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.
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.
will there ever be a icelandic ps store we are huge ps3 users
Will The Rest Of The Early PS+ Subscribers Eventually Get In The Rewards Beta Before It Rolls Out To The Rest Of The Public…Because Ive Been A Plus Member Since July 1st?
In other words, “We hear you, but we don’t care that much. We’re in the business of pushing content, not adding features. Keep your fingers crossed for the PS4 folks!”
I hope i get a response, but why hasn’t Sam and Max for PS plus been fix yet? I notice that all but episode 1 are missing from the store, could that be the issue?
You guys seriously need better PS Blog integration in the actual XMB of the PS3. How hard would it to make an app that appears like the new EU Playstation website that boot on the ps3’s web browser?
PSN+ is a waste of money for me I don’t need discounts on little PSN games I need:
-Better friend/party support for games (4 years later its STILL so damn hard just to message a friend inside a game)
-Cross game voice chat
-a decent web browser
-ESPN support
-auto read PS messages when the notification pops up
PS Blog Share is currently an utter failure.
Great to see some answers from Sony, I hope this becomes a mothly topics. I know this was answered, but I am REALLY interested in a NFL app. I live in NY so I have my NBA and MLB teams covered, but I am a Miami Dolphins fan and I don’t get a chance to see many games. I would subscribe to a NFL in a heart beat. Just had to throw that one in there :).
Is there any way you guys could upgrade sub accounts to master accounts when they reach 18? You know, reward those who actually told their right age?
If I already own the RB2 version of a song, do I still have to pay full price to get the RB3 version of the same song?
I want to know if a feature will be added so we can change our psn account names possibly for a fee, seeing as its availiable on xbox live. and possibly a more simplified XMB while in game
When is Europe going to get a Video store or something like Netflix..??
Greetings from the Netherlands
You guys should think more about other coutries.
I’m from Brazil and the service is reaaally lame here.
Guess you think we’re all poor and woulndn’t be a profit custumer.
Guess you’re right but you should present the loyal ps3 owners, onw ignore them.
I’m aware that we’ll have a national PSN soon but… there is so many things to get better.
For instance, now you’re selling the ‘oficial playstation 3 console’ in here.
Anyone can buy a PS3 here for max $1.100 national currency.
And the “oficial console” will cost $2.000!
What the heck were you thinking?
It’s like saying:
“You’re from Brazil? Hmmm… Buy a Xbox. Cheaper and better services”
This is a good idea for a post. Maybe you can try to do it quarterly? I wish though, no offense intended, that some answers were more definitive and not so vague. As in cross game voice chat. Your answer is a like a politician.
Can you confirm it is being worked on? A possible release date? The PS3 is so powerful yet this can’t be added?! The “box” has it and you would make so many users appreciate your system that much more. Thanks again.
**Proud Plus member
When will we finaly get a kick ass firmware update like a new browser(google tv)or something besides 5 diff. ways to look at my pictures, you guys keep a lid on things better than the damn government!
Since your answering questions in the coments, I’ll ask this one again.
Why in the world don’t the trophy cards update automaticly? Having to log into the site, click on the portable ID tab and click the refresh button to manually update them is by far the dumbest way you could possibly do things, and that’s exactly what you did.
I could understand them not being real time, but there’s no valid reason to not have them automaticly refresh once a day at the bare minimum.
I think Sony is starting to realize with the poor sales of the PS3 so far this holiday season that they have really messed up this gen. Many stores are now offering rebates or gift cards if you buy a PS3 (WalMart is offering a 100 gift card with purchase) because they just aren’t selling and systems are piling up in their inventories.
I think this post is proof that finally Sony is starting to wake up a little bit BUT one thing I find very troubling is the constant cryptic non commital or denial of Cross Game Chat. They wont even answer if it is coming to the PS3 or not. That is exactly the attitude gamers and consumers are fed up with Sony.. Get it together!
@Susan, we know you know that we want its, the question is are you guys working on it? That’s the question that is not and has not been answered for 4 years. All I’m asking is why can’t we get like an actual progress report of what’s being worked on and what isn’t? Instead of the standard “we have nothing to announce at this time”. I mean that’s so ambiguous to the point where we don’t even know if you’re working on it or if it’s even possible.
Can you guys please implement for PS Plus users the option to forgo any “free” games when adding them to our cart and actually give us the option to buy it so we can straight own it instead of getting it for free as long as we have Plus?
Will I ever get the chance to be A GAP member? :(
Are you ever going to make multi sign-in, because there are a lot of games where me and my brother want to sign into both of our PSN account at the SAME TIME. Please respond! I want to know if you are putting this into consideration!
Come on Sony you know darn well what we are gonna ask you about. Cross. Game. Chat. We have been asking about it for two years solid now and all we get is a simple “We look into all ideas.” Really you sure as hell have a strange way to communicate with your customers.
I dont see why you cant just be honest about it and tell us like it is. Are you really working on it and is it close? Or are you completely baffled by the idea and need to hire someone who knows what the hell they are doing? Regardless, I have said it before and will say it one more time. Your PR is pretty pour. Be honest with us, it will go a long way.
