Sony's wooing Hollywood for PS3 - Video download service set for summer
Sony is launching its long-promised video download service on the PlayStation 3 this summer, though it has yet to get most of Hollywood aboard.
At a Tokyo press conference on Thursday, vidgame topper Kaz Hirai announced plans to allow users to download movies and TV shows via the PS3 game console starting this summer in the U.S. and soon thereafter in Europe and Asia. Company has said such a service was in the works since the PS3 debuted in 2006.
However, insiders at numerous studios said they don't yet have deals in place to offer their movies on the PS3. Sony Pictures is believed to be the only one already confirmed.
Sources in discussion with Sony also said that the conglom is aiming to take the service beyond the type of rentals already available on Microsoft's Xbox 360, Apple's iTunes and numerous other websites. That could include the ability to move downloads from the PS3 to the portable PSP game device and to transfer copies onto the PS3 and PSP from a Blu-ray disc.
Videogame consoles are seen by many in Hollywood as a lucrative tool for Internet video downloads since they're already connected to the TV. Microsoft's Xbox Live Video Marketplace is believed to be the second most successful Internet videostore after iTunes.
Sony will likely unveil details about its videostore at the E3 confab in Los Angeles next month. At the same event, Microsoft is expected to announce a partnership with Netflix under which users will be able to stream movies from that company's "watch now" service onto a TV via the Xbox 360.
Topper Howard Stringer also said Sony will launch a streaming video service for its new line of Internet-connected Bravia television sets this fall. The first pic will be Sony's "Hancock," which will be available to stream on Bravia TVs before it's released on DVD.
Stringer said that over the next three fiscal years -- through March 2011 -- Sony intends to put Internet connections in 90% of its electronic devices.
Other goals include bringing the videogames group into the black this fiscal year; doubling earnings from Brazil, Russia, India and China to 2 billion yen ($18.6 billion) by fiscal 2010; and reaching 5% operating profits overall.
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suuuuure
I should clarify ... that IS the Wii News browser ... the picture below it is the PS3 one with Live video ... (edited Op for clarity)
But since Sony is going for an online rental service, why not look at doing things differently than Microsoft's botched attempt? Offer subscription based rental service? unlimited HD rentals for $9.99 a month? so much better than having straight fixed pricing that after a month or so suddenly becomes useless because retail sells the same product physically for cheaper. Or even better include Full game rentals. Some of these bigwigs must never have had Sega Channel.
PS3 News: Now With HD Globe!
Yep.
Sony really dropped the ball on that in my opinion.
While Blu Ray and HD DD can co-exist they directly compete in many key markets.
In fact, by the very nature of people who own HD TVs it is likely the digital stuff will take off more.
I've always said Blu Ray was too expensive and too late. Yeah, win the format war and become the default HD solid state media, right about the same time digital and online really takes off, for less money and less effort for the consumer.
Not if there is perceived value in a) owning the disc, b) not having to install a bigger HDD in your PS3, c) Sony wants to sell to people other than PS3 owners, etc.
The DD method has its benefits (instant!) but a lot of drawbacks too. So far they've done a good job with the PS store, but once Sony Pictures get's involved, I can see them screwing it all up with OMG TEH PIRATES!
I'd like it to work, and would use it, but I don't think discs have anything to worry abotu for awhile.
Well you can only buy the SD version of the movie through their digital distribution. The HD version is only available for rental. If you want to own the movie in HD, you have to buy the Blu-ray disc. Is that really still competing with itself?
I know it's wishful thinking and they probably just slapped some random screen on the PSP and that TV, but it still gets me hot.
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It's actually old news. Yes, you can play LAIR on your PSP. I've done it myself, although the controls didn't work so well since you need motion controls to pull off a bunch of shit. I wonder if that image means they've added proper controls to it.
Basically it just streams the video to your PSP and you can play it on the system. A few games already allow this. It's not actually running off the PSP hardware, so the only limitation is really the control scheme.
Holy shit where have I been? I thought it was only PS1 games.
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I like Netflix. A lot. They say they are "working to get [...] game console manufacturers to make their devices ready for instant streaming", but now that they are in some ways competing with Sony, Sony would probably like to keep them out.
Which would actually be a completely silly thing for Sony to do, because the two are basically different markets. You won't find Hancock on Netflix Watch Instantly, and I don't imagine you'll find King Corn, a hard-to-find documentary about the dirty side of the US corn industry, on the Playstation Store.
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Certainly the first part would never happen, and I think the second thing you suggest seems quite likely even if more studios start doing instant stream licensing with Netflix, but what I'm concerned about is the streaming client software itself.
What I'm talking about here is basically the software that runs on this device. Netflix has pretty much said they want to get that running on as many of the 7th-gen consoles as possible, and while prior to this I could imagine Sony saying "oh, sure, we'll put your client software on the PS Store and it can install right into XMB, no probs" now I can see them saying "oh, well, um, our network systems division will have to look into that; we can arrange a conference call sometime if our senior VP of third-party content administration finishes his golf tournament..."
PSN:RevDrGalactus/NN:RevDrGalactus/Steam
I've never even heard of it so its news to me. Not to mention it seems unclear what the full extent of sony's DD service will be as opposed to what netflix is offering. However if someone wants you to sell cars for them and split the profits while you yourself are already producing cars to sell *shrug* thems the breaks.
Edit: after further reading about both I doubt sony is going to be necessarily competing with netflix. If someone has a PS3 and wants to spend an extra 100 bucks for the box to stream their videos, good for them. However your PS3 with offer you that for a more marginal price than 100 dollars, though it would most likely be more limited in content.
I think having more ways to access movies is a good thing for consumers. I've used the Xbox LIVE Video Marketplace a few times and have been pleased with it. There's also Apple TV and Hulu.com as well. However, IMHO, they won't really take off unless they have access to all video media (TV and movies) across all studios.
I was pretty frustrated at not being able to find several movies on LIVE Video Marketplace, until I realized they were published by Sony Pictures, and thus not going to be on the "competitor's" video service. I wonder if Sony is going to have a similar problem, with studios not wanting to release their content on the service.
It's going to be a bloody arms race over studios, the same way we saw one for the music industry and labels, over the next few years.
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