For years,Sony's loyal legionshave longed for fine garments and other quality-of-life items emblazoned with the PlayStation logo. They've gazedlovingly at Japanesegear like Sony wine glassesand wondered why Japan gets all the cool stuff. But now, at last, that iconic logo will be available to everyone, as Sony Computer Entertainment is finally allowing third-party companies to license the PlayStationbrand imageryall over the world.
Sony currently has a "Logo Licensing Program" that allows third-party PlayStation accessory manufacturers to stamp the PS logo on various peripherals, and today's announcement marks the expansion of that program to things like t-shirts, watches, even housewares, and pretty much anything else.
Above: These are mock-ups, but are supposedly representativeof the kind of gear you can expect. Cuff links FTW.
PlayStation merchandise does exist now, but almost all of it at this point is very expensive and extremely rare, especially in the US. For instance,here's aninsanely costlyPlayStation jacketthat someone wants 200 smackers for on Ebay and which was very likely only given to Sony employees at some point. That's because anything bearing the PlayStation logo or branding right now has officially gone through Sony in some form or another, with rare exceptions.
Now, it should be easy for new products to hit the market. Of course, Sony still has the right to refuse those products and they're probably going to want to keep it classy, so don't get your hopes up for PlayStation-branded sextoys anytime soon. But Japan did already get awine bottle opener, sowe suppse there's still a chance. The question is, would you actually want such a thing, if the option truly existed?
Jul 27, 2010
