Sony Pictures Interactive Entertainment Merger

Sony has rubbished rumours that it's on the verge of merging its movie division with its gaming business. The story, which broke on the New York Post, proposes a plan in which the Sony Pictures and Sony Interactive Entertainment subsidiaries would be merged into one entity under the leadership of current PlayStation chief Andrew House.

The story all appears to stem from the fact that the Japanese giant's gaming business is soaring, while its movie business is in dire straits. Despite having some big brands under its umbrella, Sony Pictures currently sits fifth in the list of distributors for box office receipts, while the PlayStation 4 is obviously rewriting the record books three years removed from its release.

But a spokesperson for Sony says that there's no truth to it: "This is nothing but baseless rumour and speculation. There are no plans for Andrew House to oversee Sony Pictures." An outright denial from the organisation, then – but it's not exactly going to come out and confirm plans if it's not ready to officially announce them, is it?

Personally, we very much hope that this remains "baseless rumour and speculation". It's easy to understand why, after the job he's done with the PS4, upper-management reckon House's guidance could aid other divisions. But he has his work cut out keeping PlayStation at the top as it is; the thought of him dividing his time between PlayStation and Sony Pictures as well is worrying.

[source nypost.com]