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Details on the PS3 Online Service

Posted by Zonk on Sat Oct 14, 2006 10:40 AM
from the going-online-take-me-away-we'll-go-online dept.
PlayStation (Games) Sony
Eurogamer has details of Sony's online strategy for the PlayStation 3. Finally. The long article goes into the process by which you log into the service, some of the things you can expect to find online, the different aspects of user accounts, and finally some details about the PlayStation Store. From the article: "As to the content that will be available, Sony is still playing its cards close to its chest to some extent - but one thing the giant firm is clear on is that the PlayStation Store will grow to encompass more than just new game content and demos. Alongside the free and paid-for game content, the store will also play host to a wide range of new titles developed specifically for download (the first of which, fl0w, was shown off at TGS - dozens more PlayStation Store exclusive titles are being worked on around the world thanks to an initiative which Sony launched at GDC last year) - and as Ken Kutaragi revealed at TGS last month, it'll also be possible to buy PSone and PS2 classics you missed out on, as well as a selection of PSP games, from the PlayStation Store, and download them directly to your PS3." After all this time, it's nice just to know there is an online strategy.
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[+] Grad-School Thesis Becomes PS3 Game 167 comments
Carl Bialik from WSJ writes, "USC student Jenova Chen's Flash game, 'flOw,' attracted interest from Sony, which commissioned an enhanced version that will be sold through its PlayStation Network, WSJ.com reports. From the article: 'Gameplay is incredibly smooth, particularly for a Flash game. But it's the design touches that set flOw apart. Players will notice faint outlines of the creatures lurking at lower depths, a foreboding sign that vicious manta- and squid-like enemies await. The water darkens as the creature advances to deeper levels. The game's ambient sound is somewhat hypnotic. The intuitive controls and design simplicity are among Mr. Chen's mandate: build immersive games for people who don't consider themselves gamers. 'My parents and grandparents don't play games. My girlfriend, she doesn't play either,' he says. 'I want to make games that those people can appreciate.'"
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  • shortsighted. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by CDPatten (907182) on Saturday October 14 2006, @10:54AM (#16436615) Homepage
    anyone else read that and feel like the author just has an axe to grind against online gaming.

    I think he is kind of shortsighted by saying (strongly implying at least) that full games will never be web based.

    I certainly can see (as broadband speeds increase) purchasing a game like halo, and you download the 30 mg level in a 30 seconds. Video clips are streamed in real-time instead of being played off the DVD.

    Am I just off here, or was that author lacking vision.
    • I don't think that the article was shortsighted, but it was realistic. Just go down the usual list:

      1. Is cheap, reliable, FAST broadband available to the (gaming) masses? No. Its not unheard of to still meet people who surf the net or play online with dial-up.

      2. Has anyone ever successfully streamed a DVD quality, full length video over the internet yet without hiccups? Not near the commerical level so that rules out Sony's dream of selling movies directly to customers.

      3. Remember when Microsoft initially a

      • Has anyone ever successfully streamed a DVD quality, full length video over the internet yet without hiccups?

        Does your question also require that the movie have been published by a movie studio that is a member of the Music And Film Industry Associations [wikipedia.org]? If not, then yes. Remember that entry-level cable modem service is up to 6 Mbps, and DVD is 10 Mbps, and some DVDs don't use the full bitrate because a dual layer disc costs more to replicate, and some video codecs are twice as efficient as DVD's MPEG-2.

  • The Details For The Lazy (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 14 2006, @11:08AM (#16436733)
    "the system does show you friend sign-ins and new messages received in overlays on top of the game you're currently playing"

    "Oh - and it's all free, too. The only place you'll be asked to fork over a penny is when you purchase something in the PlayStation Store - all of the online services, from sign-up right through to voice and video chat, are free, as is normal multiplayer gaming"

    "the only things you'll pay money for are paid-for downloadable content, or subscriptions to premium services like massively multiplayer games."

    "Unlike Nintendo and Microsoft's offerings, Sony doesn't hide the price of items behind an arbitrary "points" scheme"

    "it'll also be possible to buy PSone and PS2 classics you missed out on, as well as a selection of PSP games, from the PlayStation Store, and download them directly to your PS3."

