Your PSN Questions—Answered

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It’s been a busy few weeks on the PlayStation Network with several big announcements and new apps launching. In the month of November alone, we announced the launch of the NHL GameCenter Live application, the availability of Hulu Plus outside of PlayStation Plus, the VUDU app on PSN, and BBC America programming in the PlayStation Store. We’ve also shared a new episode of The Tester 2 each week and just last week we announced a number of new games on PlayStation Home, as we marked the 2-year anniversary of the platform. And, in addition to the PSN updates we’ve shared, there have also been a number of new updates for PlayStation Plus subscribers and new features in the PlayStation Rewards program.

playstation network logo

There’s no doubt that PSN is in the midst of tremendous growth as we continue to expand our entertainment offering. We recently surpassed 60 million registered accounts worldwide – an increase of 53% in North America in just the last year – and we continue to see our users soak up the new entertainment content offerings. In fact, movies and TV series purchased on the PlayStation Network video delivery service increased 42% compared to a year ago and we’re seeing that our users are quite engaged, with well over 70% using PSN weekly.

It’s been busy and we’re certainly excited about how far we’ve come in a short time, but the busyness has also kept me away from addressing some of your questions and there have been some great ones. I wanted to take some time before we ended the year to look back at previous posts and address some of questions that you have. I’ve also cleared my schedule this afternoon to answer any further questions you might have on PSN and about some of our new services and partners, so drop your questions in the below comments and I’ll do my best to address them.

We’re lucky to have such loyal users. Thanks for continuing to come back and please keep on sending us your questions, thoughts and suggestions. They are important and we are listening!

PlayStation Plus

Q: Field Runners was in the July 6 and the upcoming December 14 publish. Will content continue to be recycled? – ExPresident (December 1, 2010 post)

A: PlayStation Plus has circulated a lot of great content since the service was launched in June and based on what we think our users want, we’ll look to bring back some of those popular items. This will not affect our goals to bring new experiences and discount options to PlayStation Plus subscribers.

Q: Are there any plans to add a digital rental service to PlayStation Plus? – JacobeAbam (December 1, 2010 post)

A: While we don’t have any news to announce around a digital rental service for PlayStation Plus, our goal is to include a full game trial each month when possible, which allows gamers to try out PS3 titles for up to one full hour. Recently, we’ve launched full game trials for Red Faction Guerrilla, Warhawk, inFamous, God of War I, ll and Prototype, and we’re looking forward to upcoming releases, like Borderlands. And, don’t forget your PlayStation Plus includes access to PSP minis and PSone games as part of your subscription.

Q: Europe received the Fallout 3 DLC and Sam & Max season for free when we receive older titles. When can we expect newer discounted or free content? – Vengeance88 (October 20, 2010 post)

A: Content for PlayStation Plus subscribers differ for each region and that is dependant on a lot of different variables that aren’t always determined by us. Sometimes it’s our publishers that make decisions on how many or where to share certain content and sometimes it’s simply a case of where it makes the most sense for a particular game or feature. Having said that, we’re always looking for ways to extend the content we offer across different regions and hopefully you’ve seen that in some of the recent content that we’ve released, like the December 14th publish that included the upcoming featured download of the Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse season.

Q: When does the free three month promotion end for PlayStation Plus? – eatthemall (PS+ FAQ post)

A: The promotion that currently adds three months to your 12-month subscription is ongoing and users who subscribe to the promotion will now get 15 months of PlayStation Plus for the 12-month cost. If you’re not yet a subscriber, what other promotional offers would help you make the decision to subscribe?

Q: Can we have a progress update on cross game chat and any other features that will be available for PlayStation Plus subscribers? – xKOROSHIYAx (PS+ FAQ post)

A: I don’t have any progress updates to share at this time, but I can tell you that we’re listening to the things you want and whether or not we can release them now, we take all of the features you’ve been asking for seriously.

PlayStation Rewards

Q: When will the PlayStation Rewards program be available to Canada? – Chowbacca (October 27, 2010)

A: The PlayStation Rewards program is currently in beta and only available to GAP members and PlayStation Plus subscribers (who have opted into marketing emails as of October 24). If everything goes well during the beta period, our plan is to extend the offering to Canada in Spring 2011.

