Sony will launch its new PlayStationNetwork video delivery service for Europe and the PAL territories this November. The service will initially be available in France, Germany, Spain and the UK, with other markets to follow in 2010, and will allow movie fans to download the latest releases straight to their PlayStation3 and PSP.
The video delivery service will offer titles to buy or to rent from major movie studios including 20th Century Fox, Disney-ABC-ESPN Television, Lionsgate, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM), Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Starz Media2, Universal2, and Warner Bros, in addition to local market studios including Universum Film (Germany) and Constantin Film (Germany). Additional local studios in other territories will be announced closer to launch.
Hundreds of titles will be available at launch including Angels and Demons; Bruno; The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe; Crank 2; The Dark Knight; Dead Space: Downfall; Gran Torino; Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix; National Treasure; Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl; Public Enemies; Star Trek; Terminator Salvation; Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen; Valkyrie; and X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
The video delivery service will be fully integrated within the PlayStation Network, using the same log-in, wallet system and user-interface. Visitors will be able search for movies by name, or browse categories such as “new releases”, “genres” and ”most popular downloads”.
PS3’s progressive downloading will allow viewers to start watching a film shortly after the download begins. They will also access certain games or other content on their PS3 while the download is taking place.
Consumers who choose to rent have up to 14 days to watch their movie, and, once playback is started, will have a minimum of 24 hours to watch the content. Further specifics for viewing times will be announced closer to launch of the service. Purchased movies will be stored on the PS3 hard disk drive and may be accessed at home via PS3 or transferred to PSP for content on the go.