    "what we've seen is very promising. Account creation and management, buddy lists and various types of chat appear to be working just fine, the interface is simple and elegant, and the PlayStation Store"

    Zonk: "After all this time, it's nice just to know there is an online strategy. "

    Pathetic. Just pathetic.

    The Wii and PS3 are only a month away and the Slashdot community is missing out on many major console gaming news due to the 'fucked in the head over Sony/PS3' Zonk. It's time for a change. It's not funny. It's not inflammatory. It's just fucking sad.

    Zonk, go away. Deal with whatever the fuck issues you have with Sony on your own time. Slashdot is long overdue for a sane games editor.

    • Re:The Details For The Lazy (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Tim Browse (9263) on Saturday October 14 2006, @11:56AM (#16437133)

      Zonk: "After all this time, it's nice just to know there is an online strategy. "

      Pathetic. Just pathetic.

      Actually, it's a pretty reasonable comment - and a sentiment that many PS3 developers share, which you'll have seen evidence of, if you've been following the PS3 news in the past couple of months.

      Sony have shown time and time again that the one thing they are hopeless at is software, and an online service is all about the software, not forgetting of course the hardware/server farms, which I think Microsoft just might have more experience with.

      Knowing Sony's MO, the fact that this service is free basically telegraphs to me that Sony don't think this service will be as good as Xbox Live. In other words, they can't compete on quality or value with the online system, so they've decided to compete on price.

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by havenskate (964747)
        I don't think you can jump to that kind of conclusion. And regardless of the quality of their service, it's been clear to me that Sony just doesn't believe in charging for online services. I, for one, would NEVER pay for the online service if they did charge - I think that's a ridiculous concept and I would rather see an AD for a new game or PS3 hardware product than have to fork out a monthly fee just to browse a store where i'm going to buy something or get updates for games.

        I think Sony is just doing the
      • Actually, it's a pretty reasonable comment - and a sentiment that many PS3 developers share, which you'll have seen evidence of, if you've been following the PS3 news in the past couple of months.

        What are you talking about? I follow game news pretty rigorously (for all systems, including the PS3) and there's not that much of a hint developers are all that in the dark regading online play. Some have said they are a little unclear about the sales of extra material online, but the core seems pretty fixed in
          • Two links - covering the same story, which if you actually read carefully only mentions "Online Components". Somehow other developers seem to have been able to do online play just fine, includign Warhawks and Fall of Man.

            Just because one developer does not have all the online libraries does not mean others do not as well or Sony has not planned out what they are going to have. You are basically zonking yourself here with a misconception based on piss-poor reporting - like reading game news from Ars Techni
      • I really hope Nintendo isn't using that system since $0.10 is equal to 12 yen. If that's the case I hope I'll be able to use imported point card and save a lot of money.
  • Xbox live 360 from Microsoft costs 40 bucks [amazon.com] a year. Has there been any indication this is going to be free or something?

    • Re:How much will it cost? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by libkarl2 (1010619) on Saturday October 14 2006, @11:49AM (#16437053)
      Has there been any indication this is going to be free or something?

      From the article:

      Oh - and it's all free, too. The only place you'll be asked to fork over a penny is when you purchase something in the PlayStation Store - all of the online services, from sign-up right through to voice and video chat, are free, as is normal multiplayer gaming. There's no equivalent of the Xbox Live Gold account, where you're expected to pay extra for a further tier of services - the only things you'll pay money for are paid-for downloadable content, or subscriptions to premium services like massively multiplayer games.

  • If only microsoft, Sony and Nintendo could get together and have a "global" network with all three systems and even PC maybe (gamespy? or one of those guys?) and let people that have say Ghost Recon for the 360 play against people with the PS3... or even a global store where you could buy the things once... When i get the Wii and IF i get the PS3, i really dont want to pay for all 3... with Live costing 40/year or whatever it would be good to get a deal on all 3...

    360+wii = 60
    360+wii+ps3 = 90

    where all seper

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by Jimbot256 (1006531)
      http://gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=2031 0 [gamesindustry.biz]
      It seems like PS3 users will be able to chat with the PC community through Xfire. May not seem much compared to your idea, but it's a start.

