Sony Insights » Playstation Network

Sony at E3; Playstation Network, XMB and PSP rumours

Josh Tait — Wed, 19 May 2010 10:08:22 +0000

What will Sony unveil at E3 2010?

E3 is currently just under a month away and as per usual the gaming press is surmising what each of the major games companies will bring to the event. This rumour mill starts up at this time each and every year with journalists theorising what the Sony Playstation bigwigs and developers will be able to deliver for 2010 and 2011. Here at Sony insights we felt that a quick round up of the latest Playstation gossip would whet your appetites for the main event in a month’s time.

First are the rumours surrounding the release of a true second generation Playstation Portable system. Maybe Sony feel that the PSP Go has gone and that a new iteration of the device is required. If the rumours are to be believed, then the Sony PSP2 will have not only a touch screen but two cameras on the front and rear of the device, 3G capabilities and a stupendously powerful 4 core cell processor. Whether these features are correct will have to be confirmed but if production timeframes are taken into account then it is more likely we will see this device at the Tokyo Games Conference ( a theory added credence by the fact that as of yet this geographical area represents the largest market for Sony’s portable device.)

Whether or not the PSP rumours can be believed is a matter of conjecture, what seems more certain however is that Sony will be announcing a premium option for the Playstation Network. Up until this point the PSN has been free to users but according to sources within Sony the company is going to release an online gaming package that coexists with the free PSN costing around fifty pounds a year.

In terms of games fans can expect to see demonstrations of the Playstation Move controller with titles such as Sports Champions and Move Party. In addition it is likely that the latest version of the fabled Gran Turismo 5 project will be on show, (we may even get an official release date….. or not as the case may be). It is also likely that the latest episode in the Socom franchise will also be presented.

Finally, it is believed by many that the Playstation’s XMB (Xcross Media Bar) will be undergoing a major redesign, not just adding a few icons but re-hauling the whole look of the interface.

As always we’ll keep our fingers on the pulse so you don’t have to. Remember these are just rumours at the moment and predicting what will happen at E3 is traditionally like predicting the British weather so if you have any opinions, you know where to put them.

Sony Playstation to receive Blinkbox film streaming

Josh Tait — Fri, 14 May 2010 11:48:16 +0000

Blinkbox on the PS3

It has been announced that the television and film streaming service Blinkbox will soon be coming to the Sony Playstation 3. The Blinkbox service has been working on a version of the site that will work with the PS3 internet browser. In addition to adapting the service for PS3 users the company has also optimised the control system so that it works fully with the Playstation’s controller.

According to reports the service will offer both television programmes and the latest chart films. TV will start at around thirty nine pence whilst films will be available to rent from ninety nine pence and to buy from two pounds ninety nine. Not all the content however will be paid as a number of “ad-supported titles” will also be available to Sony Playstation users.

The CEO of Blinkbox, Michael Cornish emphasised the point that the company wants to “enable customers to use our service on their TVs for instant streaming” including the option to instantly stream “new blockbuster movies the same day as their release on DVD.”

The Sony Playstation Store also offers a similar service so Blinkbox will have to compete with this current option. However if they are able to offer a cheaper alternative to the Playstation Store they could well carve out a considerable amount of revenue from this streaming service.

Sony Playstation Network and PS3 Consoles Working Again

Tom Pretty — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 09:56:27 +0000

Fire up COD again, PS3 is back online!

After the panic that spread throughout the gaming world yesterday; the result of the old “fat” PS3 consoles seemingly being crippled by a clock and date malfunction with the error code 8001050F, it now seems that Sony Playstation have now fixed the problem according to a statement on the US Playstation Blog.

After warnings from Sony that PS3 owners should not use their consoles yesterday the all clear has now been given. The statement on the Playstation Blog announces that “[Sony] are aware that the internal clock functionality in the PS3 [older units] recognized the year 2010 as a leap year”. The problem seemed to occur due to the switch between February 29^th and March 1^st with the internal clock failing to carry out the date change successfully. This confirmed many theories that were espoused yesterday by industry commentators and gamers alike that the bug was a Y2K+10 issue and that because of the incorrect date on PS3 consoles they were unable to connect with the PSN servers.

The good news for PS3 owners is that Sony have stated that “the symptoms are now resolved and users are able to use their PS3 normally.” Unfortunately no information on how the fix occurred has been provided but as there was no firmware update many are surmising that the bug was either fixed internally or on the server network. According to reports, trophy data and game saves have been unaffected by the issue.

Sony understandably apologised for the inconvenience the issue may have caused and advised that if the time and date displayed on the XMB are still incorrect, manual or internet resetting will rectify the issue. Sony went on to say that any further information will be provided on the blog as and when it arises.

Sony Playstation (PS3) Error; Possible Solutions to the Bug

Josh Tait — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:04:13 +0000

Solutions to the PS3 Error

The wires are alive with news that the Sony Playstation Network has experienced a major error. The problem however seems to go further, with owners of the older PS3 (the larger, glossier version of the device) experiencing problems with not only accessing the PSN but also playing titles offline that use the trophy system. Reports also suggest that the error is also affecting purchases from the Playstation Network such as premium themes and downloaded games. The current error code is PSN 8001050F.

