On the surface, one of the lesser announcements during the 2012 E3 Sony press conference was the renaming of PlayStation Suite to PlayStation Mobile. The Android-powered initiative is designed to bring the PlayStation brand to smartphones and tablets by offering PlayStation One games (and potentially PS2 and PS3 titles way in the future) to would-be gamers. Sony is also expected to bring the service to the PlayStation 3 and PS Vita, allowing games developed for the platform to be playable on their consoles and Android powered devices. Sony also hopes that the initiative will build positive awareness for the PlayStation brand and bring mobile owners to their main consoles.

With PlayStation Suite being renamed to PlayStation Mobile, many assumed that it might either be a simple legal maneuver or better branding of the platform —which it is. However, more importantly, this stands as a true realization of the PlayStation brand and the direction its headed. Many assume that console gaming as we know it will die in the future, especially if we consider handheld gaming devices like the PSP and PS Vita. As smartphones get more and more powerful by the year and their adoption rate continues to skyrocket, there will be a time (and some might argue that we are there already) that a device like the PS Vita won’t be needed. With your phone being able to make calls, get thousands of apps, take beautiful pictures, and get more powerful for gaming, the future is grim for dedicated handhelds. This rule of course also applies to Nintendo and also sheds light on why Microsoft never entered the category.

Much like Sony Ericsson was renamed to Sony Mobile to help you get a understanding for the brand, simply by its name, Sony has also renamed their new platform to PlayStation Mobile. This new naming scheme will easily help give the brand direction by letting it be known that its PlayStation content for mobile devices, unlike PlayStation Suite which was vague at best. More importantly, with the lifespan of handhelds being numbered, Sony knows that it might only be a matter of time before their dedicated console might be transitioned to your smartphone that can stream to your television or more likely, a box with cloud access. Of course, such a move won’t happen with the PlayStation 4 but with the PS5, it seems almost certain.

With the name PlayStation Mobile, Sony is now helping condition the market and consumers that the PlayStation brand is not dedicated to just something at home. With PlayStation Mobile, the PlayStation brand will now transition to mobile devices and eventually the cloud, escaping its current landscape of just being at home.

Discuss:

Do you think the PlayStation brand will transition from dedicated consoles to a mobile platform in the future?