Will Sony "Move Past" The PlayStation Brand Name?
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It seems an article at PCMag is getting a lot of attention; it involves the perceived possibility that Sony may drop the PlayStation branding in the future. Cited reasons consist of the currently unnamed "Next Generation Portable" and the "PlayStation Phone" which is actually called the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play. Feel free to talk amongst yourselves and pass along your own theories and ideas but for our part, none of this sounds realistic.
From a business standpoint, most companies would sell their souls to the devil to have a brand name like PlayStation. Indeed, the vast majority of CEOs spend 99% of their waking business lives devising ways of attaining such widespread recognition. To start over simply because we move to a new generation, or because there is the emergence of new partners, sounds utterly ludicrous. The PlayStation-inspired phone has the Sony branding and furthermore, Sony has mentioned time and time again how they need to distinguish that phone from the upcoming new portable. Furthermore, the portable world is very different for Sony; they continue to labor in Nintendo's shadow, despite the PSP's worldwide popularity.
Plus, the handheld realm now includes other mobile devices, which means names like Apple and Android must factor into the conversation. In that world of which we speak, the PlayStation brand name doesn't carry quite the same amount of force and impact. Therefore, if the NGP doesn't hold the PlayStation name, we'll be surprised, but not shocked. But ditching the PlayStation brand altogether within Sony Computer Entertainment? The idea that the next PlayStation won't even feature the name? Forgetting that hundreds of millions of consumers around the world have purchased something game-related with "PlayStation" on the box in the past 15 years? ...no company with a rational train of thought would do this.
At least, that's our own personal take on the issue at hand. We just think the idea of Sony abandoning PlayStation is even more ludicrous than the idea of Microsoft abandoning Xbox. Some may say call Nintendo into the conversation but let's not forget that their legacy goes back over 25 years and indeed, the out-of-touch still refer to any video game system as a "Nintendo." So it just doesn't matter what Nintendo calls their hardware; it never really has, ever since the NES changed our world. But PlayStation is PlayStation; the very word itself is synonymous with interactive entertainment, and let's also not forget their new PlayStation Suite endeavor and the PlayStation Certified program, which will bring the PlayStation brand to as many different people as possible.
No, PlayStation isn't going anywhere. Not based on the evidence we have now, at any rate.
Tags: sony, ngp, next generation portable, playstation, xperia play
2/7/2011 3:16:24 PM Ben Dutka
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Comments (54 posts)
Victor321
Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 8:07:21 PM
Look at Nintendo as an example, it wasn't until E3 2006 that the "Nintendo Revolution" was formally named the Wii, and it was kept that way despite the obvious backlash and mixed comments when that name was revealed.
Last edited by Victor321 on 2/7/2011 8:07:36 PM
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Ludicrous_Liam
Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 4:04:03 PM
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mike rlz
Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 4:08:26 PM
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Wrote
Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 4:12:56 PM
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matt99
Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 4:15:37 PM
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ABUrabad
Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 4:15:53 PM
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At these days a lot of people keep telling me that Pentium 4 is the last ever device being crated by computers since there is no any other Pentium5 to follow the Pentium4 when ever they go to market they still searching for Pentium4 processors , still not knowing that there are a lot of processor being followed after that.
I know its not a big deal for Intel since this company and AMD are only companies to produced CPU's in massive scales and still Intel is connected with a lot of contracts to PC makers and still there are agreements between these 2 companies (AMD and Intel) on the way to devide the market between them ( i read this some where but I dont remember where )
but when it comes to Sony it will be insane to ditch the PS brand name since we all know that the amount of the raging war between all video game companies
so when ever Sony ditching the PS brand name people will start thinking that this is the end of the path for video games from Sony and by then people will start searching for a replacement product from other companies.
and when it comes to the NGP its still in the prototype mode and yet not to have received any official naming so its so early to judge all this this early
Last edited by ABUrabad on 2/7/2011 4:18:56 PM
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ABUrabad
Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 4:22:17 PM
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FullmetalX10
Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 4:18:47 PM
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Playstation has been around for as long as I can remember, they have way too much well established brand recognition to just throw away.
Also the NGP's name isn't final yet, so Playstation will probably be implemented in the name later on. I was actually hoping for it to be just called the "PSP2", it rolls off the tongue quite easily.
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maxpontiac
Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 4:19:02 PM
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From a personal standpoint, I have spent the last decade or so bringing my design company into the public eye in a positive light. It took a ton of hard work to have my name associated with the quality product that I offer.
Changing my name would be suicide, and as would Sony changing the name "Playstation" to some other edgy name. Plus, with the position they are in, all that's needed is the right marketing!
