often abbreviated as PSN, is a free online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service provided/run by Sony Computer Entertainment for use with the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable video game consoles. As of June 2010, there are now over 50 million registered PlayStation Network accounts worldwide.
History
On May 15, 2006, Sony announced a unified online service for the PlayStation 3 system at the 2006 PlayStation Business Briefing meeting in Tokyo, tentatively named "PlayStation Network Platform". Sony also confirmed that the service will always be connected, free, and include multiplayer , The full list of features available at launch were announced at their TGS 2006 press conference. When the network launched, the registration interface could only be accessed through the PS3 or PSP system interfaces. This has been changed since to allow users to sign up from the PlayStation Network website.
At the Tokyo Game Show on September 21, 2006, it was revealed that users will be able to download some of the PlayStation and PSP titles from the PlayStation Network for about US$5–$15, starting with those with the smallest game data.
On May 8, 2007 Sony Computer Entertainment announced PlayStation Network Cards, a form of electronic money that can be used with the Store. PlayStation Network Tickets, available in units of 1,000, 3,000, 5,000, and 10,000 yen, can be purchased at convenience stores throughout Japan. Each ticket contains a 12 character alphanumeric code which can be input on the PlayStation Network to place credits in the virtual wallet. The tickets are available through electronic kiosks at 26,000 convenience stores, including Lawsons, Family Mart, Daily Yamazaki, Ministop and Sunkus. They are also available at 26,000 post office ATMs, although registration is required first at a special mobile website.
A similar PlayStation Network card system based on actual cards instead of tickets was introduced in South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan in Summer 2007 and in Spring 2008 in North America. And latterly the United Kingdom and the EU in October 2009. PlayStation Network Card was also launched in Malaysia in June 2009 in conjunction with the launch of the local PlayStation Store.
On June 29, 2010, a premium PSN subscription service was launched on top of the free PSN service called PlayStation Plus offering exclusive content to its subscribers.
User registration
Registration is performed via the PlayStation 3 console, a PlayStation Portable or a PC. Two types of accounts can be created; Master accounts and Sub accounts. Master accounts allow full access to all settings, including parental control, but the Master must be over the age of 18 to create an account. Sub accounts can subsequently be created with desired restrictions set by the master account holder.
Since Master/Sub accounts are not linked to the PlayStation 3 serial number, which allows users to buy and sell used consoles, they can be used with different consoles as a guest user; therefore a single console can have multiple Master accounts. Although unregistered users can access and browse the PlayStation Store, registration is required to purchase items. Once purchased, items can be downloaded from the PlayStation Store to up to five consoles, however, if the owner account is deleted from a console, the content becomes invalid and is locked.
PlayStation Network launched in November 2006 to coincide with the launch of the PlayStation 3 console in North America and Japan. Due to the delay of the European launch to March 2007, Sony allowed residents of Europe to pre-register their PlayStation Network via PC in order to reserve their favored PSN ID, allowing them to quickly retrieve their details on the day of release.
Services
The full list of current services for PlayStation Network and PlayStation Plus are as follows:
Account
Online Instruction Manuals
Profiles, a user profile card similar in concept to a Gamercard
Sign-in ID/Online-ID
User Registration of Master/Sub accounts
PlayStation video game consoles warranty (Asia only except Japan and Vietnam)
Communication/Community
Friend List allowing for up to 100 players
Instant messaging integration
Lobbies/matchmaking for instant online gaming
Multiplayer gameplay, where a user can link up 7 PS3 controllers for local gameplay, or connect online to many other players.
Scores/Ranking for player comparison
Trophies rewarded for achieving goals in certain games
Virtual presence/Avatars
Voice/video chat/cross game (text only) chat room
(Bluetooth/USB Headset or PlayStation Eye, or an Eye Toy required)
(Video chat only requires a webcam as the cams have microphones built in. Text Chat can be used in game)
adhoc Party for PlayStation Portable
Internet Browser and Google search engine
Life with PlayStation
PlayStation Home
Commerce/Entertainment
PlayStation Store
FirstPlay (UK only)
Qore (North America only)
VidZone (Europe & Oceania only)
ABC iView (via link, Australia only)
BBC iPlayer (via link, UK only)
MLB.tv (United States & Canada only)
Netflix Instant Queue streaming (United States only)
now TV (application, Hong Kong only)
RTE Player (via link, Republic of Ireland only)
TVNZ ondemand (via link, New Zealand only)
Features
Block List, for blocking other users from contact
Comments, for display on gamer profiles
Parental Control, limiting children's BD, DVD and Internet Browser access ("Security Settings").
Players Met, which lists the last 50 players a user has played with.
System Update- PS3 and PSP
Trophy count, which is a total of a player's trophies.