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Kagenin (19124)
      Wii Virtual Console downloads will cost about 5-10$/game. They're not rumors, they're confirmed facts. NES, SNES, and select Genesis and TG16 games will be available. AFAIK, the Wii online services will be free - no annual registration, just a points system for purchasing Virtual Console titles and other offerings (something like 1 yen or 10 cents per point).

      Its also worth noting that the Wii will not be sold for a loss - unlike M$ and $ony, the big N will be making profit from every console sold from da

      • AFAIK, the Wii online services will be free - no annual registration

        But do they work with dial-up? In the United States, broadband can cost $25 per month more than dial-up, and I can imagine that a lot of families, especially those who choose a Wii over a PS3 on price, don't want to have to spend $300 (billed as $25 per month over a minimum commitment of 12 months) on an upgrade from dial-up to DSL just to buy one game. File sizes aren't an issue in this case, given that the largest NES game in North Amer

        • Strange how you only seem to target the Wii... but do XboxLive or the PS3's system work on Dial Up? I don't believe so. You can't pin this one on Nintendo alone.
    • Nintendo seems to have things going the right way with rumors of being able to download old nintendo games (whether it be for free or not we'll see).
      It won't be free, and they've never said it would be free. NES games start at 500 Wii points, SNES at 800, and N64 at 1000. 1 Wii point is 1y or $0.01US; I don't think they've announced what the pricing will be in Europe. (Hopefully E0.01)

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by GweeDo (127172)
        We might want to also mention this: 360 + Wii + PS3 = Xbox Live Fee The WiiConnect24 is free.

  • Pretty obvious really (Score:4, Insightful)

    by DrXym (126579) on Saturday October 14 2006, @11:43AM (#16436983)
    People keep thinking that the PS3 has to recoup its money through games, and how can they possibly do that blah, blah, but look at the revenues open to Sony from this device:
    • Games (obviously)
    • Peripherals (like bluetooth TV remotes, headsets, controllers, keyboards / mice (?) etc.
    • Monthly subs from "premium" online services, whatever they happen to be
    • Online games, movies & music promote to buy, rent & (sell?)
    • Lots of licence fees if Blu-Ray wins the HD TV format war
    • Blu-Ray movies.
    • Increased sales of HD televisions.
    • Increase sales of LocationFree wireless room-to-room / internet streaming devices.

    How well it does these things remain to be seen, but Sony has far more ways of making money than either MS or Nintendo do with their systems. The other consoles have their online systems, but all their other revenues must come from games. Perhaps that is why the PS3 sometimes appears to be a "kitchen-sink" system to catch all those revenues.

    • Bingo. We got a glimpse of their future plans with Gran Turismo HD. They want to sell you every single element of the game, and the only way they can do that is if you are forced to suck off the tit of their online gaming service.

      Is online gaming the future? Of course. And online services are essential for future consoles. But if its any company that I do NOT trust when they say the service is "free", its Sony. They WILL recoup that cost in some way, most likely through scraping content and forcing yo

    • Lots of assumptions there (Score:4, Insightful)

      by MMaestro (585010) on Saturday October 14 2006, @07:22PM (#16440091)
      Games (obviously)
      With few exceptions, Sony's lineup has nothing on Nintendo's all-star launch and Microsoft "our system is already out so show up or shut up."

      Peripherals (like bluetooth TV remotes, headsets, controllers, keyboards / mice (?) etc.
      Which are directly tied into the system's success. Peripherals don't sell systems, systems sell peripherals.

      Monthly subs from "premium" online services, whatever they happen to be
      They just promised not to have monthly subs. And "premium" services are likely to be one-time purchases, not exactly a cash cow system.

      Online games, movies & music promote to buy, rent & (sell?)
      Unless Sony has some kind of PS3 Online Arcade system in the works, I'm not seeing this happen anytime soon.

      Lots of licence fees if Blu-Ray wins the HD TV format war
      General concensus is: Don't hold your breath.

      Blu-Ray movies.
      Thats assuming Blu-Ray takes off in the first place.

      Increased sales of HD televisions.
      Sony is not a major seller of HD-TVs these days. They don't own the patents either. Sharp is destroying Sony (and the rest of the market) in marketshare as well.