Last edited by maxpontiac on 2/7/2011 4:21:40 PM
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TheAgingHipster
Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 4:22:43 PM
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I can't see them getting rid of the PlayStation brand name. It's pretty much synonymous with gaming nowadays, and most people I know who aren't "gamers" refer to all systems and games as PlayStation, rather than Nintendo. To get rid of such a prominent name would be ridiculous.
However, as long as they continue to make awesome games, I personally don't care what they call the system!! :)
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A2K78
Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 4:31:39 PM
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"Playstation is sony's most reconginsed brand."
wrong, Playstation is the least recognized Sony branding for a product line compared to both Walkman and Triniton which have been around longer and various products.
Last edited by A2K78 on 2/7/2011 4:47:58 PM
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Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 5:07:18 PM
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shadowscorpio
Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 8:58:56 PM
Are you serious???!??!
Really?!!?!
Before the Playstation brand was introduced Sony was just another electronics company right there along with , Toshiba, Sanyo, Panasonic, Insignia, etc...
The rest of those companies are clearly not ambitious enough to jump into the gaming industry like Sony has. The Playstation brand IS the most recognizable thing connected to Sony. Even if you don't believe that, you have to at least admit that it has become the most recognized thing connected to Sony.
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Highlander
Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 10:14:56 PM
Trinitron color TVs were *the* gold standard for more than a decade and they were considered to be top notch well into the 80's and even the early 90's with Trinitron technology being used to make some of the best color CRT PC monitors.
I don't agree that PlayStation is a smaller brand then either of those though. The PlayStation is every bit as big and important to Sony as either of those were.
The reason I answered with 'No.' is because the Sony Walkman is alive and well in 2011. That is a product brand with incredible staying power. So Sony has not moved past the Walkman, which indicates how Sony see's it's major brand names. A2K78 is 100% correct to raise both of those Sony brands as major brands that are in the same league as PlayStation in terms of the importance to Sony. Sony didn't abandon either Walkman or Trinitron, and it won't abandon PlayStation either.
Last edited by Highlander on 2/7/2011 10:18:04 PM
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shadowscorpio
Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 10:33:22 PM
I stand corrected in stating that Sony was nothing more than just an electronics company.
The thing in which I completely disagree with is someone saying that the Playstation brand is Sony's "least" recognizable brand.
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Highlander
Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 10:58:32 PM
But it's important to remember that PlayStation is not the only big brand son has, or has ever had. Walkman and Trinitron made Sony, Sony before the PlayStation. Each in their own way is as important to Sony as the other.
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___________
Tuesday, February 08, 2011 @ 1:36:17 AM
sony would not be sony without it!
not to mention bravia and vio, back in the day they were undisputed if you wanted a TV you bought a bravia, if you wanted a computer you bought a vio.
now thats changed, in the last 6 years or so, ever since sony started hemorrhaging money from the ps3 there quality has gone down.
before comparing a bravia to a samsung was like comparing a Ferrari to a Toyota, there was no comparison!
now its kinda different, its like comparing a Ferrari to a Pagani, both are freaking amazing but different.
or X-ploid for there speakers.
they may not be as big as they use to be, but they still have a massive hold on the industry because they have there hand in EVERYTHING!
thats the only thing keeping them afloat, if they just had playstation they would of sunk faster than the titanic years ago!!!!!
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Lawless SXE
Tuesday, February 08, 2011 @ 1:38:11 AM
Peace.
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Highlander
Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 4:45:22 PM
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Counting up all the different PlayStation products sold so far Sony has sold something in the order of 350 million PlayStation consoles of one generation or another (PS1, PS2, PSP, PS3). You don't ditch a brand that successful. When you start factoring in every sale that Sony has made to a consumer with the work PlayStation on the product, the numbers really begin to grow very rapidly. The idea that Sony would throw that away is just wrong.
Sony always creates (or tries to create) iconic brands. Look at the likes of the Sony Walkman, a brand that became synonymous with a device regardless of the manufacturer. PlayStation may be their mightiest brand of all, Many people who are out of touch may refer to a video game system as a Nintendo, but to be honest I hear as many people today (if not more) using PlayStation in the same way. It's a brand that has become synonymous with the category instead of an individual product.
When you look at the new multi-platform initiative by Sony with PlayStation Suite for Android, it doesn't look like the brand's swansong. To me, that initiative looks like a way to push the PlayStation brand into even more markets and minds.
