Sony games division appoints chief

Sony Computer Entertainment, the company behind the Sony PlayStation, has appointed Alan Welsman as director of marketing.

Welsman is also the company’s head of communications, a position his promotion will not affect.

He replaces Geoff Glendenning, who left the company last month to pursue other projects, although the newly-created position is an expanded version of Glendenning’s role as head of marketing.

Welsman will now have responsibility for the 20m marketing budget for Sony Computer Entertainment, which makes and markets the PlayStation console the and the range of accompanying games.

He joined Sony in 1995, when the PlayStation was launched in the UK. It has since become the market leader, with sales exceeding 1 million in this country, and 20 million across the world.

In the 12 months to March this year, 6m was spent on through-the-line advertising for the PlayStation through TBWA Simons Palmer (Register-MEAL).

An agency review is underway for Psygnosis, a computer games subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment. The pan-European account, the television part of which is held by TBWA Simons Palmer, with press and poster work handled in-house, is worth 10m and three agencies have been shortlisted.

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