Sony: Don't call the PS3 a "game machine"

Millions enjoy the PlayStation 3 for the video games they play on it, but according to Sony it is wrong to describe the console as a game machine.

A more appropriate description, according to one Sony executive, is "entertainment media hub".

"We're trying to turn the PlayStation 3 into an entertainment media hub where you can not only play your games and get online with your Call of Duty community, but also find movies, find music, and bring that across," Sony Network Entertainment boss Shawn Layden told Eurogamer.

"People like to explore. Gamers are explorers. I worked with PlayStation for 14 years before I took on this position with Sony Network Entertainment. I started back in 1996. It was just that grey rectangle with the toaster lid on it. You threw the disc in and brought the waffle iron down, and that's it, you're good to go.

"Game machine is the wrong description these days. Console can mean so many things. It's a central hub if you will for all kinds of digital content."

Sony has attempted to broaden the traditional PlayStation audience in recent years with the addition of non-gaming applications to the PlayStation 3.

Cloud-based music subscription service Music Unlimited, which Layden runs, is just one example. You can rent and buy movies, view photos, edit video, watch music videos and watch telly through your PS3, too.

14.7 million PlayStation 3s have been sold throughout Europe. As of 25th January 2011, there were over 69 million registered PlayStation Network accounts worldwide.