Q: Will the PlayStation Rewards program be available in Europe? – Coheno (October 27, 2010)

A: The other regions have shown interest, but we haven’t announced any plans to expand in Europe at this time.

Q: Why do trophy counts not affect the PlayStation Rewards program? I think trophy level should determine a gamer’s status in the program. – Mirauder (October 27, 2010)

A: The PlayStation Rewards program is still currently in beta and will remain an evolving program post-launch. Currently, we have incorporated the use of trophies into the Quest system announced earlier this week. Quests tie into more than just games, giving PlayStation Rewards members opportunities to gain progress from all aspects of the PlayStation Network, such as PlayStation Home, original programming and more.

Q: How long is the beta period for the PlayStation Rewards program? – LightAce (October 27, 2010)

A: We are expecting PlayStation Rewards to come out of beta in April 2011.

Q: Will the PlayStation Reward levels be based on games we beat from this date? Or will it include the games/trophies we have already beaten/earned on PS3? – cdsly16 (October 27, 2010)

A: The PlayStation Rewards program is not retroactive. It will take into account all the new games that you have played since the launch of the program.

VUDU

Q: Correct me if I’m wrong, but wouldn’t Hulu, VUDU, Netflix, and the Store all be competing for purchases of the same content on each and every PS3? – JBracin70 (November 16, 2010)

A: Actually, no. There are quite a few differences in terms of the type of content provided across the different services, the window of availability of content, and the payment options, etc. The bottom line is that we’re extending our content offering with a choice of partners to bring you the entertainment experience you want.

Q: Isn’t this video service cannibalizing on Sony’s current PSN video service? – Neil (November 16, 2010)

A: No, actually all of the different options haven’t cannibalized the PSN video delivery service, as proven by the 42% year-over-year growth. The PSN wallet and the compatibility with the PSN cards on PlayStation Store purchases have proven to be a great solution of convenience that complements our other content offerings.

Hulu Plus

Q: When will the service be available to Canadians? – Jeanse27 (November 4, 2010)

A: At this point, we don’t have any news to share on the exact timing for bringing Hulu Plus to Canada, but I can tell you that we’re exploring ways to bring our Canadian friends more of the content we’ve released in the US. However, it does bear mentioning that these plans are also contingent on Hulu Plus and when they extend their services to Canada.

Q: Any chance we can get Move support for both the Netflix and Hulu Plus app down the road? – Philaroni (November 4, 2010)

A: While you can use the Move controllers to navigate through the XMB, we don’t have anything to announce today for full support of Netflix or Hulu Plus. VUDU has announced that they will support PlayStation Move motion control with their new UI, VUDU 2.0, which will automatically update to your PS3 sometime this month.

Q: Do I have to pay for the monthly service with my credit card or can I use my PlayStation Wallet? – Rene_Led (November 4, 2010)

A: At this time you will have to pay for your Hulu Plus subscription with your credit card on Hulu.com, but we’ll certainly share updates on payment methods as they become available.

The Tester

Q: Can you consider including Canadians in your contests or at least run Canada specific contests? – krae_man (November 2, 2010)

A: Great suggestion, and we’ll most certainly be thinking about ways to integrate Canada and/ or Canadian specific challenges into future Tester series. Please continue to share your suggestions as we evolve the series, contests and overall experience.

NHL GameCenter

Q: Will we see similar sports applications, such as the NFL Sunday Ticket or NBA League Pass, on the PlayStation Network? – TABBYG87 (November 11, 2010)

A: We’re focused on providing you with many choices for your entertainment needs. We’ll continue to expand the catalogue of content you have access to on the PlayStation Network, however today we don’t have any news to share specific to NFL Sunday Ticket or NBA League Pass.

Q: Will the free NHL GameCenter app go away after the PlayStation Plus subscription has ended? – Dagger_32 (November 11, 2010)

A: The app itself won’t disappear from your XMB, but the free access to the app will discontinue once your PlayStation Plus subscription has ended and you will need to purchase it. As with all of the other content offered through PlayStation Plus, only subscribers will have access to the exclusive, free or discounted offers within PlayStation Plus, which includes the NHL GameCenter app being free to subscribers.

