Sony introduces new service with its Play Station 3

If you own a Plays Station 3 and if you are a resident of the USA, then there is great news waiting for you. From now on, you can download movies and episodes of your favorite television series from the internet with your Play Station3 console. On June 26 2008, Sony Corporation (TYO:6758) said that they are going to introduce this new system in the USA within weeks. Sony has been working on this service since 2006. Sony Computer Entertianment CEO, Kazuo Hirai, said that the service is going to be launched in the USA and then it will be introduced in Europe and Asia. Guardian reports:

Hirai did not go into specifics about the facility and observers expect further pronouncements about the initial library of titles at next month's E3 gaming convention in Los Angeles.

What will be of interest is where the content will come from. Sony's film studio has naturally pledged allegiance to the cause but so far supply deals from other studios have not been completed.

From this autumn, Sony Corporation will also launch a new video service that will allow owners of its Bravia television to access the Internet and stream content.

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Guardian

Sony is working on a new game controller for Play Station 3

For its next generation gaming console, PlayStation 3, Sony is now developing a new type of controller. According to news reports, the new controller is inspired by the design of Wiimote game controller. This new controller can be broken into two units, each having their own accelerometer. Video Game blog, Kotaku, denied the rumor and said that Sony is going to create a new device which can be attached to the gamer’s body. Kotaku received news from an unmanned source which said that the new device will consist of four/five parts that will be attached with gamer’s body to move the characters. However, Sony did not comment on the rumors. This April, Sony launched its DualShock 3 controller with rumble capabilities in the USA which was announced by Kazuo Hirai, CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. in the 2007 Tokyo Game Show. eFluxMedia reports:

Initially, Sony claimed that rumble capabilities are not “next-gen” features, but one of the main reasons for which Sony did not include rumble features into the current SIXAXIS controllers for PlayStation 3 was the patent lawsuit filed by Immersion, which owns the intellectual property over some key aspects of the technology integrated in PS2’s DualShock controllers.

After settling the lawsuit with Immersion in March 2007, Sony was quick to announce DualShock 3 that went on sale in Japan in November last year as a separately sold accessory. The non-rumbling motion-sensing SIXAXIS controller has been discontinued.
Two months ago there were some rumors that Microsoft is also working to develop a Wii-like controller for its Xbox 360.

The new controller, code-named Newton will have a design similar to that of Wii remote and include a four face buttons, an analog stick, a microphone and a gyroscope sensor to detect tilt and motion.

Related article:
eFluxMedia