SCE Worldwide Studios
Encyclopedia
Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, officially abbreviated SCE Worldwide Studios, is a group of video game developers owned by Sony Computer Entertainment
. It is a single internal entity overseeing all wholly owned development studios within SCE. It is responsible for the creative and strategic direction of development and production of all computer entertainment software by all SCE-owned studios, all of which is produced exclusively for the PlayStation
family of consoles.
was named as President of SCE WWS on May 16, 2008, replacing Kazuo Hirai
, who was serving interim after inaugural SCE WWS President Phil Harrison
left the company in early 2008.
On December 8, 2005 video game developer Guerrilla Games
, developers of the Killzone series
, was acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment as part of its SCE WWS.
On January 24, 2006 video game developer Zipper Interactive
, developers of the SOCOM series
, was acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment as part of its SCE WWS.
On September 20, 2007 video game developers Evolution Studios
and Bigbig Studios
, developers of the MotorStorm series
, were acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment as part of its SCE WWS.
On March 2, 2010 video game developer Media Molecule
, developers of the PlayStation 3 game LittleBigPlanet
, was acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment as part of its SCE WWS.
On August 1, 2011, video game developer Sucker Punch Productions
, developers of the Sly Cooper
series and Infamous
series, was also acquired.
is home to the ICE Team, one of Sony's World Wide Studios central technology groups. The ICE Team focuses on creating core graphics technologies for Sony's worldwide first party published titles, including low level game engine components, graphics processing pipelines, supporting tools, and graphics profiling and debugging tools. The ICE Team also supports third party developers with a suite of engine components, and a graphics analysis, profiling, and debugging tool for the RSX. Both enable developers to get better performance out of PlayStation
hardwares.
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. is a major video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products & Services Group of Sony...
. It is a single internal entity overseeing all wholly owned development studios within SCE. It is responsible for the creative and strategic direction of development and production of all computer entertainment software by all SCE-owned studios, all of which is produced exclusively for the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
family of consoles.
History
Worldwide Studios was first formed on September 14, 2005. Shuhei YoshidaShuhei Yoshida
Shuhei Yoshida is appointed senior vice president, product development, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. and is responsible for all software development activities . Yoshida is among those responsible for the creation of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.'s 170-person internal product development team...
was named as President of SCE WWS on May 16, 2008, replacing Kazuo Hirai
Kazuo Hirai
is the Representative Corporate Executive Officer and Executive Deputy President of Sony Corporation, concurrently serving as president of the Consumer Products & Services Group, which includes all of Sony's consumer electronics and networked service businesses...
, who was serving interim after inaugural SCE WWS President Phil Harrison
Phil Harrison
Phil Harrison is the former British corporate executive and a representative director of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. and Executive Vice President of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe . At E3 in 2005 he showcased the first public realtime demonstrations of PlayStation 3 development hardware...
left the company in early 2008.
On December 8, 2005 video game developer Guerrilla Games
Guerrilla Games
Guerrilla Games is a first party video game developer and wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment. The company is based in Amsterdam in the Netherlands, currently employs approximately 150 individuals, and is headed by managing director Hermen Hulst and development director Arjan...
, developers of the Killzone series
Killzone (series)
Killzone is a series of shooter games exclusively for Sony Computer Entertainment's video game consoles. The series is developed by Guerilla Games, a subsidiary of SCE. Killlzone consists of four games for the PlayStation 2, the PlayStation Portable, Playstation Vita and the PlayStation 3...
, was acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment as part of its SCE WWS.
On January 24, 2006 video game developer Zipper Interactive
Zipper Interactive
Zipper Interactive is an American video game developer part of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios and is located in Redmond, Washington. It was founded in 1995 by Jim Bosler and Brian Soderberg. It has created many different games, including the popular SOCOM series of games...
, developers of the SOCOM series
SOCOM (series)
SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs is a series of third-person tactical shooter/real-time tactics video games for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, and one for the Cell Phone created by Zipper Interactive, with the PlayStation 3 game being created by Slant 6...
, was acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment as part of its SCE WWS.
