50% of PS3s Online via PSNetwork, Developers Happy
Sony's PlayStation Network has been doing well as of late, generating more and more positive feedback from the gamers and press, alike. With over 10 million PlayStation 3s out there, Sony has released a statement saying that 50% of that figure have gone online with their PlayStation 3 in one way or another. 82% of those that have gone online have also downloaded something off of the PlayStation Store, either a purchase or free.
See Full ImageThe PlayStation Store has seen 46 million downloads, thus far, including videos, demos, downloadable games, add-on packs, and so on. As far as demographics go, 92% of PlayStation Network members are male, and 79% of them are between the ages of 18-34.
PlayStation Network continues to be a worthwhile feature for game developers to use, as it isn't controlled by Sony. There are no download caps for games, so games can be as large as the developer wants. This is in contrast to Microsoft's 150MB limitation, one that Capcom has recently complained about, in relation to bringing Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD.
Additionally, because Sony has an open-ended interface, they also allow for the use of applying and downloading mods to games such as Unreal Tournament III. Again, this is in contrast to Microsoft's stance on the issue, which ultimately made Epic decide to release UTIII on the PlayStation 3 first.
At the Game Developers Conference some weeks ago, Chris Eden, Sony's Senior Developer-Relations Manager, stated: “We don't set or recommend prices, or have price slots. Sony just acts as a digital reseller, [the publisher is] free to set [its] own prices.”
We've long believed that Sony has gone about setting up their entire online network in a great way. Even though the PlayStation Network didn't start out as feature rich as XBL did, it caught up. And with a backend infrastructure set up to cater to the needs of the publisher and developer, it's no wonder PSN boasts content that's miles ahead of XBL.
3/11/2008 Arnold Katayev
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Comments (6 posts)
chaosrunner
Tuesday, March 11, 2008 @ 8:15:10 PM
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The PSN is still in its infancy and doesn't match XBL in power or features. But Sony appears to be listening to its customers and trying to build it up into what they want. Maybe not as fast as some people want, but these things take time. I don't see the PSN surpassing XBL any time soon, if at all, but it's built under a different set of guidelines and I think it's doing pretty well in the 1.5 years it's been around.
For me, it's not a huge deal. I don't do a whole lot of online gaming and, as I mentioned, it's not a pay service, so anything I get is bonus content, to me. Hell, who would have thought ten years ago that we could /have/ free online demos. Now people whine if it takes an extra day to get them. It's all about perspective and from my POV, the PSN is doing just fine.
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ArnoldK PSXE [Administrator]
Tuesday, March 11, 2008 @ 8:20:43 PM
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LCF
Tuesday, March 11, 2008 @ 8:59:46 PM
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karneli lll
Wednesday, March 12, 2008 @ 12:30:32 AM
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Minishmaru
Wednesday, March 12, 2008 @ 10:09:01 AM
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ThePoetRazel
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Tuesday, March 11, 2008 @ 7:54:34 PM