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"PSN" redirects here. For other uses, see PSN (disambiguation).
PlayStation Network, often abbreviated to PSN within the gaming community, is a free online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service provided by Sony Computer Entertainment for use with the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable video game consoles,[2] as well as PlayStation.com. As of November 17, 2008, there are 14 million active registered PlayStation Network accounts worldwide, with users having made 273 million downloads.[3]
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.[4] 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. Registration to PlayStation Network is required for access to the PlayStation Store, although a guest user's account can be used to download purchased items to a friend's console, but an account is not required to access the console's web browser. The ability to use PlayStation Store content licenses for re-download is limited to five different PlayStation 3 consoles. 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 favoured PSN ID, allowing them to quickly retrieve their details on the day of release.[5] ServicesOn May 15, 2006, at the PlayStation Business Conference, Sony unveiled their online service for the PlayStation 3, tentatively named "PlayStation Network Platform" with free online play. The full list of features available at launch were announced at their TGS 2006 press conference. The full list of current and planned services for PlayStation Network are as follows:
PlayStation StorePlayStation Store is an online shopping-based service for the PlayStation Network. The store uses both physical currency and PlayStation Network Cards. The PlayStation Store updates every Thursday (save certain exceptions) with content such as full games, game demos, game add-ons, game trailers, movie trailers, XMB wallpapers, XMB themes, movies and TV shows. Video download servicePeter Dille, SCE Senior Vice President of Marketing & PlayStation Network, announced on the official PlayStation.Blog 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 the 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, Lionsgate, Warner Bros, Disney and Paramount Pictures. The service officially launched in North America on July 15, 2008, the same day as Sony's E3 press conference.[6][7] QoreOn June 3, 2008, SCEA announced a new service, Qore (pronounced "core"), would launch on the PlayStation Store in North America on June 5, 2008. In a press release published on the Official PlayStation Blog, Qore: Presented by the PlayStation Network is described as "a highly interactive, monthly lifestyle gaming program covering the world inside PlayStation is on its way to PS3."[8] A similar product, PlayStation Official Magazine HD, is being produced by Future Publishing. Weekly episodes will be made available to PS3 users in Europe via the PlayStation Store.[9] PSOne ClassicsPSOne Classics, launched on May 3, 2007, is a service which allows PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable users to download PSOne games directly to their hard drive or Memory Stick for transfer to a PSP. PlayStation HomePlayStation Home is a 3D virtual community-based service for the PlayStation Network. It is currently in its closed beta stage, with an open beta scheduled to launch in the fourth quarter of 2008. However, a release date for the final product has not yet been announced. Home allows users to create their own 3D avatar for their PlayStation 3 console. This avatar will get their own home space, which can be decorated with items players can either purchase via micropayments or receive through games. There is also a virtual world that players can explore and interact with other users, play games, invite friends to their home spaces, and much more. In the future Home will also expand, allowing players to have access to items such as clothing, luxury housing and household items which can be purchased from the PlayStation Store. Trophies
"Trophies" are an achievement system that was introduced in the PlayStation 3 system software 2.40 update.[10] There are four different types of trophies; bronze, silver, gold and platinum. Each trophy contributes to a 'level' system linked to a player's PlayStation Network profile, with gold trophies contributing more experience to your next level than silver, and silver contributing more experience than bronze. A platinum trophy is awarded to the player once they unlock all other trophies in a game. However, smaller games such as certain PlayStation Network titles, lack a platinum trophy.[11] Trophies are displayed on a player's PlayStation Network profile screen, which also shows their level. Each trophy contributes towards the percentage of the players level, eventually levelling up to the next.[11] On November 20 2008, Sony announced that trophy support will be mandatory for all games released from January 2009 onward.[12] Life with PlayStation
On 18 September, 2008 the PlayStation 3's Folding@home application became Life with PlayStation. Along with the existing Folding@home functionality, the application also provides the user with access to information "channels", the first of which being the Live Channel which offers news headlines and weather through a 3D globe. The user can rotate and zoom in to any part of the world to access information provided by Google News, The Weather Channel, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Space Science and Engineering Center, among other sources.[13] At E3 2008, Jack Tretton announced a new partnership between Sony and Google which will allow users to upload video content to YouTube from within games (such as Mainichi Issho). This is also part of the Life with PlayStation service.[14] Features
See alsoReferences
External links
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