Sony PS3 movie downloads are go
Films and TV at the touch of a DualShock 3
Sony has finally broken its silence over the long awaited PlayStation 3 video downloads service and launched it onto the PlayStation Network.
The electronics giant has partnered with numerous content providers for the service, including Fox, MGM, Lionsgate, Warner, Disney and Paramount. Available content - in the US only, alas - includes about 1200 TV shows and roughly 300 movies.
Content is available in both SD and HD, with TV prices starting at around $2 (£1/€1.50) per episode. Alternatively, gamers can rent films for around $3 (£1.50/€2) or keep them for around $10 (£5/€7). Rentals are retained on your PS3 for 14 days, but once you begin watching something then you have 24 hours to finish it before it self-destructs.
Downloads can be transferred from a PS3 and onto the PlayStation Portable. Users can also view full-screen preview clips before paying to download anything.
Apple’s recently launched iTunes movie service allows punters to permanently download older library title films for £7/$10, or the latest movies for £11/$15 each. Apple’s SD rental selection costs £2.50-3.5/$3-4. HD versions cost £1 or $1 more.
Sony’s announcement will be a kick in the knickers for Microsoft, as it’s only just announced a deal with Netflix to expand its Xbox 360 movie downloads service. The service is expected to launch later this year with a library of roughly 10,000 films and TV episodes.
COMMENTS
re: Are you still stuck in 2006?
Like most everything else, firmware isn't the question - Sony left it up to the individual developers to implement almost everything.
So sure, maybe the firmware supports it (just now) but many (most?) games don't support or allow it.
As an example - how many publishers have already come out and said they're not retroactively adding trophy support?
And that's the difference. Basic functionality like this being left to developers to implement rather than having it being provided as part of the framework / ecosystem.
re: Sigh @ The Register bias again
"We're well on the way to selling more than 10 million PlayStation 3s"
Yet VGChartz.com shows 13mill sold."
THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT THIS FISCIAL YEAR, IDIOT.... NOT SALES TO DATE...
No wonder Microsoft managed to sell 18m 360s, there are plenty of morons around...
re:re "well it is a kick"
"From the sidelines people may not see/care, but go to any gaming forums for a third-party, multi-platform developer, and watch as they complain about the PS3 lacking basic functionality that the 360's always had - things like friend invites and buddy lists."
Funny, my PS3 does both of these things just fine with the latest firmware...
Are you still stuck in 2006?
Yawn
As patiently explained to the Sony fanboys last week, the 360 has had a "pay per title with no subscription, no not even Gold Live" movie service for over a year. Netflix support is a minor addition to it, whereby 360 users can use the existing free supplement to the main Netflix service for streaming movies via their telly instead of on a PC.
