Foster City (CA) - Sony is close to launching a new online video download service for the Playstation 3 console, and it could be set up as early as this summer.

According to a report in the LA Times, Sony has been making headway in talks with movie studios and TV production companies over the last few weeks.

As a late entrant in the digital video market, Sony needs to make itself stand out, and that's what it plans to do.  Marketing executive Peter Dille told the LA Times that Sony will "separate the service from others you’ve seen or used."

Sony has been teasing the idea of an online video service for the PS3 for a while.  At last year's Electronic Entertainment Expo the company told us that it was essentially inevitable, but it needed to find content partners and set up a good platform on the PS3.

For nearly a year and a half, Microsoft's Xbox 360 has maintained exclusivity in the market for video downloads on a game console.  

The Xbox Live Video Marketplace offers dozens of movies and TV shows, many of which are available in high definition.  For several movies, that's the only way right now to watch them in HD.  Sony wants to break up that digital monopoly.

One of the most interesting parts of Sony's plan is that it will allow certain content to also be played back remotely on the PSP.

Dille said the service may start as soon as June, but gave no firm launch details.

cool

Apr 21, 2008 12:31     

Now I can stream Sony movies to my consoles to, since M$ doesn't have them on the 360.
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Sony needs to concentrate on games.

Apr 21, 2008 13:03     

Sony needs to get back to concentrating on games instead of all this movie BS. Moviestation 3.
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sony

Apr 21, 2008 16:26     

just put their own contents online you can have 1/6 of all movies and probably 1/4 of all music.
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kill xbox and ipod in 1 stone.

Apr 21, 2008 16:27     

to kill xbox, just link up movie with netflix. and then put amazon music on ps3 to compete with itune.
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netflix?

Apr 21, 2008 19:32     

isnt netflix coming out with a disc to allow their "watch it now" content for the x360 and the ps3? That wouldnt really give sony an advantage over the 360, unless this is referring to something else entirely. Also, none of netflix's stuff is HD quality yet, though once they finally decide that the watch it now portion of their business is really worth it I'm sure they will drop it in. It's just that right now they seem not to know wether to really let everything online or not (or maybe that is just the studios?

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Yawn

Apr 22, 2008 10:04     

Looks like PS3 is still behind. I think I'll go download another show on my 360. PS3 is going to fail online.
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