PlaystationNetworkPlatform
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PlayStation network platform up and running
Buried deep in a GameSpot preview of the upcoming PlayStation 3 title Full Auto 2 is information that Sony's new online network, the PlayStation network platform, is already functional. This is what GameSpot had to say:It's also worth noting that we played Full Auto 2's multiplayer on the actual PlayStation network platform, so apparently Sony already has its online gaming infrastructure up and running well ahead of the new system's release.With final dev kits surfacing and other details starting to be fleshed out, it's nice to see the PS3 seems to finally be ready for launch come November.[Thanks, Ethan]
Region-free PS3, free online multiplayer confirmed
During a Q&A session with media over lunch after yesterday's GDC keynote, Sony's Phil Harrison confirmed that PS3 software will be region free and that multiplayer gaming will also be free.While we'd heard rumblings of the region-free set-up for games back in early November, we hadn't heard any official confirmation outside of Australia until just the other day. Importers (as well as online gamers) should be quite pleased with the development, though this move likely won't follow for Blu-ray movie discs. It's good to see the region-free status of PSP games spread to the PS3's.If online multiplayer is included as part of Sony's free basic service (known internally as the "PlayStation Network Platform"), then what would constitute Sony's premium service besides the typical content downloads for games? Subscriptions for movie and/or music services, perhaps? And going back to the region-encoding news, it's heartening for our friends on the Continent to hear Phil's following statement: "It's possible for developers to put all the TV formats - PAL, NTSC, HDTV, and so on - on the disc." Can Sony bring the world together with games?[Thanks, DarkFlash; image taken from Final Fantasy Odyssey]See also: Free basic service on "PlayStation Network Platform" GDC: The PS3 keynote blow by blow ["P(S)NP" just an internal name] PS3 region encoding unlikely? [from Sony Computer Ent. Australia] PS3 to share region encoding on Blu-ray [for the U.S. and Japan?]
Simultaneous November release for PS3 worldwide
As expected, Sony held its PlayStation Business Briefing 2006 in Japan today, where a simultaneous worldwide launch was announced for the PS3 in early November (which would purportedly be sometime during the first 10 days of the month).PS3 highlights of the briefing include that simultaneous launch in Japan, North America, and Europe; a 60GB hard drive preinstalled with every system (which will support Linux and be completely upgradeable); a 6 million unit production target through March 2007; 100% backwards compatibility with HD upscaling; a free "basic" online service for the "PlayStation Network Platform"; and a May/June ship date for final dev kits.PSP highlights can be found neatly summarized in this particular Joystiq post, while "PlayStation Network Platform" highlights (for the "Live"-like online service) can so far be found here. Hooray for new PlayStation info! Now we'll have to see how Sony executes on all these ideas. It should be an interesting few months until E3 (and then early November), especially if XBLA-like games are offered as downloads and bootable off the hard drive.
Free basic service on "PlayStation Network Platform"
Going by the working title "PlayStation Network Platform," Sony has announced that the basic level of its online service will be free (at least at first).While the company's "Live-killer" will readily support the PS3 at launch in November, it is not known to what extent the "PNP" (er, "PSNP"?) will support the PS2 and PSP.What are supported, however, are voice/video chat, messaging, matchmaking, ranking, game data uploading/downloading, shopping, content downloading, micro payments, subscriptions, and entitlement (i.e., user access) management. All of this will be tied together with a Live-like user login ID/handle name. Hello, 360... More P(S)NP pics follow.