What's New
PlayStation Plus
Upcoming Services:
Mubi (Europe & Oceania only)
Canceled Services:
Room for PlayStation Portable - Development halted on April 15, 2010
User information
Online ID
An online ID is the player's username on the PlayStation Network. An online ID used online must be unique and can be up to 16 characters long, including numbers, letters, hyphens and underscores. Online IDs cannot be changed and the system supports one PlayStation Network account per user (of which there can be sixteen). Online IDs are not to be confused with the system's usernames. Each user can be named (and renamed), and the online ID is connected to that user.
Online IDs also contain avatars, often associated with certain games or game characters. Downloadable avatars (including premium ones) were made possible with firmware 3.0,[but will be made available on the PlayStation Store in time. These avatars are not to be confused with the PlayStation Home avatars, which are 3D representations of the user only used in Home.
Sign-in ID
A sign-in ID is the player's email on the PlayStation Network[23] and is used to sign into any PlayStation Network-related service. Although the online ID is displayed instead, users may only use their email addresses to sign in. The sign-in ID is also used by Sony to send updates and promotional material and is attached to the user's online ID automatically.
Trophies
See List of PlayStation 3 games and List of downloadable PlayStation 3 games for a list of titles that support PlayStation 3 Trophies and Achievement (video gaming) for a general description of the concept of achievements/trophies in computer and video gaming.
"Trophies" are an accomplishment tracking system, introduced in the PlayStation 3 system software 2.40 update in July 2008.
The four different types of trophies; bronze, silver, gold and platinum are awarded to players for making specific accomplishments (e.g. Completing a level or defeating a certain number of enemies) or reaching certain milestones in games (e.g. reaching a "pro" rank online). A gold, silver or bronze trophy is normally awarded based on the difficulty of the accomplishment with each trophy contributing to a 'level' system linked to a player's PlayStation Network profile, with gold trophies contributing more experience level advancement than silver, and silver contributing more experience than bronze. A platinum trophy is automatically awarded to the player once they unlock all other trophies in a game, excluding extra trophies that can only be obtained through downloadable content, and contribute more experience than a gold trophy. However, smaller games such as certain PlayStation Network titles, lack a platinum trophy.Trophies are displayed on a player's PlayStation Network profile screen, which also shows their level.
On November 20, 2008, Sony announced that trophy support would be mandatory for all games submitted to Sony for certification from the beginning of January 2009.
Portable IDs
A Portable ID is a small, automatically-generated graphic available to PlayStation Network users in Europe and North America through their respective PlayStation websites. Intended for use as forum signatures and the like, these graphics contain information such as the user's trophy level, number of trophies and recently obtained trophies. Each user is able to log into their PSN account using a web browser to access and customize their personal Portable ID and are then given a unique URL for the graphic which they can use to display their ID elsewhere on the internet. The graphic is automatically updated regularly to display recent trophy information. Several third-party websites offer similar graphics (commonly referred to as "trophy cards") as both free and paid services which either update the graphic automatically from the user's official Portable ID, from the PlayStation Network or are updated manually by the user.
User profile
The PlayStation Network profile is an information panel used to summarize certain PSN information. The information displayed on these profiles includes the user's avatar and PSN name as well as information such as languages, a comment and an "About me" section if the user chooses to provide it. The profile also includes a summary of the player's Trophy Level, the eight most recently collected Trophies and the number of Trophies the player has collected. A player's user profile can be viewed via the XrossMediaBar, or online through the PlayStation website.,
Play Station Store,
PlayStation Store is an online shopping-based service for the PlayStation Network. The store uses both physical currency and PlayStation Network Cards. The PlayStation Store's gaming content is updated every Tuesday with content such as full games, game demos, game add-ons, game trailers, movie trailers, XMB wallpapers and XMB themes.
Video content such as films and television shows are also available from the PlayStation Store on the PlayStation 3 and PSP and will be made available on some new Sony BRAVIA televisions, VAIO laptop computers and Sony Blu-ray Disc players from February 2010.
Video download service
On April 15, 2008, Peter Dille, SCE Senior Vice President of Marketing & PlayStation Network, announced that a video download service consisting of full-length TV shows and movies would be launching on the network in 2008. Speaking at Sony’s mid-term strategy meeting on 26 June 2008, SCE president Kaz Hirai confirmed that the video download service would launch on the PlayStation Network during the summer, initially in North America and then in other countries at later dates. Further information was released during the E3 2008 press conference, where SCEA CEO Jack Tretton revealed that movies and TV shows would be available in full and/or rental form, and would be situated in a separate section of the PlayStation Store. Many major studios are participating in the video download service, including Sony Pictures, MGM content under Sony and WB, Lions Gate Entertainment, Warner Bros. Pictures, Walt Disney Pictures and Paramount Pictures. The service officially launched in the United States on July 15, 2008, the same day as Sony's E3 press conference.