      Increase sales of LocationFree wireless room-to-room / internet streaming devices.
      The only people who would probably benefit from this would be companies like Netgear. People don't exactly think Sony when they buy a wireless router.

      • Thou dost protest too much.

        Games (obviously)

        With few exceptions, Sony's lineup has nothing on Nintendo's all-star launch and Microsoft "our system is already out so show up or shut up."

        Are you joking? Besides the absolutely enormous back library of PS1 and PS2 titles, I don't see any shortage of big games for this launch. Hell, it looks a lot better than the PS2's initial launch lineup.

        Peripherals (like bluetooth TV remotes, headsets, controllers, keyboards / mice (?) etc.

        Which are directly tied int

  • Zonk's philosophy (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Pluvius (734915) <pluvius3@nOspam.gmail.com> on Saturday October 14 2006, @11:55AM (#16437117) Journal
    When Nintendo is secretive about its product: "It makes perfect sense for Nintendo not to give everything about the Wii away all at once. Secrecy keeps the rumor mill churning, thus making sure that the Wii doesn't lose its presence in the news media. And every time Nintendo releases new information, it causes a feeding frenzy among the fans. Secrecy also keeps Nintendo's competitors guessing and sometimes catches them off-guard."

    When Sony is secretive about its product: "Christ, what the hell is taking them so long to give us information about the PS3? Obviously the only reason they aren't talking is because they have no clue what they're doing."

    I'd like to remind Zonk and the other anti-Sony fanboys that most of the important details for the Wii's Virtual Console were only revealed a month ago.

    Rob
      • Even ignoring the fact that the Wii's controller and the PS3's price are completely irrelevant to the issue at hand: Just because it's unsurprising that fanboys like to exaggerate Sony's flaws and minimize its advantages while doing the opposite for its competitors doesn't mean that it's right.

        Rob

  • RTFA (Score:2, Informative)

    by Scipher (35125)
    Could everyone please read the article? The number of replies being posted is stupendous..so many.

    "Oh - and it's all free, too. The only place you'll be asked to fork over a penny is when you purchase something in the PlayStation Store."

    "So, once you add friends, what can you do with them? Obviously enough, you can check their status and see if they're online; you can see if you have any new messages from them, and send them messages. Sending emails through the system uses the same peculiar text messaging

  • These guys have seen the final system? Sure they have.

    Remember that this is the same company who releases patches for the PSP over and over, yet does it actually improve the PSP? not exactly. They are just tempting people away from home brew and hacks and keep getting broken.

    I'm all for a robust online experience, but from the sounds of it this is going to be the SAME online that Xbox has. Though with one difference. Xbox Live is a pay service which pays for the servers. the PS3, will not be paying f

  • it'll also be possible to buy PSone and PS2 classics you missed out on, as well as a selection of PSP games, from the PlayStation Store, and download them directly to your PS3.

    Does that imply that the PS3 will have PSP emulation? That's would be very interesting, since there are a couple of PSP games I want to play, but I don't want to buy one, and none of them are really "handheld" material, they would all be better on a console in my opinion. Or is this a PS3-based PSP game store? (I didn't know you c

    • While the web browsing and friends lists looks nice, people seem to be missing one key point...the sony online services doesnt tie into games. You can chat all you want or buy things at the sony store but they service still isnt going to link you up to play some madden head to head. Gaming on the PS3 may be free (or may not in a few cases depending on the publisher) but its also piecemeal. Peer to peer or publisher control online play is still the only way to do it with Sony, there is no centralized matching service or more importantly infrastucture maintenance for gaming.

      Thats the big advantage of XBox lives subscription services...if all you want is profiles and shopping, MS already has that for free its called Xbox Live Silver.
      • This is an excellent point. PS3 developers/publishers are either rolling their own or using services like XFire or Gamespy to get their games online. That could (based on the history of the PS2) mean multiple logins to access multiple games. I just can't imagine developers being happy with that compared to the ease of use cited with Xbox Live from just about its beginning on the first Xbox.

