PlayStation Network, often abbreviated to PSN in the gaming community, is Sony's free online service provided for use with their PlayStation 3 [1] and PlayStation Portable video game consoles.
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User registration
Registration is performed via the PlayStation 3 console or a personal computer. Two types of accounts can be created, master accounts and sub accounts. The master account, as the name suggests, allows full access to all settings including parental control but the master has to be over the age of 18 to create an account. Sub accounts can subsequently be created with desired restrictions set and monitored by the master account holder.[2]. Since master/sub accounts are not linked with the PS3 serial number, which allows users to buy and sell used consoles, they can be used with different physical consoles as a guest user. Therefore a single PS3 console can have multiple master accounts. A PSN registration is required for the PlayStation Store access and a guest user's account can be used to download PSN Store purchased items to a friend's console, but an account is not required to access the PS3's own web browser. The ability to use PlayStation Store content licenses for re-download is limited to five different PlayStation 3 consoles though. The PS3 console has been launched in most areas as of March 23, 2007. Some sites speculated that potential PS3 customers from outside of Japan and the US would be able to pre-register their favorite usernames online at the PlayStation Store.[3] This proved to be true, as European gamers were able to register prior to the March 23 release using their PC, giving the added benefit of being able to quickly pre-register their details and more importantly, secure their chosen and world unique username.[4].
Services
On May 15, 2006, at the PlayStation Business Conference, Sony confirmed that they were preparing for an online service tentatively named PlayStation Network Platform with free online play. Sony also announced some new features at their TGS 2006 conference. The full list of planned services for the PlayStation Network Platform is as follows.[1]
- Communication/Community
- Account created through user registration
- Lobbies/Matchmaking
- Scores/Ranking
- Game data upload/download
- Presence/Friend List/Avatar (Gamers may also choose to use their own individual friends list)
- Voice/Video Chat
- Messaging
- Free Internet Browser
- PlayStation Home
- Account
- User Registration
- Single Login ID/Handlename issue
- Commerce
PlayStation Store
PlayStation Store is an online shopping service based service for the PlayStation Network which is available for both the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable consoles. The store uses actual currency and PlayStation Network Cards. The PlayStation Store receives an update every Thursday that either includes new demos, game trailers, and even a downloadable game that saves directly to your hard drive for easy access.
PlayStation Home
PlayStation Home is a community based service for the PlayStation Network which will become freely available when it launches in early 2008. Home allows users to create an avatar character for their PlayStation 3 console. This avatar will get their own house, which can be decorated with items players can receive in several achievements. Also included in the online virtual world is the ability to meet other PS3 users, interact, play games, show friends different types of media saved on the PS3 hard drive, and much more. In the future home will also expand, allowing players to have more items such as clothing, luxury housing, household items, which can be purchased via PlayStation Store.
Features
- 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 that are not free are paid-for downloadable content and subscriptions to premium services, such as massively multiplayer online games.
- The PlayStation 3 has a fully functional web browser, developed internally by Sony. Much like the PSP browser, the PS3 browser also supports bookmarks and most other standard features found in modern web browsers. Its support of JavaScript and Flash is limited; while YouTube is fully accessible, Flash content of IGN and GameTrailers, for example, is not. Critics have complained that the browser is almost impossible to use without a keyboard, and that loading times are substantially slower than those on a computer, or on the Nintendo Wii.
References
- ^ a b Hirohiko Niizumi, Tor Thorsen. "PlayStation Network Platform detailed", GameSpot, March 15, 2006.
- ^ Sony PLAYSTATION®3 System Software Online User's Guide. Retrieved on 2007-07-09.
- ^ Three Speech semi-official Sony PLAYSTATION®3 blog site. Retrieved on 2007-07-09.
- ^ Sony European Customer Registration. Retrieved on 2007-07-09.
External links
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| Consoles | PlayStation · PlayStation 2 · PSX · PlayStation 3 |
| Handhelds | PocketStation · PlayStation Portable (Slim and Lite) |
| Arcade boards | System 11 · System 246 |
| Games | PlayStation Games · PlayStation 2 Games · PlayStation 3 Games · PSP Games · PlayStation Network Games · Greatest Hits · Platinum |
| Online Services | PlayStation Network · PlayStation Store · Home · Central Station |
| Controllers | Analog Joystick · Dual Analog · DualShock · Sixaxis |
| Cameras | EyeToy · PlayStation Eye · Go!Cam |
| Kits | Net Yaroze · Linux for PS2 · Linux for PS3 |
| System Software | PS3 · PSP · XrossMediaBar |
| Media | PlayStation: The Official Magazine · PSM3 · Official PlayStation Magazine |
