PS3/PSP/PSN News

Septimus_Prime · August 6, 2008, 4:27am

Here is a thread for PS3/PSP/PSN news. Please do not ever use Kotaku as a credible source for news.

Sony betting on music outside CD market

By Sue Zeidler
LOS ANGELES, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Sony Corp has raised its stake in a shrinking music recording industry, perhaps with a view beyond just selling CDs to a future where songs will play an important role across its various media and devices.
Sony, with interests from cell phones to movies to video games, on Tuesday agreed to buy Bertelsmann’s 50 percent stake in Sony BMG, ending a four-year venture that struggled amid sharply declining industry-wide CD sales.
“It seems to me that Sony has made a corporate decision to double down on recorded music,” said entertainment lawyer Kenneth Freundlich. "Since it’s already in game platforms and electronics, it seems they’re going back to the ‘content is king’ strategy and taking the recorded music forward into these other platforms."
Analysts said owning all of Sony BMG would enable Sony to more easily integrate and license the music catalog into games developed for its PlayStation game console, television programming, mobile phone offerings and even films.
The sale for about $900 million had been expected since Bertelsmann Chief Executive Hartmut Ostrowski has said divisions not meeting their targets would be sold.
The German company gets $300 million in cash on Sony BMG’s balance sheet, valuing the deal at about $1.2 billion, though the value to Bertelsmann, including tax breaks, is higher.
Retail U.S. music shipments fell to about $10.4 billion in 2007 from a 1999 peak of $14.6 billion, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.
With the outlook for CD sales no better, analysts believe Sony is looking to put music to more lucrative uses.
IN THE GAME
While sales of legal downloads have risen with the help of services like Apple Inc’s iTunes, they have not made up for the impact of rampant Internet piracy. Video games, however, have provided a bright spot for music lately.
This spring, for instance, veteran glam-metal band Motley Crue released their “Saints of Los Angeles” single on the “Rock Band” video game and iTunes and the “Rock Band” sales were five time higher than on iTunes.
Another part of the strategy could be the ramp-up of its PlayStation Network, which lets gamers play each other, as its PS3 battles Microsoft Corp’s Xbox 360 console.
“Sony will be attempting more aggressively with PlayStation Network to create an Internet-distribution platform for content,” Lazard Capital Markets analyst Colin Sebastian said. "Music is a very popular form of content and they want to be well-positioned as they roll that out. I think this acquisition would be related to that."
The Japanese company also wants to expand aggressively in mobile entertainment, including music.
Sony BMG, home to artists like Beyonce, Bruce Springsteen and Celine Dion, recently reached a deal with Nokia Corp to offer free unlimited downloads to Nokia’s music phones. Sony also has a cell phone making joint venture with Sweden’s Ericsson.
Meanwhile, Pali Research analyst Richard Greenfield said the Sony BMG buyout offered little reason to expect a big improvement in valuations for stand-alone recorded music companies. It values Sony BMG at 4.5 times estimated 2008 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA).
Pali’s analysts estimate rival Warner Music Group Corp trades at 7.0 times 2008 EBITDA, though that drops to 4.6 times excluding its publishing business to make a fair comparison with Sony BMG. (Editing by Braden Reddall)

Looks like PSN might have a music store soon.

Septimus_Prime · August 8, 2008, 12:37am

Want in on the Home beta?

Get a chance into the Home beta with today’s update

Posted Aug 7th 2008 2:37PM by Andrew Yoon
Filed under: PlayStation Network

Want access to the Home beta? Download a free theme on PS Store later today and you’ll be entered into a drawing for access. According to the PlayStation.blog, this won’t be a random drawing. Instead, only the most active users of their PS3s will be granted access to the service. “By downloading the theme, users are submitting an application to join the PlayStation Home Beta test community. We will be using a variety of criteria including activity on the PLAYSTATION Network to determine eligibility for the Beta community.”

Japan had a similar drawing last week, and Europe will be contacting eligible users via e-mail shortly. It’s taken years, but Home is finally well … coming home. If you make it into the beta, we’d love to find out – maybe you’ll find us running around the virtual world some time soon.

Let’s get to it. :tup:

SquaLLio · August 8, 2008, 3:39am

Music store could be big … thanks for the info.

Septimus_Prime · September 4, 2008, 3:22am

http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?p=1126547#post1126547

Shin-Ra:

Included with SCEJ’s PSP-3000 launch plans was this golden nugget

Additionally, another free online service will be launched this fall which enables users to play PSP software titles featuring ad-hoc mode over the internet through PS3 with other online players. PSP software titles such as ?MONSTER HUNTER PORTABLE 2nd G? from CAPCOM Co., Ltd. will be compatible with this new online service.*2

*2 Titles and the detailed information of the service will be announced in due course.

For those that don’t know what Ad-hoc multiplayer is:

Basically it’s local multiplayer with two PSP’s linked together in the same room or building.

These games can’t be played online without using unofficial PC tunneling software that fools the PSP’s into thinking they’re directly connected but really the PC and its internet connection are acting as a go-between.

This is the official Sony tunneling solution via PS3.

