The entertainment news website The Hollywood Reporter reported on Monday that Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) has launched the production studio PlayStation Productions. The studio will develop films and television shows based on Sony's game catalog of more than 100 titles.

Asad Qizilbash is head of the new studio, and chairman of SIE's Worldwide Studios Shawn Layden is overseeing the studio. The new studio is based at Sony Studios in Culver City, California, and its first projects are already in production.

Instead of offering licenses to produce adaptations of SIE's games outside the company, PlayStation Productions will directly produce the works. Sister company Sony Studios will help with distribution.

Layden noted to The Hollywood Reporter that SIE has been releasing games for 25 years, and said, "We feel that now is a good time to look at other media opportunities across streaming or film or television to give our worlds life in another spectrum." Qizilbash said that SIE has been "trying to understand the industry, talking to writers, directors, producers" for two years. According to Layden, SIE also looked at Marvel's accomplishments with its films. He added, "It would be a lofty goal to say we're following in their footsteps, but certainly we're taking inspiration from that."

"The real challenge is, how do you take 80 hours of gameplay and make it into a movie?" Layden said. "The answer is, you don't. What you do is you take that ethos you write from there specifically for the film audience. You don't try to retell the game in a movie."

Qizilbash stated that the story of a game will determine whether PlayStation Productions will choose the format of a film or television series. Layden also noted that PlayStation Productions' partnership with Sony Studios will give it creative freedom while avoiding pressure related to a tight release schedule. "We don't have to rush to market. We don't have a list of 'X number of titles must be done in this year.' None of that," he said.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter (Patrick Shanley)