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shadowscorpio
Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 9:04:49 PM
Last edited by shadowscorpio on 2/7/2011 9:15:13 PM
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Highlander
Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 10:27:22 PM
So you have to look at their products over the long term and how well they last, how well they stand up to the competition over time, and what the long term customer satisfaction is. I used to have a Sony Trinitron Color TV that my Aunt had bought during the mid 70's at a Harrods' sale. 15 years later that same TV was still doing great, displaying a sharp, high contrast, vibrantly colorful image with next to no color bleed. That was what made Sony and Trinitron special. Their products were Rolls Royce quality for Volvo money.
Somewhere I have an ancient Sony Walkman, purchased in 1985. It has Dolby noise reduction, plays normal and metal tape, and has a graphic equalizer on it. It still works perfectly all these years later. I have had many other portable cassette players over the years. One had a tuner built into it, another was miniscule, barely big enough for two AAA batteries and a cassette. But after all that, the best one was/is still that Sony.
Sony sells quality, I think that they have sold millions upon millions of HDTVs and BluRay players. However, for Sony, even those products are to some extent or another beneficiaries of the PS3 and PlayStation brand. Without the PlayStation brand and the PS3, BluRay might not have taken off and HDTV adoption may have stalled in the face of the costs and world wide recession. 3D TV would not even be anywhere near where it is either. And a *lot* of that stems from the technologies in the PlayStation brand.
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gangan19
Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 4:54:04 PM
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It's called Sony Playstation x,1,2,3. 4 is pending.
I want my grand kids to ask me. "grandpa can we please play our playstation"?
Because in truth it's sort of a legendary name. if you think about it right?
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slugga_status
Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 4:58:08 PM
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sha4dowknight05
Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 5:15:46 PM
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Highlander
Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 10:29:40 PM
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StangMan80
Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 5:16:13 PM
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Look at how far they came with the PS3, compared to it's Launce. Bringing it this far and then stop branding there consoles PlayStation would be just so ridiculous. There will be a PS4, PS5, PS6 and so on, so on. My grand kids will be playing the latest PlayStation, and so will there kids.
Last edited by StangMan80 on 2/7/2011 5:17:14 PM
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Gone
Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 6:02:02 PM
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just2skillf00l
Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 8:54:13 PM
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main_event05
Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 6:15:25 PM
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Also, I'm back. I doubt anyone missed me. anyway, I've been working on something big. I've show it to the community when it reaches around 50% completion.
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main_event05
Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 8:11:28 PM
also, I've should be I'll
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WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 6:18:58 PM
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Sony makes quality stuff but they aren't very smart when it comes to branding and naming things. Qriocity=lame.
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JohnnyGold
Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 6:21:50 PM
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sony seems to be turning "playstation" into a brand that will likely be on all phones, portable gaming devices, tvs, computers, and a home console in 10 years. that will all be under the "playstation" umbrella. that brand will never be killed off.
along that line of thinking, it makes little sense to call a home console "sony playstation's playstation 4." it will probably be something like, "sony playstations neo-hub" or something equally futuristic and cool sounding.
the "playstation" brand, will become something that you can open up in your google chrome aps, and play something like farmville, and earn trophies that sync to your PSN. or open up your phone, and earn trophies. or turn on your tv, and download a quick game. when you're playing final fantasy 7 on your sony e-reader in 5 years, it won't be the "sony playstation e-reader." it will be the sony ereader that can download playstation games.
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sirbob6
Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 7:00:40 PM
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shadowscorpio
Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 9:18:41 PM
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Playstation will only died when Sony dies. And that's only if they decide not to sell the brand to someone whom would continue its legecy.
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huh1678
Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 10:07:04 PM
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Last edited by huh1678 on 2/7/2011 10:07:09 PM
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spiderboi
Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 10:20:32 PM
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Then they will go bankrupt.
Seriously, no. It's not gonna happen. Its practically one word: "Sony_Playstation". Sure, we have the TV brands, but they stand alone and do not push the brand name to such familiarity. It's always Bravia, Walkman. And its always Sony Playstation.
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___________
Tuesday, February 08, 2011 @ 1:38:55 AM
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it would be like apple dropping I in front of everything, or replacing there computers from mac to something else.
they have so much history, why would they want to abandon it?
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Lawless SXE
Tuesday, February 08, 2011 @ 1:49:59 AM
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In fact, I'd go so far as to say that it is only just hitting its stride now. The PS3 is quickly catching up with the 360 worldwide. The PSP was a strong contender in the portable marketplace, and the PSP2, or the NGP, or the PSNGP, or the PSHandheld, or whatever they choose to call it will further solidify that. It will retain the PS branding, have no doubt about that.
Plus the brand expansion, with PSS and PSN, will only further serve to lengthen the brand's staying power. Even the Play in Xperia Play has connotations of the home brand. Perhaps a change to Xperia PS is in order?