        Past the initial setup, Xbox Live access has been completely transparent with my 360. I start the console, I'm immediately logged in, any game I insert checks for updates and has multiplayer ready to go when I select the appropriate mentu options. The most I ever have to think about is how many XBL points I have when I'm looking at perhaps downloading something.

        Maybe Sony will have similar functionality that allows the third-party online services to utilize Sony's login, but we haven't seen any evidence of that, yet. The bottom line is that if Sony's online complexity varies on a game-by-game basis, then it will continue to suffer in comparison to Xbox Live.

        PS- I should note that XBL multiplayer is by no means perfect across all games. Lag is reported as an issue in some games while being a virtual non-factor (except on a connection-by-connection basis) in others, so obviously there is still code that depends on the developer. MS and developers still have some work to do in this area, but as far as convenience and ease of use they seem to have things down pat.

        • Mod parent :) (Score:4, Insightful)

          by stunt_penguin (906223) on Saturday October 14 2006, @04:47PM (#16439223)
          This is an excellent point.

          It's not only an excellent point, it's the point. I can't see Sony getting their online service right for another year- they need a unifying framework that all of their game developers can use to provide one login, one matchmaking service and one game update platform.

          Microsoft had it 80% sussed with the Xbox (there was no tangible dashboard, but the basic core was there) and are doing extremely well with the 360's service; sony have, it seems, only reached the 30% mark :|
        • This is an excellent point. PS3 developers/publishers are either rolling their own or using services like XFire or Gamespy to get their games online. That could (based on the history of the PS2) mean multiple logins to access multiple games.

          RTFA, it's single sign-on. It's in the page one.
      • One thing the article doesn't go into is what Sony is planning to do in response to Xbox Live's gamerscore and achievements system. They mentioned a while ago something similar called "Entitlements", but it would have been nice to hear more. As neat as the Friends notification and system are on Xbox Live, it's really the gamerscore that I find really cool. My friends and co-workers are often competing/comparing scores and achievements, and it's gotten to be a bit competitive. I know it's not something every

    • Troll.

      <sarcasm> Heck, games are just pushing pixels onto a screen and handling user input, what's so hard about that? For online games you just sprinkle some packet handling in there. Should take you like half an hour to do all that.

      I mean, operating systems just use standard hardware (e.g., paging and protection) and some standard protocols (e.g., SATA, USB), and what's so hard about them? Compilers? I wrote three last week, and didn't even stoop to use a parser generator. This afternoon I thi

    • Heh. Not everyone feels the same way about Steam.

      I've had to reinstall it about 5 times. I've fought with it to get it to recognize games I have installed. For someone without limitless free time, auto updating (especially without knowing how long it's going to take) just cuts into what little gaming time I have. I hate having to shut down my net connection just to run Steam if I want to enjoy my 30 minute gaming window instead of spending 10 minutes updating.

      It's stopped working, lost games, and yes, it ha

    • Re:The Xbox 360 Just Became Massively Overpriced (Score:5, Insightful)

      by dlim (928138) on Saturday October 14 2006, @02:15PM (#16438187) Journal
      I suspect this is just some anonymous flamebait, but still, you're not really making a proper comparison.

      You compare:
      This amazing and free online network
      to
      Needs to have 50 dollars every year to play online - add 200-250 dollars to the system over four to five years
      As others have stated, the Xbox Live does have a free service as well, and I saw nothing in the article describing free online multiplayer gaming (which is mostly what you pay for on Live).

      You compare:
      1080p games
      to
      no 1080p or high quality audio output
      The Xbox 360 is supporting 1080p [slashdot.org] following the fall 2006 update, which I believe is scheduled to be distributed prior to the PS3 launch. If that's a result of the competition from the PS3, great. But it really isn't a selling point right now. Also, the Xbox 360 does support digital surround sound audio. You don't make it clear what is better about the PS3's audio.

      HDMI
      - You are correct that the Xbox 360 doesn't have an HDMI connector, but I believe it's $600 for a PS3 with one.

