – 10 million PlayStation Portable systems sold worldwide
• November – 100 million PlayStation 2 systems sold worldwide
• December – Acquisition of Guerrilla

2006

• May – PlayStation Portable launches in South Korea
• November – PlayStation®3 launches in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and North America
• November – PlayStation®Network launches for PlayStation 3

2007

• March – PlayStation 3 launches in Singapore and Europe
• June – PlayStation 3 launches in South Korea
• June – Chairman and Group CEO Ken Kutaragi appointed as Honorary Chairman
• June – President and Group COO Kazuo Hirai appointed as President and Group CEO
• September – PlayStation Portable (redesign) launches in North America, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea, and Europe
• October – PlayStation Portable (redesign) launches in Singapore

2008

• February – Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios President Phil Harrison retires
• March – President and Group CEO Kazuo Hirai appointed as Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios President
• April – Gran Turismo® sells 50 million units worldwide
• May – Senior Vice President of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios US Studio, Shuhei Yoshida, appointed as President of Worldwide Studios
• December – PlayStation®Home service launches

2009

• February – PlayStation Portable sell-in reaches 50 million units worldwide
• February – Registered accounts on PlayStation®Network exceed 20 million worldwide
• April – President, CEO and Co-COO of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, and Deputy President of Sony Computer Entertainment, David Reeves retires
• May – CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) and Group Executive Officer of Sony Corporation, Andrew House appointed as President, CEO and Co-COO of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
• June – Deputy President and Group CFO Masaru Kato retires while remaining Member of the Board
• July – Vice Chairman Akira Sato appointed as Chairman
• July – Kunimasa Suzuki appointed as Deputy President while also serving as SVP and Corporate Executive Officer of Sony Corporation
• October – PlayStation®Portable go (PSP®go) launches in North America, Europe, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, and Malaysia
• November – PlayStation Portable go launches in Japan

2010

• March – Acquisition of Media Molecule
• April – Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. is newly established by company split
• June – Registered accounts on PlayStation®Network exceed 50 million worldwide
• June – PlayStation®Plus launches
• September – PlayStation®Move launches in Asia, Europe, and North America
• October – PlayStation Move motion controller launches in Japan
• December – Gran Turismo sells 60 million units worldwide

2011

• January – 150 million PlayStation 2 systems sold worldwide
• March – 50 million PlayStation 3 systems sold worldwide
• April – 70 million PlayStation Portable systems sold worldwide
• June – Honorary Chairman Ken Kutaragi retires
• August – Acquisition of Sucker Punch Productions
• August – Chairman Akira Sato retires
• September – President and Group CEO Kazuo Hirai appointed as Chairman
• September – President, CEO and Co-COO of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, Andrew House, appointed as President and Group CEO
• December – PlayStation®Vita launches in Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan

2012

• February – PlayStation Vita launches in South Korea, North America, and Europe
• February – 1.2 million PlayStation Vita systems sold worldwide
• June – Acquisition of Gaikai Inc.
• June – Chairman, Kazuo Hirai and Deputy President, Kunimasa Suzuki retire
• November – 70 million PlayStation 3 systems sold worldwide

2013

• April – Sony Computer Entertainment Japan Asia is established
• May – Gran Turismo sells 70 million units worldwide
• October – PlayStation Vita (redesign) launches in Japan
• November – 80 million PlayStation 3 systems sold worldwide
• November – PlayStation®Vita TV (PS Vita TV)
• November – PlayStation®4 launches in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Latin America
• December – PlayStation 4 launches in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, and Malaysia

2014

• February – PlayStation 4 launches in Japan
• March – PlayStation®Vue launches in three North American cities on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3
• April – Kazuo Miura appointed as Deputy President
• July – PlayStation®Now launches in North America on PlayStation 4
• August – 10 million PlayStation 4 systems sold worldwide
• October – PlayStation®TV launches in North America
• November – PlayStation TV launches in Europe

2015

• March – 20.2 million PlayStation 4 systems sold worldwide
• March – PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita launch in the People’s Republic of China
• March – PlayStation Now launches in the United Kingdom on PlayStation 4
• April – Bloodborne sells 1 million copies globally
• November – 30.2 million PlayStation 4 systems sold worldwide

2016

• January – 35.9 million PlayStation 4 systems sold worldwide
• April – Formation of Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC
• April – Formation of ForwardWorks Corporation
• April – PlayStation Now launches in Europe on PlayStation 4
• May – 40 million PlayStation 4 systems sold worldwide
• September – PlayStation®4 Slim launches in Japan, North America, and Europe
• October – PlayStation®VR launches in Japan, North America, and Europe
• November – PlayStation®4 Pro launches in Japan, North America, and Europe
• December – 50 million PlayStation 4 systems sold worldwide