Comments are closed.

306 Comments

22 Author Replies

  • I have a question, when can we expect Netflix and Pandora support in our PlayStation Home Personal Spaces? These would be excellent additions to Home and make Home an extremely powerful part of PSN, especially if you can invite friends to your personal space to watch a netflix movie with you if they have netflix accounts too that is.

  • You don’t have to answer them here since there are a lot of questions, but if either you or someone in the Playstation Rewards management team could answer the questions in the thread I made regarding technicalities in the program it would be greatly appreciated. A reply within the thread or as a new post in the Rewards forum would be fine.

    Here is the link:
    http://boardsus.playstation.com/t5/PlayStation-Rewards-Private-Beta/PLEASE-READ-Open-Questions-Regarding-Progress-Technicalities/td-p/46505910

    Also, while it doesn’t affect me, there are a lot of Rewards member who have never had their progress bar move even if they have been in the program since day 1 and have done things that should have given them points. I think they would also appreciate any information for a solution to that.

    Thank you in advance for your replies and for your time.-Carlos

  • The only question i have and i bet im not the only one is when are you guys gonna give us CGC. Its been the most requested thing since the ps3 came out. Its been like 5 years now and you guys still dont say anything and bs us around everytime we ask for it. Be honest with us sony. Just say yes or no. If it is not possible to do it or there is a legal reason why you cant do it just say so. Its the most requested on the share blog to but we never get any responses. I know Jeff and all you guys tell us that you guys do take the share requests and give them importance but its been like 5 years of people ansking for CGC and we never get any news about that. So Sony just be honest and say yes we can do it, yes we can do it but we wont implement it, or just say no we cant do it for legal reasons or whatever reason but just be honest.

  • lol @ answer about the cross game chat… Its just BS

    Since the ps3 came out people ask for the cross game chat and we still have nothing like cross game chat.

  • Thanks for answering so many questions. I have a few questions and suggestions that I hope you can look through.

    Is there any reasons why most games don’t allow two players to log in with their own accounts at the same time? If two players go online together in ModNation Racers, they are called playername and playername(1). When we play GT5 in offline multiplayer, we can’t bring cars that we have collected on separate accounts and play together. Is it a PSN issue or are the developers just not implementing the feature?

  • Will the PSN video store ever be getting a monthly based subscription service similar to Netflix ?

  • Is there a way to deactivate accounts on consoles besides using the actual console? There’s a broken console I wish I could deactivate.

  • VOICE CHAT!!!!!!!!

    Seriously, what is the hold up? It’s been 3 years!!

  • With the iPhone app that was announced on the EU blog recently, will we be able to also send/receive messages over it as well?

    In my opinion, that would be the most critical feature for any application like that, as it would literally be, PSN on the go, and would really make the PSN a bigger part of my life (not that it isn’t already substantial on the PS3, but broadening its horizon would require the community features to move over as well.)

  • Regarding friends lists and messaging.

    Can we have a phone or PSP app that allows us to have text, voice and video chat/messaging with our PSN friends? Having that would negate the need for cross-game chat

    Also, can we choose an alias or nickname for our friends. It’s getting harder for me to remember all my friends by their usernames, and it would be much easier if I could enter a nickname for them so that it would say “Uncle Tom (PSNusername) is online”

    I’m not really a fan of cross-game chat, but I hope you can implement a universal lobby for setting up games with friends that runs from the XMB

  • spunnups | December 16th, 2010 at 1:52 pm

    its been 4 years

  • Thanks for the update, but please give us Cross Platform Party Chat, and a great web browser, All i want for Christmas.

  • I still haven’t seen any progress since the quests have been added. =[

  • We need a way to remove activated systems without access to the system and without being treated like criminals by Sony support.

    Sony says we are 100% responsible for our PSN account so give us the tools to do that! Qriocity has a nice interface, add a deactivate button for PS3! Please!

  • Can you guys strip down the in-game XMB. There’s a lot of options on there that can’t be run in-game. It would make sense to just show what we can use, and have an “expand” button if we want to see more options.

