Life with PlayStation begins today

After making a false start earlier today, Sony Computer Entertainment just announced the official, global launch of its free, Life with PlayStation PS3 service. Initially, Live Channel will deliver worldwide news and information such as weather and live camera images from 60 cities around the globe -- more interactive content will be delivered in time. Check the video demonstration after the break for setup instructions and quickie overview.

[Via Playstation.Blog]

[Zeus.:God @ Sep 18th 2008 2:23AM]

I'm not going to lie... This is pretty bad ass.

[Pip @ Sep 18th 2008 4:13AM]

I just downloaded it (took 4 updates for me) and gave it a shot. It's pretty cool. I see a ton of missed opportunity. The news is pretty lame, it just launches news.google.com in the PS3 browser. The web cams are cool but I thought for sure you'd be able to zoom into them. All you get is a small thumbnail when you select a city. Overall, I'd rate it 6 out of 10. Great idea with many missing features.

[lnx @ Sep 18th 2008 4:26AM]

I really can't be bothered powering on my PS3 to get this update. Doesn't look anywhere near as good as I expected.

[Rob Bourne @ Sep 18th 2008 4:46AM]

Ooh, Highest Ranked goes blue now?

Now if you guys could work on some way to save our login details? I hate having to put my email and password in every damn time I feel like posting!

[Mic2000 @ Sep 18th 2008 4:55AM]

@ Rob Bourne

It already has, press the returning button, next to New Readers ;)

But except of that, if you can make comments blue, why don't make an Edit button?

[Rob Bourne @ Sep 18th 2008 5:32AM]

@Mic

Ah yes - didn't think I had problems when at home.

Must be here at work then - despite 'Remember Me' being ticked, it never saves my information. Autocomplete is active too as the portals to my internal systems remember me :S

[DeathroW @ Sep 18th 2008 2:25AM]

I'm just downloaded it now, its actually pretty well done, even though its showin us on the dark side of the globe here in the uk when the sun came out an hour or so ago :P

inb4uselessfeaturerants

[John @ Sep 18th 2008 10:35AM]

what firmware version is it? I just upgraded to 2.43 and damned if I can find it anywhere

[10VD @ Sep 18th 2008 11:21AM]

@John

The 2.43 firmware is to update the Japanese PSN store. I believe it was the PS Blog that mentioned that other regions could download it, but there wouldn't be any features added because of it.

As for Life, I haven't hada chance to look on my PS3 yet

[NHAnimator @ Sep 18th 2008 1:56PM]

@John

According to PS blog: "Life with PlayStation is now available for download by selecting the Folding@home icon under “Network” on the XMB."

No firmware update needed for this.

[DeathroW @ Sep 18th 2008 2:26AM]

Uh, spelling mistakes in my last comment and edit button :(

[DBrim @ Sep 18th 2008 2:36AM]

Nice hurricane in the logo.

[Ed @ Sep 18th 2008 4:56PM]

ffs ... ike is coming to nerf my house again ...

[Joey Kincer @ Sep 18th 2008 2:42AM]

According to those sequence of images used, it should be named Ike with Playstation

[cory yalowicki @ Sep 18th 2008 2:58AM]

Is the video working for everyone else?

[Wwhat @ Sep 18th 2008 4:45AM]

yes

[crashingtehwarehouse @ Sep 18th 2008 10:35AM]

no.

[Kevin @ Sep 18th 2008 3:21PM]

maybe so

[Brett Schulte @ Sep 18th 2008 3:01AM]

Is it me or is this update BORING? They should be able to do SOOO much more with such cool hardware.

[rudefyet @ Sep 18th 2008 3:18AM]

They released it last night by accident and then pulled it, surprised nobody at engadget even noticed

[rudefyet @ Sep 18th 2008 3:55AM]

Or apparently since it's 4am and I'm a moron I failed to read the first line of the post

[netddos @ Sep 18th 2008 3:47AM]

i don't like the idea of forced folding@home participation in return for using this service........the 4311..

[Nate @ Sep 18th 2008 8:22AM]

I don't think it works that way. I'm pretty sure that it will always be opt-in.

But if it does work that way, think about it as your small contribution to humanity.

[netddos @ Sep 18th 2008 3:48AM]

i don't like the idea of forced partcipation of folding@home in return for using this service...anyone else?

[z0idberg @ Sep 18th 2008 8:03AM]

I'm not a big fan of that either.

Is there any chance that you can block the folding access with a firewall/router and still get the LIVE service?

I have no idea whether it is possible, but it might be a workaround. Will be downloading tonight so will see what I can see.

[Wwhat @ Sep 18th 2008 4:46AM]

Hey if you get in bed with sony it's too late to complain about the spawn that follow.

[jared @ Sep 18th 2008 6:29AM]

Wait...you hate that your PS3 is using unused resources while you read the news to benefit a good cause? Do you like to kick puppies too?

[patriotsn1 @ Sep 18th 2008 3:48AM]

I guess this will spur a wave of nerdy replies to the common insult "get a life"... Lets hear them boys:

[Rob Bourne @ Sep 18th 2008 4:43AM]

Oh wow, they copied the Wii features nobody ever used!

I don't care for this application, I have the internets for this kind of stuff.

[Wwhat @ Sep 18th 2008 4:48AM]

Seems to me this is a screensaver that'll entertain your mom while you are on the internet (on a computer).

[Darkflame @ Sep 18th 2008 5:27AM]

A functional port of Google Earth would be a hundred fold more usefull.
And the news part seems to have had less effort put into it then Nintendo did with the Wii news channel. (not that I use either).
Weather is vagualy usefull to have I guess.