Although, unlike everyone else, I've found that more people refer to the Xbox as a general gaming console, and that saddens me. What kind of world do we live in that a name like 'Xbox' can supplant 'Playstation' as the general name of gaming. It's not right. But gaming die-hards always refer to it as the 360, so I'm thinking that perhaps MS will drop the Xbox branding in favour of something else. It certainly makes more sense than Sony dropping PS.
Peace.
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Highlander
Tuesday, February 08, 2011 @ 2:19:36 AM
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Lawless SXE
Tuesday, February 08, 2011 @ 2:32:39 AM
Honestly though, wind speeds exceeding those of Hurricane Katrina. It was ridiculous. Thanks Highlander.
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Highlander
Tuesday, February 08, 2011 @ 10:56:56 AM
The reports I heard about the storm had it's maximum sustained winds at 186 miles per hour. To give people an idea of how powerful the storm that's just ravaged Australia was; an EF4 (Enhanced Fujita scale) tornado has winds of 166-200 miles per hour. So this tropical storm that battered Australia was as powerful as an EF4 tornado except the wind field was miles and miles wide, instead of being confined to a narrow corridor. An EF4 tornado is capable of causing extreme damage; well-constructed and whole frame houses completely leveled; cars and other large objects thrown and small missiles generated.
I can't remember the width of the storm's core as it made landfall on Australia's coast, but you get some idea of the monstrous size when you consider the relative scale of a supercell thunderstorm with a major tornado against a cyclone that is hundreds of miles across. Hurricanes/ tropical cyclones have eyes that are many miles wide, which essentially means that this storm was like an EF4 tornado many miles wide hitting an area.
That might give those living in tornado prone areas pause for thought. You guys can appreciate some of the enormity of that kind of storm, as can anyone who's experienced a major hurricane.
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Lawless SXE
Tuesday, February 08, 2011 @ 12:34:48 PM
Last edited by Lawless SXE on 2/8/2011 12:36:02 PM
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Highlander
Tuesday, February 08, 2011 @ 1:19:15 PM
I can't begin to imagine that kind of weather lasting hours.
Is there much left of the local infrastructure? I have some reading to do this lunchtime to find out what's going on down there, the only report I read said that the storm took a path that was relatively 'fortunate' - except for those in the path - missing the most heavily populated areas. Did people evacuate in advance of the storm?
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Lawless SXE
Wednesday, February 09, 2011 @ 12:41:53 AM
Lower Tully got destroyed though. Apparently 80% of the houses are no-go zones, and some houses are just not there. More damage was done to homes than businesses, so hopefully the town will be up and running in a few weeks. Although, all of the farms were wiped out. We've been working since Sunday salvaging what we can, and we'll be finishing tomorrow. When that's done, I'm out of a job, and so is everyone else. Things won't get back online for until at least November they're saying so... I don't know.
This sounds like a sob story, but it's really not all that bad. Not compared to what it could have been if it had hit Cairns or Townsville directly. And as far as evacuations go: As far as I know, there wasn't that many people that ran. Most just bunkered down in their houses and waited it out. Dad and I were mad enough to be out in the shed during the worst of it, and had to run back inside about ten minutes before the eye went over because the window in the bathroom exploded. Absolute craziness.
But the strangest thing is that everyone says that they were frightened by it. I don't see why. I was in awe. In something like that, fear isn't even a factor.
Peace.
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RebelJD
Tuesday, February 08, 2011 @ 5:30:09 AM
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Sony won't abandon the Playstation brand at all. What it'll do is expand it beyond recognition of what we know of it now.
Sony has a lot of great things coming up with Playstation in mind.
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telly
Tuesday, February 08, 2011 @ 9:46:29 AM
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DeathOfChaos
Tuesday, February 08, 2011 @ 6:24:16 PM
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realmadpuppy
Friday, February 11, 2011 @ 7:17:36 AM
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swapnilgyani
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Monday, February 07, 2011 @ 3:59:12 PM
1. Xperia itself is a brand that Sony is trying to build. Of all the various Xperia phones currently on the market, none of them carry the branding of Cybershot or Walkman, even when they have fantastic camera and multimedia capabilities.
2. The phone runs on Google's Android platform, not on Sony's proprietory one. Branding this phone with PlayStation might create a copyright nightmare. Come to think of it, all the Cybershot and Walkman branded phones run on first party operating systems.
And the NGP? Oh well, its just the term they are using right now. I'd be very surprised if the device came out with such a lame branding.
The PlayStation ain't goin nowhere!