First off thanks you Sony for the best gaming platform ever made.
Will the U.S. ever get Flight Control HD for the PS Move. Why would I have to by it from SCEE?
Next question, how come I am in the rewards program, but none of the quests ever update form me. I go on Home almost every day and I own and have played many move enabled games and plenty of demos also, oh and I watch Pulse every other week in HD. None of my quests will update, I have even redownloaded this last Pulse twice and watched it twice, but no update on my quests.
Thanks, Sold
Why does it take forever for the PSN store to update.
Even better question: Why is there no set time for the PSN store to update? Somedays, it could be noon, EST, and others it’ll be as late as midnight. What is the process behind the PSN store updates?
Nintendo, Steam/Valve, and X-box Live/Microsoft all update at a set time and date and have their content planned a month or more in advance. What is your excuse for the late updates?
This is awesome news, I’m glad to know that we’re being heard :)
Is there any chance though that you guys are going to do anything with Blockbuster for movies and videos?
I have the sam and max issue still. Also i have 2 ps3s in my house and may be getting a third and wonder why when I sync trophies some show up on one and not other. Also will it ever be possible to share the save files between the two without the save trophy conflict? This is frustrating when you start a game on one system and then are forced to play the game on that one. Also would like private chat added while in game.
Why can’t you change your PSN name in the US and Europe? You can do it in Japan…
Dear PlayStation, You Guys Better Not Be Making PlayStation 4 Cause You Guys Need To Be Working On The Beast You Already Have Out, You Guys Are Way Be4 Are Time With The PlayStation 3. Its A Beast, The Other Systems Have Noting On This Beast….Just Saying… Love Yea Guys…Keep Up With The Good Work…
@ 41
Great post. The “other console” has had these features since day one including..
– Appear offline
– Extremely fast patches/updates
I just don’t understand why PS3/PSN can’t have these features. It’s been 4+ years and the Best console still doesn’t have these things.
Besides, we’ve been getting pointless updates that add either a security patch or just useless features like having the option to print pictures from the PS3 or a photo editing system…on a gaming system.
Please, please, PLEASE hear me out Susan Panico. Please don’t walk away from these major features that’ll greatly benefit PSN and us PS3 gamers.
i got a question for u mine is on the music on the xmb how come we dnt have a multi delete as sum of us ps3 owners may have a whole bunch of music on our hard drives n lets say we dnt want that music on there any more it suck to have to delete every album 1 by 1 we want to delete several at a time so we can make space on our harddrives u know alot of games takes up alot of space i have a 500gb harddrive over 100 psn games i would like to c a multi delete button jus like u do 4 videos also n the playstaion store i been wit ps3 since the 60gb ps3 but upgraded my hd i would also like to n the psn store sum type of way to show what games u bout from the jus demos and dlc because it sucks having to go threw a over 500 items n the store n tryn to find the stuff u bought i figure that would probly b easy than cross game voice chat . i jus feel that would b more orgnize but 4 ur system n plus people like me that have alot of games over a 100 disk games plus a 100 psn games would love that music multi delete button like u got on video files also a easy way to get to the games we bought from the store n dlc thank J
i got sumthing else for ps home i would like to c n holly wood hills were we could stream movies from our harddrive n that space im sure u wnt let us play movies that r stolen from sites can u at least make a monthly fee for ps home n hollywoood hills or a space like that where we could play movies i guess charge like a month fee from psn video store like $7.99 plus u could compete wit vudu , netfix, hulu plus, people would love to go n home 4 that feature plus more people that dnt get on ps home might start to come n start to spend money n there jus because of that feature. or atleast since there is sony movies out there start play real movies n a space or 2 n the movie rooms or make a bigger place to add rooms upstairs it can happen think of the possibilitys people would go n home for that as well . if u can respond to me hit me up on my email that u have under my name thanx i would love to hear feed back
Susan,
This is great, and thank you for taking the time to answer so many questions. Sadly, a lot of readers on this blog are getting used to being ignored when they offer feedback and constructive criticism, so we always appreciate it when we see that our feedback is being taken to heart!
My big suggestion continues to be expanding the duration of the trial games to 4-5 hours. Most of the games that have been offered begin with cinemas and tutorials, and 60 minutes is not enough time to decide if you really want them. Considering the size of the download (6.5 GB for Prototype, for example), it’s hard to justify the value of downloading a trial for just 60 minutes of play. A longer trial would offer gamers more time to get into the game and decide if it’s worth paying to complete it.
I suspect offering longer trials would only improve sales.
Thanks!
how about sony make more games like kinect as far as better than kung fu live or jus like it but wit ur own style most people might not have move yet but if u make more games wit jus the ps eye. n if u start putn out advertisements people would like that n maby come over to sony to check that out plus ps move
One other suggestion I would offer — the automatic downloading option for PS+ would be a lot more useful if it allowed for more customization.
