Sony: PlayStation Network To Expand Beyond The PS3

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As most PlayStation 3 owners fully understand, the PlayStation Network has come an awfully long way since Sony's next-gen machine launched back in 2006. And according to Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer, the Network will continue expanding...beyond the PS3.

According to a recent Nikkei Electronics Asia interview with Stringer, the Network certainly isn't limited to the PS3. He did say the "cost was high" in developing "absolutely incredible technology" for the machine, and that for a time, some people thought the content download service was "doomed." But the Network is in a whole new position and as of now, Stringer says they have begun the "transition from a closed system to an open one," which may require a bit of explanation. So here you go:

"Next we will be expanding the PlayStation Network to hardware other than the PS3, because the number of PS3 units sold puts a limit on the scale of the network possible. Sony has a vertical structure for each product line, an organisational structure that resists change, so it will take time to achieve this network growth. However, a large number of employees share my opinion on this."

Now, we assume the first piece of hardware outside the PS3 to gain full access to the Network will be the PSP, or perhaps the rumored PSP2/PSP Go! that's supposedly set to launch later this year. Beyond that, we're not sure what Sony intends, but we do know that it takes some work to expand an empire. And with the Network improving every day, it seems inevitable that it should become available to other consumers who don't happen to own a PS3. In reality, there aren't any limitations; it's just an online service that can, theoretically, go anywhere. And what's wrong with that?

5/11/2009 Ben Dutka

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