    Speaking of buttons, can we add a “mark as in action” button to PS Blog Share, as there’s way more than the currently marked 50 ideas already in action, including one of mine.

    Speaking of Share, can you please implement the “PS Button – Auto Read Message Upon Notification” and “Auto-syncing trophies” requests, as they are extremely popular. The “PS Button” request, in particular, isn’t that hard to implement. It would look much better if the page of most popular ideas had at least one idea “in action”

    It would also be a good idea to sort the ideas list to put the least viewed ideas at the top, so that they all get an equal chance of being viewed and voted on. Hundreds of ideas have been lost in the bowels of Blog Share

  • Can full-game trial downloads become more common. Perhaps PS+ members could get trial downloads of all titles over $20

  • The European blog recently announced an awesome sounding iPhone/Android app to a limited selection of counties, with the rest of SCEE supported with version 1.1. Any plans on supporting this in the US? Seems like a huge missed opportunity if not.

  • i cant sign in to psn

  • Here’s a good question when will you start selling PS2 games on PSN (God of War 1 & 2 don’t count because they were remade into “The God of War Collection”)

  • @Susan
    Times like these that i wish I wrote down all my questions. Hopefully someone else will ask what I’m forgetting.

    Anyway thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. Always good to hear from SCEA/PSN on what’s going on and to know we can get some answers.

  • Can we rate PSN games directly from the XMB, or at least from the Downloads list in the PS Store? It’d be a great way to get more people involved in rating.

    I’d also like to see more functionality on the XMB games list. We should be able to see a list of the games we play, and directly see which of our friends play the same games.

    It would also be nice if there were direct links on the XMB to official sites, forums and news feeds for each game that we own.

  • Oh and I forgot about Custom PSN avatars MAKE US HAPPY SONY LOL

  • If your not gonna either A) Tell us the progress of Cross Game chat or B) Even make it possible to Cross Game chat just tell us. Its been 2 years and its still not here. Stop lying to our faces and pick one of the 2 options from above cause seriously at this point I highly doubt Cross Game Chat will ever be released on PSN.

  • PSN needs improvements,i mean the actual online service and not the useless other features. get developers to have game invites for all games,etc

  • Are we going to have some new features ? like these

    Voice messaging
    Party Chat
    Ability to change your PSN ID without losing trophies and everything else.

  • 1. When will the US PlayStation Store get music videos?

    2.Have you considered selling music downloads on the Store?

    3. Why haven’t we gotten the WipeOut Pulse DLC?

    4. Could you release more of the PS3 Little Big Planet DLC on the PSP? (I’m not buying it unless the PSP version gets Sonic DLC).

    @Haskell420
    I agree with you. Seems to me that Sony is giving up a lot of sales by not making PSP games playable on the PS3. (I know you were only talking about demos, but I was thinking more along the lines of full games).

  • More support for the PSP GO would be nice, I REALLY hope Monster Hunter Portable 3 will have a digital version when/if it makes it’s way over here

  • im still waiting for them to put x-com ufo defense on psn…

  • Thanks for answering the questions, Susan. It really makes a difference.

    Here in Hong Kong, we have PS Plus competitions to win things like concert tickets. Is there any chance of it being extended to other regions. I’m sure our friends in the USA would like these competitions too.

    Another suggestion that I made seems to have disappeared, or maybe it’s being moderated…
    Can we have a “mark as in action” button on PS Blog Share. There’s many ideas on there that are in action, including one of mine, but no way to tell the staff about it.
    Also, can we sort ideas by least viewed? Hundreds of ideas are lost in the long list right now. If least viewed were automatically put at the top, then all ideas would have a better chance of being viewed

    Thanks again!

  • I can’t upgrade my hard disk now because of protected saves.

    Can Sony either remove protection from all save games, or add a service that stores the saves online for transfer to new HDDs or PS3s.

    I’m sure many people don’t want to upgrade their PS3s because they don’t want to lose their GT5 progress

  • A way to sort your purchases in the Download List would be awesome. It sucks scrolling through tons of items to find a game you bought a while ago.