For instance, I would love to be able to set it to automatically download and install all free PS+ and PS Store updates. It would be nice if the automatic download feature allowed gamers some customization options (e.g. only download new PS+ free games and demos, download every free new release but videos, and so forth). While I understand that you want us to browse the store, many PS+ owners read the blog before they even get on the store, so we’re already aware of what we want.
Browsing the PS store can be a chore if you’ve got a long list of free downloads to wade through.
Thanks again!
I have submitted 2 ideas to the blog share but for some reason it doesn’t show them and says I don’t have any ideas shared. I double checked and made sure they didn’t have anything to do with other ideas but for some reason they don’t show up. Can you please help me out with this.
we wanna c free mmos like u said b 4 dc univerce is a gud game got to play it yesterday but i wnt b payn 4 a fullpirce game then payn a monthly fee u got to b crazy i own over 5 ps3 since the 1st systems i own over a 100 harddisk games and over 100 psn games i want sum give back i dnt have ps plus cause its not worth it to me because all the free games u give i already own and also if u dnt keep psn plus u dnt keep games i rather buy n own not get for free n then u take back after service is over make psn plus worth 4 all type of gamers who do by alot of psn games how bout givin sum free movies or sumthing or what happend to cloud gaming like with plus u could back ur games up uon a sony server n then if ur hd crash u get a new system u could get ur games n stuff that was back up top sony server
One final suggestion — 2011 needs to be the year when the PS3 allows for trophy and save-game synching. Now that the PS3 is lower in price, some people are getting multiple units for their homes or for travel. It’s certainly easy enough to clone the hard drive if you need to move saved games over to a second unit, but we’re in the 21st century now, and PSN really should offer a cloud-based solution for this.
Heck, this could even be a value-added feature for PS+. We PS+ faithful would certainly not complain!
While I understand that it’s logistically problematic at this time, rolling out an automatic synching system for saved games to my PSN account would top my “most desired features” list for the next year.
Susan,
I know you commented earlier saying that if this was something we liked, you would be happy to take the time to do this more frequently.
PLEASE DO
This was a good way to get some of our questions answered, because a lot of the time there are no replied to our posts and this lets us know that you do read them and we can actually get answers.
Thank you
I have to say, crossgame chat is a biggy for me. If PS+ doesn’t have it, i won’t subscribe until you do.
Please give us the ability to change our psn id’s without loosing any of our saved files and trophies!
Our PSN questions answered?how?? all we got was no comments,not now i don’t know what the hell….why bother if you are not gonna answer what we want to know.
Look Jeff and everyone at PS, Im a huge PS fan but I have not bought PS+ yet and many of my friends that have regret it. My point I am getting at is if you really want to make PS+ a must have service, you need to bundle in Hulu Plus or VUDU or Netflix or something of a consistent service. Paying $60 bucks a year for an unknown mystery box every month isnt, or at least shouldnt, be enough of an incentive to buy something like that. Also, I really feel this observation/opinion must be stated, if Cross Game Chat becomes a PS+ exclusive then I am selling my PS3. Thats just the bottom line. That particular service which have been asking for since day 1 should not be an exclusive service. period.
It seems that you have stopped reading the comments (or at least replying) but I just wanted to say that despite the gripes I mentioned in my other posts, I do commend you guys for trying to connect with your fanbase, I have not known many other companies to do this and certainly not to the extent that sony does, so thank you for that. And you also deliver, what I believe to be, the best gaming experiences out there.
What’s up with the Sony Ericsson Z1 Zeus?
I know this is pretty late so i dont expect a reply but some questions i have:
For PS+ will we be seeing more PSP content? as a owner of both a ps3 and a psp it would be nice as i would be a potential buying of PS+ if there was more content for psp as well.
For PS+ will there more PS-Home content? i use Home frequently, and like i said before as a potential buying for a PS+ it would be great in my eyes to see PS-Home content
Will we ever see past Psp games on the PSN? recently you guys havent been releasing classic psp game and generally just release (poorly i might add) newer psp games. As a Psp Go users im very dissapointed as there are a ton of games (past, present, future) i would purchase in a heartbeat.
I really hope this comes to the US with the added functionality of being a Blu-ray Remote for video content, etc.
http://kotaku.com/5714407/playstation-app-for-iphone-android-might-not-be-what-youre-expecting
On my want list:
1) NFL Content
2) Incremental Updates/Better Data Compression on Updates
3) More Original Content
4) Multiple Players Logged in earning Trophies
Any updates on these?
So the word from SOny is
for now on we are going to act like we care what people who dump ass loads of cash in to our ever failing product wants and we will never deliver… or should i sum it up as, “I: 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.”
We need a music service.
Hello PlayStation, I have a question but it’s out of topic. I have updated a PSP-3000 (Japanese) and I expect that the MUSIC UNLIMITED would be added in my psp but then I was finished update my psp and I look it in my psp that there is no MUSIC UNLIMITED and I was see that there was a new added a icon and that is x-Radar Portable. pls help PlayStation. Tnx
when will sony support a2dp bluetooth stereo headset? so we can play games listening to the sounds of the stereo bluetooth headset and not have to be listening to the family asking to reduce the sound of shooter games
Thank you for your attention ^ ^