On September 20, 2007 video game developers Evolution Studios
Evolution Studios
Evolution Studios Ltd. is a British video game developer. The company was founded in 1999 by Martin Kenwright and Ian Hetherington , following the purchase of DID's publisher Ocean Software by Infogrames...
and Bigbig Studios
Bigbig Studios
The company was founded in 2001 by a core team of four former Codemasters employees. The company was set up with the help of parent company Evolution Studios. Located in Leamington Spa in the UK. It gained popularity due to its first game Pursuit Force which became a bestseller.Bigbig Studios and...
, developers of the MotorStorm series
MotorStorm (series)
MotorStorm is a racing game series published by Sony Computer Entertainment and is developed by Evolution Studios, and Bigbig Studios. The titles are "off-road racing" games featuring different types of vehicles with their own strengths and weaknesses and tracks with different terrains which may...
, were acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment as part of its SCE WWS.
On March 2, 2010 video game developer Media Molecule
Media Molecule
Media Molecule is a British video game developer based in Guildford in Surrey. The studio was founded in January 2006 by former Lionhead Studios employees Mark Healey, Alex Evans, Dave Smith, and Kareem Ettouney...
, developers of the PlayStation 3 game LittleBigPlanet
LittleBigPlanet
LittleBigPlanet, commonly abbreviated LBP, is a puzzle platformer video game, based on user-generated content, for the PlayStation 3 first announced on 7 March 2007, by Phil Harrison at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, California...
, was acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment as part of its SCE WWS.
On August 1, 2011, video game developer Sucker Punch Productions
Sucker Punch Productions
Sucker Punch Productions is an American production company founded in 1997 and based in Bellevue, Washington. It was an independent company until August 2011, but had worked exclusively with Sony Computer Entertainment since 2000. Sony acquired Sucker Punch on August 2, 2011.-History:In late 1999,...
, developers of the Sly Cooper
Sly Cooper
Sly Cooper is a series of platform stealth video games for the Sony PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3. The series was developed by Sucker Punch Productions for the first three games, and then it was passed on to Sanzaru Games while Sucker Punch continued work on the Infamous series...
series and Infamous
Infamous (series)
The series has received critical acclaim from most of the major video game review sites/magazines. Review scores range from 70% to 100% approval ratings.-External links:** at Wikia...
series, was also acquired.
Europe
- Bigbig StudiosBigbig StudiosThe company was founded in 2001 by a core team of four former Codemasters employees. The company was set up with the help of parent company Evolution Studios. Located in Leamington Spa in the UK. It gained popularity due to its first game Pursuit Force which became a bestseller.Bigbig Studios and...
- Leamington Spa, UKUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... - Evolution StudiosEvolution StudiosEvolution Studios Ltd. is a British video game developer. The company was founded in 1999 by Martin Kenwright and Ian Hetherington , following the purchase of DID's publisher Ocean Software by Infogrames...
- RuncornRuncornRuncorn is an industrial town and cargo port within the borough of Halton in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. In 2009, its population was estimated to be 61,500. The town is on the southern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form Runcorn Gap. Directly to the north...
, UK - Guerrilla GamesGuerrilla GamesGuerrilla Games is a first party video game developer and wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment. The company is based in Amsterdam in the Netherlands, currently employs approximately 150 individuals, and is headed by managing director Hermen Hulst and development director Arjan...
- AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... - Media MoleculeMedia MoleculeMedia Molecule is a British video game developer based in Guildford in Surrey. The studio was founded in January 2006 by former Lionhead Studios employees Mark Healey, Alex Evans, Dave Smith, and Kareem Ettouney...
- SurreySurreySurrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, UK - SCE Cambridge Studio - CambridgeCambridgeThe city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, UK - SCE Studio LiverpoolSCE Studio LiverpoolSCE Studio Liverpool is a video game development house head-quartered at Wavertree Technology Park in Liverpool, England. It is part of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios. Founded in 1984 as Psygnosis, the company is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment and...
- LiverpoolLiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, UK- XDev part of Studio Liverpool
- SCE London StudioSCE London StudioLondon Studio is an in-house Sony Computer Entertainment developer located in London. Established in 1993, London Studio is Sony Computer Entertainment Europe’s largest internal development studio, with staff working in a purpose designed 7-storey building located in London's Soho district...
- LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, UK- Team SohoTeam SOHOthumb|The Team SOHO LogoTeam SOHO is a British video game developer based in Soho, London and a subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe . It started out developing titles for the original PlayStation, including such acclaimed hits as Total NBA '97 and Porsche Challenge, followed by the...
part of London Studio
- Team Soho
Asia
- SCE Japan StudioSCE Japan StudioSCE Japan Studio is the Japanese production and development arm of the parent company Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc , most noted for the Ape Escape and Loco Roco series. SCE Japan Studio operates as part of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios...
- TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... - Team IcoTeam ICOTeam Ico is a Japanese video game development team led by game designer Fumito Ueda. It is part of SCE Japan Studio's Product Development Department #1, Team Ico developed the games Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, both for the PlayStation 2...
part of Japan Studio - Polyphony DigitalPolyphony DigitalPolyphony Digital, Inc. is an internal video game developing company of Sony Computer Entertainment and is part of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios...
- TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
North America
- Naughty DogNaughty DogNaughty Dog, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Santa Monica, California. Founded by Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin in 1986 as an independent developer, the studio was acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment in 2001...
- Santa MonicaSanta Monica, CaliforniaSanta Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, USAUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
- ICE Team part of Naughty Dog
- SCE Bend Studio - BendBend, OregonBend is a city in and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, United States, and the principal city of the Bend, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bend is Central Oregon's largest city, and, despite its modest size, is the de facto metropolis of the region, owing to the low population...
, OregonOregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, USA - SCE Foster City StudioSCE Foster City StudioFoster City Studio is a video game developer part of SCE Worldwide Studios which is owned by Sony Computer Entertainment. As implied by its name, it is based in Foster City, California and was established in 1998. It is mostly responsible for overseeing the development of first party games by...
- Foster CityFoster City, CaliforniaFoster City is an affluent planned city located in San Mateo County, California, 94404. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 30,567. Forbes ranked Foster City #10 on their 2009 list of America's Top 25 Towns to Live Well. Money has also recognized Foster City multiple times as...
, California, USA - SCE San Diego Studio - San Diego, California, USA
- SCE Santa Monica StudioSCE Santa Monica StudioSanta Monica Studio is a video game developer, part of SCE Worldwide Studios which is owned by Sony Computer Entertainment. As implied by its name, it is based in Santa Monica, California and was established in 1999. It is mostly responsible for the development on the God of War series...
- Santa Monica, California, USA - Sucker Punch ProductionsSucker Punch ProductionsSucker Punch Productions is an American production company founded in 1997 and based in Bellevue, Washington. It was an independent company until August 2011, but had worked exclusively with Sony Computer Entertainment since 2000. Sony acquired Sucker Punch on August 2, 2011.-History:In late 1999,...
- Bellevue, WashingtonBellevue, WashingtonBellevue is a city in the Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, across Lake Washington from Seattle. Long known as a suburb or satellite city of Seattle, it is now categorized as an edge city or a boomburb. The population was 122,363 at the 2010 census.Downtown Bellevue is...
, USA - Zipper InteractiveZipper InteractiveZipper Interactive is an American video game developer part of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios and is located in Redmond, Washington. It was founded in 1995 by Jim Bosler and Brian Soderberg. It has created many different games, including the popular SOCOM series of games...
- RedmondRedmond, WashingtonRedmond is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located east of Seattle. The population was 54,144 at the 2010 census,up from 45,256 in 2000....
, Washington, USA
ICE Team
In addition, Naughty DogNaughty Dog
Naughty Dog, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Santa Monica, California. Founded by Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin in 1986 as an independent developer, the studio was acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment in 2001...
is home to the ICE Team, one of Sony's World Wide Studios central technology groups. The ICE Team focuses on creating core graphics technologies for Sony's worldwide first party published titles, including low level game engine components, graphics processing pipelines, supporting tools, and graphics profiling and debugging tools. The ICE Team also supports third party developers with a suite of engine components, and a graphics analysis, profiling, and debugging tool for the RSX. Both enable developers to get better performance out of PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
hardwares.