Sounds fucking awesome. :tup:

RagingStormX · September 4, 2008, 7:21am

powerstone collection ftw

J-Nav · September 7, 2008, 11:35pm

Hope they also come out with a feature that allows you to play custom tracks during gameplay, just like Xbox. That’d be cool.

Septimus_Prime · September 15, 2008, 11:53pm

http://www.gamespot.com/pages/news/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=26389103

PS3 plugs into YouTube

Ask any marketing exec, and they’ll say viral marketing is the Holy Grail for generating buzz around a product. Seeding word-of-mouth buzz isn’t a particularly easy feat, but the Google-owned video-sharing site YouTube has proven to be fertile ground.

As indicated in a report by Japanese business news daily Nikkei Net (subscription required), Sony may be looking to cash in on the viral effect with its latest addition to the PlayStation 3’s feature set. Sony Computer Entertainment announced today in Japan that YouTube video uploads could now be integrated into PlayStation 3 games, “a first for home game systems,” according to Nikkei.

The first title to make use of the functionality will be Japanese PlayStation Network title Mainichi Issho, according to the report. Based on Sony Japan’s Toro franchise, Mainiche Issho is a free-to-download casual game, and players will be able to record the in-game action for posting on YouTube.

[UPDATE] Responding to GameSpot’s request for comment, a Sony representative confirmed the YouTube integration is now available in all regions. As noted by Nikkei, SCE is handing out the development software to various studios, and it’s up to individual developers to decide whether to offer it in their games," according to the Sony representative. YouTube’s API blog has more information on the deal.
Category: Bulletin
Posted by TomM_GScom, May 15, 2008 1:25 pm PT 148 Comments

I don’t really care about this feature, but it sounds kind of cool.

J-Nav · September 16, 2008, 7:16am

:u: Yeah, it does sound kinda cool.
Could be a useful feature, for those who don’t have any software to convert & upload videos on YouTube.

00000000 · October 8, 2008, 8:45am

I hope this pans out. It’d be sweet if implemented in, well, any competitive game.

J-Nav · October 15, 2008, 12:23am

PS3 Trophy Game List.

Septimus_Prime · October 21, 2008, 1:02am

Rumor: Sony working on rewards system for Trophy-getters

Posted Oct 20th 2008 8:45AM by Majed Athab
Filed under: Rumors

This is interesting and somewhat bizarre at the same time. According to the US Official PlayStation Magazine (via CVG), Sony might be working on a rewards system for Trophy-whores Trophy-hunters. The concept here involves getting another type of reward for obtaining the most difficult Trophies.

Apparently, earning a shiny graphic of a platinum Trophy isn’t enough of an accolade; there has to be more. US OPM suggests that the new rewards could be anything from early beta access, to free wallpapers and themes. As of right now, this is still a rumor. Take it with a grain of salt. If this does prove to be true, then Trophy grabbing seems to be an even more lucrative feature.

Sounds cool to me.

King9999 · October 21, 2008, 4:25pm

So, Sony updated their user agreement: http://www.gamespot.com/news/6199672.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=newstop&tag=newstop;title;2

And this:

What the hell Sony. :mad:

Septimus_Prime · October 21, 2008, 9:09pm

What’s the problem? Pretty much every user agreement says the same thing if you read it. Let’s not go all Kotaku here.

Septimus_Prime · October 30, 2008, 9:32pm

http://www.psxextreme.com/ps3-news/4032.html

Sony On PS3: “We’ve Got Miles To Go”

We all know about Sony’s claims of the 10-year lifespan for the PlayStation 3, but at every turn, they seem to support that claim. According to Videogamer.com, Sony says they’re “not even halfway” to where they want to be with the console. …wow, where can they go?

Sony Computer Entertainment UK managing director Ray Maguire said that “something even more exciting” is lying in wait for PS3 owners, and in contrast to what many believe, he’s not talking about slicker graphics. No, he’s talking more about fresh and innovative game experiences rather than “sequel after sequel after sequel.” Thing is, with exclusives like Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, LittleBigPlanet and Resistance 2 upon us already, some figured the PS3 is already hitting its peak. But when asked if such games max out the potential of the PS3, Maguire replied:

“No we’ve got miles to go. The power of PlayStation is just awesome and we’re starting to get to grips with it, third parties are starting to get to grips with it and we’re starting to see some of that come to fruition. But when we see the next generation of games coming after these, then I think we’re going to see something even more exciting, we’re going to see even more genres come to the marketplace rather than just sequel after sequel after sequel.”

Maguire goes on to talk about the planned online revolution - obviously centering on the expanding PlayStation Network - and how that will have a huge impact on gamers around the world in this generation. And Maguire is well aware of the consumer; without them, there’d be no PS3, so he promises great things in the future. However, Sony isn’t about to rush-

“We’ve never rushed with PS3 because we wanted to make sure that we’re as right as we can be. We’re learning all the time, we make mistakes like everybody else, we’re not perfect but the talent is there, the energy is there, the commitment is there and the passion is there. And all I can say to the customers is thanks so much for the support because without them there would be no PS3 and there would be no business.”

I agree with him, but I think SCE should start to show at least a little sense of urgency.