[Sin @ Sep 18th 2008 11:02AM]

Agreed.. I dont bother walking the stairs down to my PS3 to install this.

What about that LBP?

[Nomi @ Sep 18th 2008 5:35AM]

I got bored in 5 minutes...

[James T @ Sep 18th 2008 6:43AM]

The Wii has had this since day one. Congrats on catching up with the under powered "Kiddie" console.

[tuaamin13 @ Sep 18th 2008 6:55AM]

I don't think the Wii has real time cloud cover. It's also not in HD.

[Rob Bourne @ Sep 18th 2008 8:23AM]

Who needs 'real time cloud cover' though, really?

[bondsbw @ Sep 18th 2008 8:39AM]

You're right, it's not in HD. But it doesn't cost nearly as much either. Oh... and it seems Microsoft has priced their console very aggressively, is in HD, and will soon have many of the Wii-like features. So, if Sony doesn't want to catch up to Nintendo, maybe it should try catching up to Microsoft.

[Frank @ Sep 18th 2008 10:28AM]

Not gonna lie, been a 360 fanboy for a long time. Bought a PS3 on Monday because I wanted a Blu Ray player, and I'm in love with the the system. Not bad at all. Can't we all just get along? I mean, even I'm willing to admit I was wrong about the thing, and I'm a stubborn jerk.

[Vidikron @ Sep 18th 2008 10:48AM]

Too bad the Wii's current weather data is always a half day or more old. That renders half the point of checking the weather useless. A second problem is the fact that I never turn on my Wii, which renders the service completely useless.

[Kevin @ Sep 18th 2008 3:23PM]

The news and weather channels were not available day one.

I know from experience... if you know what I mean.

[farlander @ Sep 18th 2008 9:18AM]

Am I the only one who thinks this is BS? Why in the world would
anyone need something like this on a freaking GAMING CONSOLE??? Sony
continues to ignore the fact that this was supposed to be a gaming
console, and instead of IMPROVING it as a gaming console, makes all
kinds of useless garbage, like Life with PS and Home... Sony really
is one of a kind, and makes everything it possibly can to make the
PS3 a failure.

[NHAnimator @ Sep 18th 2008 9:54AM]

"Why in the world would anyone need something like this on a freaking GAMING CONSOLE??? "

I consider my PS3 to be MUCH more than a "gaming console". Yeah, it does an incredible job with some games such as HSG and MGS4 and the latest, free updates for Burnout are very nice, but I use it for playing Blu-Ray movies, playing back all of my music (including remote play), and casual browsing. My wife, who normally hates game consoles, loves looking at our digital photos in HD. And for someone who NEVER plays games, she actually plays HV Bowling thanks to its Wii-like operation.

I see Life with PS as one more "feature" which doesn't interfere with any other part of the device, and which is there if I want it. Again, these simple little improvements here and there are welcomed.

[Vidikron @ Sep 18th 2008 10:45AM]

Right... I'm sure they pulled Team Ico off their project and made them create Life with Playstation.

[TreyIM @ Sep 18th 2008 10:58AM]

PS3 a failure, eh? See, one thing about the PS3 that is overlooked is the fact that it is a "forward thinking machine", mature console. They cover all the bases in one machine and it keeps getting better and better. The late start birthed some misconceptions and all out ridiculous garbage talk from haters. Guess where the PS3 is, now, if u don't look at "sales"? Neck and neck with the 360 if not a step a head and stepping further and further away. I am loving what they are doing and yea, time to time, they release features that don't apply to me but that does not kill the overalls for me. Not everything is going to please everyone but, HELLS YEAH, the PS3 is that shit, right now, and wait til Home is released. All the shit talking 360 fanboys will really start rethinking what is coming out of their mouths and what they type on these blogs.
What failure are u looking at, dummy? Lol

[ZeroCorpse @ Sep 18th 2008 12:14PM]

My wife has been looking for a decent globe, and with this, we'll have a real-time, updated globe that links to news, weather, and other data.

It's useful. Maybe some gamers prefer to remain ignorant about things like current events and geography, but there are those of us who consider the PS3 much more than just a game console.

[farlander @ Sep 18th 2008 9:19AM]

Sorry about the double post... :(

[farlander @ Sep 18th 2008 9:20AM]

Am I the only one who thinks this is BS? Why in the world would anyone need something like this on a freaking GAMING CONSOLE??? Sony continues to ignore the fact that this was supposed to be a gaming console, and instead of IMPROVING it as a gaming console, makes all kinds of useless garbage, like Life with PS and Home... Sony really is one of a kind, and makes everything it possibly can to make the PS3 a failure.

[Sean @ Sep 18th 2008 9:21AM]

Well if you haven't noticed XBL costs money per year so you can play online, $59.99 a year according to xbox.com, so to $60 and multiply that by say 6 yrs (the relative life before the new generation) and thats $200+$360 = $560 for system plus online gaming while playstation is $400 plus FREE online, I don't know thats $160 savings. Plus PS3 has blue ray, better console reliability, a bigger HD, and better graphics. Personally I'd say that gamers should really look at the longer term costs for something before they really invest in it.

[farlander @ Sep 18th 2008 9:25AM]

Gamers, and correct me if I'm wrong, care most about _games_. What is $60/year? I don't care if the service is free, if there is _NO SERVICE_. Of course it's free: it's useless. I would gladly pay $60/year for PSN, if it had any useless service for gamers.

[10VD @ Sep 18th 2008 6:40PM]

You forgot to add the cost of a hard drive to your $200 system price. There's another $100+ for a 20GB HDD, or around $200 for a120GB HDD. Then if you add the wireless module, it's another $100.

Essentially, the lower end models are going to be similiarly priced if you compare them with the same features