In a bid to widen the multimedia appeal of its PlayStation 3 videogames console, Japanese consumer electronics titan Sony Corp. has announced that movie and television downloads will be made available to US-based PS3 owners in the very near future.
Sony confirms upcoming movie and television show content for its PlayStation 3 videogame console. Image: MNgilen/Flickr.
Issued via an official statement, Sony outlined that the upcoming content service -- which has been in development since the console first launched in November of 2006 -- will initially be rolled out in the United States before later shifting focus to cover both European and Asian regions.
Speaking to members of the media in Tokyo, Sony Computer Entertainment president and CEO Kaz Hirai would not divulge specific details related to the PS3’s newest content extension.
However, it is believed that more in-depth information relating directly to launch titles and support studios is expected to be unveiled at next month’s E3 videogames convention in California.
Currently, Sony’s own movie studio is the only confirmed contributor to its new PS3 service, although supply agreements with other major media players are likely to be forthcoming during E3.
Sony’s imminent rollout will arrive as a content rival to Microsoft’s well-established Xbox Live Marketplace, which serves (international) Xbox 360 owners with their console-delivered fix of movie and television media.
Not restricted to just the PlayStation 3, Sony also has plans to introduce a similar content streaming service via its new line of Bravia televisions, which will bring top Hollywood titles to Bravia owners before they are released on conventional DVD.
According to Sony boss Howard Stringer, the company has aspirations to incorporate Internet connectivity into ninety percent of television sets the company manufactures by the year 2011.
In related news, Kaz Hirai has this week torn off his corporate suit and begun beating his chest in the general direction of Microsoft’s Xbox 360, hailing the PlayStation 3 as the only console capable of delivering “true generation quality” from its software portfolio.
“As PlayStation 3 approaches the second anniversary of its release, the release of PS3 software titles with the true generation quality only available on PS3 is accelerating,” trumpeted Hirai, who pointed to Konami’s recently released hit-seller Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots as a prime example of that belief.
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