The PlayStation Network won't live to see its sixth birthday. Beginning on February 7, Sony will officially retire the PSN name and replace it with the broader Sony Entertainment Network. What does this mean for current account holders? Not much, actually.
The impetus for the change has nothing to do with last year's large-scale PSN data breach, said Sony in a mass email sent out to customers this weekend.
"This transition is based on Sony's goal to enhance its unique digital entertainment offering," read the statement. "This helps us get closer to our goal of establishing a global comprehensive network platform of services across games, movies, music and more, all accessible from one convenient account."
Revisions to the newly branded online service's Privacy Policy (.pdf) and Terms of Service (.pdf) agreements will come with an update for all PS3 owners on Tuesday. The PS Vita's next firmware update, 1.6, will institute the name change and add several multimedia features a day later. A similar update should appear for the handheld device's western launch later this month. The PS Vita hits North American and European shores on February 22.
Sony declined to provide an explanation as to why the re-branding won't see the light of day on its previous portable game system, the PSP. The gaming giant has yet to formally retire the eight-year-old platform even as the Vita begins vying for gamers' attention (and dollars).
One controversial tweak noted by GameSpot is that software pre-orders made through the revamped service cannot be canceled or refunded. Most brick-and-mortar game retailers allow fickle customers to receive a full refund if they wish to cancel a reservation.
Last September, Sony updated its online ToS so that U.S.-based signatories couldn't partake in class-action lawsuits and instead must pursue any legal grievances with the company on a strictly individual-only basis. Whether or not the controversial revision holds water has yet to be determined.