  • Why isn’t there a universal music and video store like iTunes for Sony devices. It’s mostly region-based right now. Here in Hong Kong there’s literally no music or video download services on PSN.

    I have a PS3, PSP and Sony Ericsson phones, and yet there is no service that can rival iTunes for downloading music to my Sony devices.

    Doesn’t Sony actually own a music company and movie company? Seems a bit strange to me.

  • Finally… I know I’m posting too much here…

    Chrome and Skype on the XMB :) It’d be great

  • “Q: Can we have a progress update on cross game chat and any other features that will be available for PlayStation Plus subscribers?

    A: I don’t have any progress updates to share at this time, but I can tell you that we’re listening to the things you want and whether or not we can release them now, we take all of the features you’ve been asking for seriously.”

    Wow. You guys basically copy and paste the same answer every time this question is ask. I highly dough you guys are taking all the features we as for “seriously.” You people seem to focus more on The Tester rather than what the majority of people actually want.

  • Is there going to be a fix for Sam and Max download for PS Plus users?

  • How often do Playstation Rewards quests update?
    I’ve completed at least 4 and it doesn’t show that I completed them.

  • Can you add Voice Cross Game for PlayStationPlus Subscribers ?

  • Know what would be really mythical and awesome?

    PSN having cross game chat… for everyone!

  • Can we adjust the sensitivity of Move XMB controls?

    It’s just slightly too sensitive for me, and I keep overshooting the menus :)

  • A lot of these questions are pretty dumb and have already been answered. The CGC backpedaling/non-answer is especially painful to read

    You want to know something Susan? I bet if you and the rest of your fellow employees at the mothership actually answered questions and comments users had on a more regular basis, a la your sister site, you probably wouldn’t have so many people posting negative things around here.

    Congrats on going from 1st to 3rd place in North America in only a few short years Sony. A spectacular fall from grace for the ages.

  • Here’s a question: When will you give us the ability to delete and or merge PSN accounts? I have 2 accounts; one that I made when I first got my PS3 and one I made later. I’ve barely touched that first account since I made the second, but my email address that I use the most often is attached to it. I doubt that I’m the only person in the same situation, and if it would make things easier for me if I could at least merge the 2 accounts in to one. If I could do that, I would have been able to join in the Rewards beta.

  • Will we ever get the option to change our PSN IDs?

    I’m wondering if I’d look better as PityTheFool852

  • Nerds like I3rand0 should know they don’t need to stick with ps3,if you want that then get the other console.seems simple to me.

  • @139

    I agree will we ever get a option to change our PSN ID ? How about some Party voice chat or voice messaging ?

  • When will HOME be available in México? After 2 years it’s been a “BETA” version and people with Mexican Accounts (As me) are not allowed to enter yet, pointing to make an American account so we can enjoy everything PSN has to offer… Thanks.

  • I still cant download Sam and Max and i didnt recieve a code. i signed up for PS plus just to get this. will i be able to download it or did i waste my money?

  • @139 pitythefool852
    Japanese PSN accounts have the option to change your PSN ID one time only. I don’t see why they can’t give the Western PSN users the option to change their PSN name once also

  • If i currently have a year (15 months) subscription to Plus, can I purchase another year now and add 15 months to my current subscription?

  • SUB ACCOUNT TO MASTER ACCOUNT!SUB ACCOUNT TO MASTER ACCOUNT!SUB ACCOUNT TO MASTER ACCOUNT!SUB ACCOUNT TO MASTER ACCOUNT!SUB ACCOUNT TO MASTER ACCOUNT!SUB ACCOUNT TO MASTER ACCOUNT!SUB ACCOUNT TO MASTER ACCOUNT!SUB ACCOUNT TO MASTER ACCOUNT!SUB ACCOUNT TO MASTER ACCOUNT!SUB ACCOUNT TO MASTER ACCOUNT!SUB ACCOUNT TO MASTER ACCOUNT!SUB ACCOUNT TO MASTER ACCOUNT!

  • @146 Rival_31
    Don’t know why that is so hard to implement. Sony needs some better programmers/visionary working on the PS3 network and service because these monkeys working there now can’t do Jack.

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