2017

• January – Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End sells 8.7 million copies globally
• February – 915,000 PlayStation VR systems sold worldwide
• June – 60.4 million PlayStation 4 systems sold worldwide
• September – PlayStation Now launches in Japan on PlayStation 4
• October – President and Group CEO Andrew House appointed as Chairman
• October – Vice President John (Tsuyoshi) Kodera appointed as President and CEO
• December – Uncharted franchise sells 41.7 million units worldwide
• December – 70.6 million PlayStation 4 systems sold worldwide
• December – 2 million PlayStation VR systems sold worldwide
• December – 73.6 million PlayStation 4 systems sold worldwide

2018

• January – Jim Ryan named Deputy President and Head of Global Sales & Marketing of SIE LLC and President of SIEE
• May – Gran Turismo sells 80.4 million units worldwide
• July – Kazuhiko Takeda named, Deputy President and CFO of SIE LLC
• July – 3 million PlayStation VR systems sold worldwide
• July – 81.2 million PlayStation 4 systems sold worldwide
• July – 525.3 million PlayStation systems sold worldwide
• October – Deputy President Kazuo Miura retires
• December – 91.6 million PlayStation 4 systems sold worldwide

2019

• January – Acquisition of Audiokinetic, Inc.
• April – Jim Ryan named President and CEO of SIE LLC
• May – PlayStation Worldwide Studios becomes PlayStation Studios
• August – Marvel’s Spider-Man has sold 13.2 million units globally
• August – Acquisition of Insomniac Games, Inc.
• September – SIE Worldwide Studios Chairman Shawn Layden retires
• December – 5 million PlayStation VR systems sold worldwide

2020

• November 11 – PlayStation®5 launches in North America, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Middle East, South America, Asia, and South Africa
• November 13 – God of War franchise has sold 51 million units globally

2021

• March – Sony Interactive Entertainment and new esports venture, RTS, jointly acquire The Evolution Championship Series (Evo)
• March – Deputy President of SIE LLC and Deputy President of SIE Inc., John Kodera retires
• April – Lin Tao has been named Deputy President of SIE Inc.
• June – Sony Interactive Entertainment acquires Housemarque Oy
• June – Deputy President and CFO of SIE LLC, Kazuhiko Takeda retires
• July – Sony Interactive Entertainment acquires Nixxes Software B.V.
• July 21 – Detroit: Become Human Sells 6 Million Copies across PS4 and PC
• July 26 – Death Stranding has sold 5 million copies across PS4 and PC
• July 28 – Spider-Man: Miles Morales has now sold more than 6.5 million copies
• July 28 – Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart has sold 1.1 million units
• July 28 – MLB The Show 21 has sold more than 2 million copies on all platforms, and has reached more than 4 million players in total
• July 28 – Returnal has sold 560,000 copies
• September 21 – Sony Interactive Entertainment acquires Firesprite
• September 30 – Sony Interactive Entertainment acquires Bluepoint Games
• December 10 – Sony Interactive Entertainment acquires Valkyrie Entertainment

2022

• January – PlayStation 5 has sold over 30M units globally
• January 31 – Sony Interactive Entertainment acquires Bungie
• February 11 – Horizon Zero Dawn has sold over 20 Million copies across PS4 and PC
• March 21 – Sony Interactive Entertainment acquires Haven Entertainment Studios Inc.
• May 15 – Marvel’s Spider-Man franchise has sold 33 million units globally
• May 23 – PlayStation Plus launches in Asia (excluding Japan)
• June 2 – PlayStation Plus launches in Japan
• June 11 – The Last of Us Part II has sold 10 million units globally
• June 13 – PlayStation Plus launches in North America and South America
• June 23 – PlayStation Plus launches in Australia, New Zealand, and Europe
• July 15 – Ghost of Tsushima has sold 9.73 million units globally
• August 22 – Sony Interactive Entertainment acquires Savage Game Studios
• Nov 16 – The Gran Turismo franchise has sold more than 90 million copies
• November 23 – God of War Ragnarök sells 5.1 million copies in its debut week
• December – The Last of Us franchise has sold more than 37 million copies

2023

• February – PlayStation VR2 launches globally
• April 16 – The  “Horizon” franchise has sold through 32.7 million copies globally
• April 20 – PlayStation acquires Firewalk Studios
• July 27 – PlayStation 5 surpasses 40M in sales
• August 24 – Sony Interactive Entertainment acquires Audeze
• Oct 1 – Hiroki Totoki is appointed Chairman
• October 23 – Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has sold more than 2.5 million copies in the first 24 hours of release
• November 10 – PlayStation 5 new model launches
• November 15 – PlayStation Portal launches
• December 6 – Access Controller for PlayStation 5 launches
• December 20 – PlayStation 5 surpasses 50M in sales

2024

• March 31 – Jim Ryan retires as CEO
• April 1 – Hiroki Totoki is appointed Interim CEO
• April 20 – Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has sold more than 11 million copies
• May 5 – Helldivers 2 has sold more than 12 million copies
• June 1 – Hideaki Nishino is appointed CEO, Platform Business Group
• June 1 – Hermen Hulst is appointed CEO, Studio Business Group
• June 1 – Hiroki Totoki is appointed Chairman
• August 11 – Ghost of Tsushima has sold more than 13 million copies globally across console and PC