Sony Online Service challenges iTunes. Puts all Sony online products and services for all devices (PS3, PSP included) under one umbrella platform

23 November 2009

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Posted by:Josh

The Sony Online Service has been announced. This ambitious plan will challenge Apple’s iTunes service by taking Sony online media beyond gaming and make it uniform, under one banner and one umbrella, for all Sony devices.

This includes the PlayStation 3 and PSP Go, but reaches much further beyond Sony’s gaming platforms and includes Sony-branded PCs, TVs, Blu-ray Players, mobile devices, set-top boxes, mp3 players, E-reader electronic book handhelds and anything else that connects to an online, Sony service.

And the backbone of this entire SOS system (a temporary name that stands for “Sony Online Service) is the PlayStation Network itself.

Sony intends to use the PSN as the foundation for this new platform. They will then build on it to make it compatible with all Sony devices. Which will apparently mean that anything available on PSN that isn’t a platform-specific media, will be available instantly on any Sony device, as long as the device you are using is compatible with that content.

To understand how uniform this service will actually be, Sony has already revealed that a single user ID will be compatible across any Sony device that uses the SOS. The ultimate goal of all this is to not only connect each device to one single platform, but to encourage users to buy more content and additional Sony devices/products because of the shared SOS, a common content distribution system, that they all can tap into.

Speaking about the PSN being the SOS’ backbone, Kaz Hirai explained,

“The service will be launched economically and quickly by leveraging the PlayStation Network service platform. For example, key assets for creating a network service management system, payment system, and content distribution system will be shared with the PSN platform so that initial investment risk can be minimized. The introduction of new mobile products that are network enabled will be a key part of this process, as mobile products which users turn to throughout the day will be a key entry point to this service.”

Sony did not reveal a date or launch window for the SOS.

Via GameSpot