The service was expanded to the UK, France, Germany and Spain on 20 November 2009. The service will be launched in other territories in Summer 2010. At the same time Sony started offering movies and TV Shows in Japan whereas before they only offered anime and manga shows. The service was launched in Italy on the 18th May 2010 and Australia on the 20th May 2010. Sony anounced at their E3 2010 press conference that the video service will hit Canada on July 1st, with other territories to follow the same month.,
Qore for the PlayStation Network,
Qore (pronounced /ˈkɔər/ "core"), presented by the PlayStation Network, announced on June 3, 2008 by SCEA, is a subscription-based interactive online magazine for the PlayStation Network, which launched on the PlayStation Store in North America on June 5, 2008.
FirstPlay (previously known as Official PlayStation Magazine HD or OPMHD) is an electronic magazine similar to Qore, produced by Future Publishing. Released in April 2010, it is available to PlayStation 3 users via the PlayStation Store in the UK. Like Qore, FirstPlay offers exclusive videos, demos and downloads. but is released weekly instead of monthly.
PSOne Classics,
This article may contain inappropriate or misinterpreted citations that do not verify the text. Please help improve this article by checking for inaccuracies. (help, talk, get involved!) (June 2010)
Main article: List of PSOne Classics
PSOne Classics, launched on May 3, 2007,[45] is a service which allows PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable users to download and play PlayStation games through the use of emulation.,
Play Station Plus,
PlayStation Plus
Developer Sony Computer Entertainment
Type Premium online service
Launched June 29, 2010
Platform PlayStation 3
Website Official US website
PlayStation Plus (commonly abbreviated 'PS+' and occasionally referred to as 'PSN Plus') is a premium PlayStation Network subscription service that was officially unveiled at E3 2010 by Jack Tretton, President and CEO of SCEA. Rumors of such service had been in speculation since Kaz Hirai's announcement at TGS 2009 of a possible paid service for PSN but with the current PSN service still available. Launched alongside PS3 firmware 3.40 and PSP firmware 6.30 on June 29, 2010, the paid-for subscription service provides users with enhanced services on the PlayStation Network, on top of the current PSN service which is still available with all of its features. These enhancements include the ability to have demos, game and system software updates download automatically to the PlayStation 3. Subscribers also get early or exclusive access to some betas, game demos, premium downloadable content and other PlayStation Store items as well as a free subscription to Qore. Users may choose to purchase either a one-year or a three-month subscription to PlayStation Plus.
SCEA is offering a limited time offer for the one-year subscription, which is an additional three-months for free, while SCEE is offering one-year subscribers a digital copy of LittleBigPlanet for a limited time. Regular free bonuses are also made available. These include PlayStation Store discounts and free PlayStation Network games and DLC, PSone Classics and PlayStation Minis which the user will own for the duration of their subscription as well as themes and avatars which the user can keep after their subscription has lapsed. PlayStation Plus also offers "Full Game Trials" of some PlayStation Network and retail games, allowing the user to download the full game and use it for one hour. Users can later purchase the game and continue their progress. For SCEA, the first Full Game Trial is for inFamous[47], while European subscribers get to try out Shatter and Savage Moon[48]. In addition, users who are PlayStation Plus subscribers have the PlayStation Plus icon by their PSN ID. Users can only sign up for PlayStation Plus through the PlayStation Store via the PS3.,
Play Station.Blog,
PlayStation.Blog is an online PlayStation focused gaming blog which is part of the PlayStation Network. It was launched on June 11, 2007 and since its launch it has featured numerous interviews with both third-party companies such as Square Enix as well as posts from high-ranking Sony Computer Entertainment executives such as Jack Tretton, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sony Computer Entertainment. A sub-site of the blog called PlayStation.Blog Share was launched on March 17, 2010 and allowed readers of the blog as well as users of the PlayStation.Blog to submit ideas to the PlayStation team about anything PlayStation-related as well as vote on the ideas of other submissions.
Play Station Home,
PlayStation Home is a virtual community-based service for the PlayStation Network, announced during the 2007 Game Developers Conference. Home allows users to create a custom avatar, which can be made to suit the user's liking. Users can decorate their avatar's personal apartment ("HomeSpace") with default, bought, or won items. Users can shop for new items to express themselves more through their avatars or HomeSpace. Similar to Second Life, users interact and connect with friends and customise content in a virtual world. Home also acts as a meeting place for users that want to play multiplayer games with others.
A closed beta began in Europe from May 2007 and expanded to other territories soon after. Home was delayed and expanded several times before initially releasing.The Open Beta test was started on December 11, 2008. Home is available directly from the PlayStation 3 XrossMediaBar. Membership is free, and only requires a PSN account.