The advice at the moment is to leave your PS3 switched off until Sony has found a solution to the problem.

The cause of this malfunction is currently being debated across the entire internet; the general consensus is that the older versions of the PS3 have experienced a problem with the date. Specifically, the device, which has a hardware clock believes there to be a February 29^th this year and is experiencing problems when trying to rectify the issue internally. This Y2K+10 problem is believed by many to have led to the aforementioned issues.

As panic however seems to be spreading across the internet and various media outlets offer the usual “harbinger of doom” sensationalist opinion, there certainly needs to be some perspective taken on the issue. Sony has stated on their Twitter page that they are aware of the issue and are currently working on a solution.

As of yet the following seem to be the most likely. Firstly there is a belief that once the clock ticks over to tomorrow the error will fix itself as the clock will be able to “catch up”. Secondly Sony can produce a patch that will fix the affected consoles. It is likely this patch is precisely what Sony technicians are currently working on.

This patch should be available for download but if this patch cannot be downloaded direct to the console (due to problems accessing the PSN) Sony should be able to offer a PC download that can then be placed onto the PS3 using a USB stick. The other option is to produce a system disk that will rectify the issue once loaded onto the Playstation. The rumours of a mass recall or hacks are unlikely, this is a relatively minor, albeit a well publicised glitch. Owners should only trust official statements from Sony websites as there are now a growing number of misinformed articles and Twitter posts on the subject.

To recap, it is only the older “fat” PS3 consoles that are affected by this issue, PS3 Slim models are fine. Sony is currently working on the issue and will be providing owners with further information once it is available. Advice, for those that have not yet turned on the PS3 is don’t, the best course of action is to sit tight until official word from Sony has been released on how the problem can be rectified.

40 Million Online PS3 Gamers? Probably not.

Timo — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 16:40:08 +0000

40 Million users? Maybe not.

SCEA President, Jack Tretton, announced last week that “We’ve successfully established that we’re not just a disc-based powerhouse, but we’re also a digital powerhouse.” While there aren’t many people who would discount that he followed this with an assertion that the Playstation 3 user base has inflated to “more than 40 million”.

This statement has been met with a big pinch of salt by Sony gamers who themselves openly admit to having many user names on their PlayStation’s. Several gamers were openly discussing the virtues of having European, Japanese and US gamer accounts while some younger gamers even claimed they were using several accounts to accommodate adult content online and to by pass parental controls.

The gaming community points to the original xBox and how, through successful IP’s such as Halo 2, they gained a huge slice of the online market in the previous generation of consoles. For Sony to report such bullish figures is positive news for the Playstation community and the console competition.

All this points to a huge uptake in the online community for gaming with the current generation; with gamers subverting restrictions in region limits to access exclusive content in different areas of PSN internationally. With PSN access remaining a free service to the Playstation gamers that shows no sign of slowing down.

Sony TV maybe Nearer than You Think on the Playstation Network

Naomi Roberts — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:24:00 +0000

Who will be The Tester?

Sony as a corporation has regularly played a part in the production of music, film and of course technology, but news of Sony venturing into the reality television market has now become evident. It seems that the main impetus behind this move is to change the emphasis of the Playstation Network from a place where PS3 owners can play games online, to a fully interactive library of movies and television shows.

Sony’s first reality television series is called “The Tester” and it will be broadcast on the PSN from next week. The production company involved with Sony in the series is 51 Minds Entertainment, a company with experience in creating reality TV shows. The premise of the show is simple enough, 11 contestants compete for what is considered a dream job by millions; a position at Sony Computer Entertainment America as a video game tester. To sweeten the deal a five thousand dollar signing bonus has also been included.

The Senior Director of the Playstation Network stated that she would love to see the company producing “great shows in pop culture and society”, showing that Sony are certainly committed to creating yet more original programming; seemingly “The Tester” is just the first stage in this plan.

Playstation owners can download episodes of this “legitimate TV content” for free on the Playstation Network, if it successful we may well see a raft of new shows as Sony think tanks continue to look into different avenues of broadcasting.

Playstation Network Evolves With CES Announcement

Tom Pretty — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 10:06:06 +0000

Playstation Network (PSN)

Sony’s CES 2010 press conference was bound to hold some surprises and President of Network Products & Services Kazou Hirai did not disappoint. The announcement focussed on the next stage of evolution for the Playstation Network and how devices under the |Sony umbrella will also be brought into the fold. It is believed form the speech that the Network hopes to evolve into a “digital ecosystem” that contains all of the media; music, books, videos and games that are provided by Sony’s entertainment divisions. The model will surely be built upon the current Playstation Network that already offers users access to game demos, full video games, as well as standard definition and high definition movies.

It is believed that the new platform will grow beyond its current Playstation walls, incorporating products such as BRAVIA TVs, VAIO laptops as well as Sony Blu-Ray players. Owners of these items should have access to hundreds of feature films from a range of movie houses as well access to music on the Sony BMG label. This evolution is deemed important enough to create a new company called ‘Sony Network Entertainment Inc.’ This company will not only handle the growth of the network in Japan and the USA but will also make an effort to expand the amount of content available to European territories. However this evolution is implemented it is sure that on demand content as well as streaming and downloading of media is sure to be a major part of present and future Sony devices.