Sony to expand PlayStation Network into Sony Online Service, sell music, books, videos
Sony had a big management meeting in Japan today, where the tech giant announced some extremely vague plans for what's initially being called the Sony Online Service -- a new "iTunes-like" service built on the PlayStation Network that will sell books, music, and movies. That's really all we know for now -- Sony execs didn't set a launch date or provide any specifics -- but the move's been rumored for a while and makes total sense, considering Sony's huge investment in running PSN and vast array of products it could tie into the service, like the Reader e-book line, the PSP, and the various Network Walkmans. Now, whether or not Sony can manage to make good on this massive potential remains to be seen -- we've got high hopes, but this isn't a small challenge.



















When can I start playing PS3 games on my Vaio?
@Jeff I guess whenever they release the PS3 vaio... Complete with Cell Processor and nVidia 7800 GTX
@rickjamess04 correct!!!
now that's SONY!
sadly ps3 store in my available in my country
Cool beans.
P.S: You made a typo (an new "iTunes-like")
It's supposed to be (a new "iTunes-like")
@buri100 No, they meant "an (ew) iTunes-like..."
sadly ps3 store is not available in my country*
@jdm28690
Actually you should be thankful. Using it is like shoving nails in your eyes.
This is why I love my PS3, it just seems like its potential is unless! (Or in Sony's mind, until the PS4 comes out)
Argh, Sony should really learn how to use gradients in their UI.
@MoNo There are gradients on the buttons on the left.
@Elaith What I meant is that their horrible at doing it. They use color-color gradients and color-transparent gradients without actually doing it properly.
@MoNo It's not bad. Most home teather media player UIs looks lightyears worse. I'm satisfied. For now.
Does anyone think it's weird that the name of this service is S.O.S.?
@Matthew Harrington
subliminal message
so wait... two days after i order my limited edition xbox 360 bundle off of amazon, one in every ten articles on Engadget are about juicy upcoming PlayStation 3 software. It figures! Oh well. I think I ultimately made the right decision for myself.
@Cody
naw send it back. Before it implodes
@Cody
You made a good choice trust me!
@Cody nope. The 360 sucks. I am on my third 360 and have had to repair my xbox 1 a number of times. I am in the process this week of getting rid of my 360 for a ps3.
@Cody
Sorry for your loss, maybe next time you will make the right decision.
Lord help us, it's another iTunes.
yay! everything is "iTunes like" which some people incorrectly believe is a good thing.
And yet there's still no 5.1DD audio surround support for movies, just stereo.
@o rly
Arghhh. iTunes sucks.
:(
and I'm currently scheming on a PS3 slim for BF. Thanks for sealing the deal Nilay. I just hope its by the first half of this coming year, as I am concurrently scheming on a Daily Edition E-reader, yay synergy!
@jblock Sure, I'll go out with you.
Great Now when I want to buy a book or music it will be down!
jmynt
Sony is just desperately trying to justify the PSP Go's existence.
XBOX DID TO PLAYSTATION WHAT ANDROID IS DOING TO WINDOWS MOBILE.
EXCEPT THAT WINDOWS MOBILE HAS ANOTHER SHOT COMING UP AND PLAYSTATION TRYING TO STAY AFLOAT
@daguila29
Caps lock sticky ?
iTunes totally sucks, but I'd take it over the music play on the PS3 any day.
playER
Well ... it makes sense. Sony (Stringer specifically) has been talking vertical integration for a couple of years...he even hired one of Apple's top people, Tim Schaaff, to get the hardware/software people talking. As a fan of SONY's products more integrated functionality would be welcome.
Not sure if it has changed. I've wanted to buy games and DLC at some point, however, you can only add money in $5 increments. Things that I wanted to buy were $8.99. So Sony keeps $1.01 of my money. I hope that they allow me to just buy a single item for whatever price it's selling.
@xtasi
that's not true, it takes a minimum $5 then after that everything is exact. so when you buy something for $8.99 and there is nothing in your wallet the store will ask if you want to top up the exact amount before purchasing.
@xtasi
If I remember correctly, the minimum recharge amount is $5, and you can only add money to the wallet in $5 increments.
However, if you just add a $8.99 item to the shopping cart, and then go to checkout, it charges you the exact amount (unless it's less than $5).
@xtasi: thanks for the clarification... I think I mean "thanks", because now I'll be spending money. Looks like I totally misunderstood the $5 charge... I thought it was in multiples of 5 as opposed to minimum.
Eight years ago, I heard one of Sony's Vice Presidents of engineering deliver an editorial on "Marketplace" on NPR about how the iPod should have been invented at Sony, and Sony really needed to learn lessons from Apple walking into and dominating a market Sony used to OWN (portable music players) overnight.
And Sony is finally just now getting around to doing this? It's taken since 2001 to figure this out?
I think it would be fair for Sony's shareholders to demand Howard Stringer, his management team, and the current board all to cut their bellies.
Instead of adding new features, how about bringing the current features to areas without them, such as Canada?
Imagine that. A video game company wants their device to be the media center in the living room...haha
iTunes-like? Let's see, Sony tried, it's called Connect, and it failed miserably. Are we seeing the return of Atrac? (and the ridiculously oppressive DRM with it?) Are we going to "check-in/out our music from the PS3? (those that used Sonicstage in its early form will remember this).
@pika2000
You will have noticed that they have changed their way of thinking on this one. All their Walkman's are now drag and drop.
@FluxZero
Yeah, that's the Walkman side. PS3 does support Atrac, and Sony's Japanese Walkman models still support Atrac. Remember, Sony is also Sony music, a recording label. I don't think they have the same way of thinking as Sony Electronics.
@pika2000
If it's bad it will fail and if it's good it will succeed. We'll see, but I think it will be good. Sony has been getting much better at this sort of thing lately.
Why the PSP and PS3 do not have a music player like the Walkman's is a very strange thing indeed, though.
I would really be up for this...subscription-like thing.
Well, Sony is a record and movie company too. If they can't erk out some synergy out of this (and Apple did it without being merged), then they should just break up or something.
Books?? Can the majority of PlayStation users even read? Judging by its interface I just thought most of them were legally blind and that's how they could put up with it.