Home is the host to avatars, a virtual economy, personal spaces and clubs. It features places to meet and interact, dedicated game spaces, developer spaces, company spaces, and events. The service undergoes a weekly maintenance and frequent updates. Xi, a once notable feature in Home, is the world's first console-based Alternate Reality Game developed by nDreams. Adventures, puzzles and spaces were set up to continuously puzzle those who participated in finding clues. The meaning of Xi and the mysterious character "Jess" were the objects of study in this game.
On December 17, 2009, a new massively multiplayer online game was released for and exclusive to PlayStation Home. The game is called Sodium and is a four part game, with the first part being Sodium One. Sodium One is a combination of a full tank shooting game, called "Salt Shooter", and other associated mini-games that starts somewhere in the Nevada desert. The game was developed by Outso and published by Lockwood Publishing. Due to the nature of Home, the game will continue to grow and expand as Home does. New games, virtual items, and community events will continually be added.
Netflix
In October 2009 following the expiration of an exclusivity deal with Microsoft, Netflix and Sony Computer Entertainment announced that the service would also be available on the PlayStation 3 from November 2009. The set-up will be similar to that on the Xbox 360, allowing Netflix subscribers to stream movies and TV shows from their Instant Queue to watch on the console. Unlike on the Xbox 360, the Netflix application will be available on a Blu-ray disc initially (available for free to subscribers) and will have to be used every time to instantly view, but a downloadable application will be made available in October 2010. Netflix is not yet available in Canada.
Facebook
On November 18, 2009, Sony released PS3 system update 3.10 which incorporates Facebook into the PS3. With the update, users have the option to automatically update their Facebook News Feeds with Trophy and PlayStation Store activity. The update also allows developers to set specific criteria in their titles to publish additional game information to the user's Facebook News Feed.
What's New
What's New
The XMB's PSN section, depicting the What's New screen automatically animating.
What's New was released on September 1, 2009, with PlayStation 3 system software 3.00. The feature was to replace the existing [Information Board], which displayed news from the PlayStation website associated with the user's region. The concept was developed further into a major PlayStation Network feature, with the [ Indicator] to display a ticker of all content, excluding recently played content (currently in North America and Japan only).
The system displays the What's New screen by default instead of the [Games] menu (or [Video] menu, if a movie was inserted) when starting up. What's New automatically animates even without opening the application, just by hovering over it. The application has four sections: "Our Pick", "Recently Played",, and new content available in PlayStation Store. There are four kinds of content the What's New screen displays and links to, on the sections. "Recently Played" displays the user's recently played games and online services only, whereas, the other sections can contain website links, links to play videos, and access to selected sections of the PlayStation Store.
The PlayStation Store icons in the [Game] and [Video] section similarly to the What's New screen, except that they only display and link to games and the Video Store in the PlayStation Store, respectively.
Life with PlayStation
The Life with PlayStation application showing weather forecasts and news headlines for New York City. Screenshot taken at approximately 8pm PST.
Life with PlayStation, released on 18 September 2008, shows virtual globe data along with the existing Folding@home functionality. The application also provides the user with access to three other information "channels", the Live Channel; the World Heritage channel and the United Village channel.
PlayStation Network on other platforms
In May 2009, Sony announced their intention to make the PlayStation Network an "open system". This change will facilitate the use of the PSN in devices other than the PlayStation 3 but no specific plans have yet been announced. Sony CEO, Howard Stringer said that the PSN has a lot of potential and that only having it available on the PlayStation 3 was limiting the scale of the service.
Availability
PlayStation Network is currently available in 57 countries, although PlayStation Store is only available on selected markets.
PlayStation Network availability in the world
Argentina,Australia,Austria,Bahrain,Belgium,Brazil,Bulgaria,Canada,Chile,Colombia,Croatia,Cyprus,Czech Republic,Denmark,Finland,France,Germany,Greece,HongKong,Iceland,India,Indonesia,Ireland,
Italy,Japan,Kuwait,Lebanon,Luxembourg,Malaysia,Malta,Mexico,Netherlands,New Zealand,Norway,Oman,Peru,Poland,Portugal,Puerto Rico,Qatar,Romania,Russia,
Saudi Arabia,Singapore,Slovakia,Slovenia,South Africa,South Korea,Spain,Sweden,Switzerland,Taiwan,Thailand,Turkey,
United Arab Emirates,United Kingdom,United States
Italy,Japan,Kuwait,Lebanon,Luxembourg,Malaysia,Malta,Mexico,Netherlands,New Zealand,Norway,Oman,Peru,Poland,Portugal,Puerto Rico,Qatar,Romania,Russia,
Saudi Arabia,Singapore,Slovakia,Slovenia,South Africa,South Korea,Spain,Sweden,Switzerland,Taiwan,Thailand,Turkey,
United Arab Emirates,United Kingdom,United States
Ukraine, Egypt, Morocco, Venezuela and China)
PlayStation Network if they provide an address, located in a supported country.
PlayStation Network if they provide an address, located in a supported country.
(source:wikipedia)
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