      You compare:
      20 gig harddrive that can be upgraded to any size from any computer store
      to
      Can't upgrade the harddrive
      The article doesn't say the hard drive is upgradeable. Are you making it up? I remember not putting my PS2 online because I had to pay $50 for a special 10/100 network adapter that fit the PS3, when a generic one cost $10. I'm not convinced there will be an easy way to upgrade the hard drive without buying proprietary hardware. This is Sony after all. (BetaMax, MiniDisc, MemoryStick, BluRay) etc. And are you sure opening the box won't void your warranty?

      And let's not even go into the ridiculously marked-up 360 peripherals...
      Are you claiming that the PS3's peripherals will be dirt cheap? (See comment above about $50 PS2 network adapter.)

      How is anyone modding this "Insightful"?
      • As others have stated, the Xbox Live does have a free service as well, and I saw nothing in the article describing free online multiplayer gaming (which is mostly what you pay for on Live).

        Playing online is free on Sony's PS3 network, just like it is on PS2. PS3 online gameing: free. Playing on Live costs money.

        You are correct that the Xbox 360 doesn't have an HDMI connector, but I believe it's $600 for a PS3 with one.

        $500 in US. $430 in Japan. All PS3s have HDMI connectors, not just the expensive one (was
        • So, at least so far, the cost of peripherals for the PS3 looks pretty reasonable.

          Thank you. Your post was reasonable and informative, I daresay one of the only ones in this whole thread.

          • you can always plug in any standard USB keyboard

            But will first-person shooters for PS3 recognize a standard USB keyboard and a standard USB mouse as game controllers, or does Sony require that the keyboard and mouse controllers be ignored during game play? And can players connect and use any old USB HID joysticks as a wired game controller, or does it have to be a Sony brand joystick?

      • I remember not putting my PS2 online because I had to pay $50 for a special 10/100 network adapter that fit the PS3, when a generic one cost $10.

        Those generic ones are $10 because they're produced in enormous quantities for completely generic machines. After all, everything has a PCI slot, so the buyer market is huge. $50 for a custom adapter for a specific machine is really not in the realm of "overpriced".
    • Why oh why will MS not have an optional Extreme pack for a 80gig HD is a mystery, or at least
      allow 3rd parties the permission to do it if some dick at MS thinks theres not a big enough market for it.

      Is it really that much to ask for MS to allow any HD to be plugged in, just replace and 'reinstall' from
      a dvd.
        • See, that's why you gotta work 70 hour weeks. So you can buy lots of toys :)
          • I'd say you have to take a hard look at your spending if you have trouble saving 500 dollars at 25 per.

            Even with a four-year degree, how do I get a job that pays $25 per hour and compete with the offshore outsourcing providers who pay their workers $5 per hour? Monster and CareerBuilder have not been helpful. It's hard to find even minimum wage work in some parts of the United States.

      • I use a game console to play games too. However, if one of the consoles supports a next-gen video format such as Blu-Ray out of the box, and the others don't, then the odds that I'll buy one will be firmly stacked in its favour.

        If you cast your mind back a few years, back to when DVD players were actually a costly purchase, a lot of people bought the PS2 specifically because it had DVD support. Granted, the jump between DVD and Blu-Ray isn't perhaps as significant as the jump between VHS and DVD, but it's
        • The SPEs are like real processors, ie the full instructions that you usually get with motorola, 40 branches, 40 moves, complex adds/subs/mults, what more do you want?
          printf in assembly?

          Either you can 'send code' to the SPE and run it, or the linux OS wont allow you to do it, but will allow you to use built in
          libraries that use the SPE to do common functions/opperations, kind of like having 200 macros/apis with enough flexibility
          that you wont be needing to make your own SPE code.

          So go read the SPE assembly d

      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by kubevubin (906716)
        I've never used Xbox Live, so I have a question concerning it: Are less popular or older games ever removed from the service, rendering them unplayable online thereafter? EA likes to remove online support for the PlayStation versions of older (as in two years old) sports titles in order to force players to purchase a newer version. Does this occur with the titles that are playable on Xbox Live, by chance? If not, then it makes perfect sense that EA would be a bit hesitant to support Xbox Live in the beginni

        • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

          by damiangerous (218679)
          EA doesn't actually use XBL. They are the only exception I know of that is allowed to use their own service. I'm sure one of their main reasons was so that they can pull support. As far as I know no game's support has ever been removed from XBL.

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