Sony's "not-so-secret weapon" is PSN

By Robert Purchese Published 17 February, 2010

Stringer's "foundation" is linked hardware.

Sony overlord Howard Stringer has said PlayStation Network is the company's "not-so-secret weapon", and today reaches over 40 million registered accounts worldwide.

He spoke at the Mobile World Congress event where he announced that Sony Ericsson phones are the latest device to support PSN. The Sony Ericsson Aino handset already works with PS3 and allows users to access hard drive content and use PlayTV.

"At Sony our strategy of pairing network services with hardware and software is the foundation on which we will deliver those applications and more," offered Stringer, according to GamesIndustry.biz. "We're already utilising the rapidly growing PlayStation Network, now with over 40 million registered accounts, to reach new digitally savvy customers around the world.

"PSN is a not-so-secret weapon – last November the PSN video delivery service launched in four new countries – the UK, France, Germany and Spain. In its first five days alone, despite the struggling European economy, revenue from those four countries was 40 per cent of the worldwide revenues for PSN's video delivery service – a testament to how critical the European market will continue to be."

Stringer hopes to add PSN support to Bravia TVs, VAIO laptops and Blu-ray players in the future.

A full video of the Sony Ericsson presentation can be seen on The Lost Gamer.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds. @Clert on Twitter.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (46) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • menage #1 2 years ago

    here we go again

    I have 6 accounts already:p

  • sfp_noodle #2 2 years ago

    sony seem to be willy waving alot today. id take note of their willy waving if they announced cross game party chat for the ps3. now thts something worth waving a willy over

  • YoungPayters #3 2 years ago

    @sfp_noodle
    isnt that what life is all about... willy waving. why do men do anything in life? to willy wave!
    im really bored by the way..

  • sfp_noodle #4 2 years ago

    *waves willy* OMG now i know why sony does it. ITS AM-AZ-ING!

  • KRadiation #5 2 years ago

    If I had 6 willies I'd wave them about too.

  • ParanoidZombie #6 2 years ago

    "Sony overlord Howard Stringer"... That made me lol.

  • Retroid #7 2 years ago

    I have my main account and one each for the US & Japanese stores. Because the Euro one is frequently "a bit crap".

  • richardiox #8 2 years ago

    Yeah, regarding that 40million PSN accounts.....

    ...Because they are free to create, I think everyone I know has created 2 or 3, some people create a new PSN ID for everyone who uses their PS3. Sure some people on there have 5+ accounts...and then there are all those PSP accounts too.

    Would be interested to know a unique user kind of figure, which I suspect would be around half of the 40million. As PS3 becomes more mass-market I dont think your more traditional casual Playstation gamer (Fifa etc) will be overly interested about the online side of things

  • Quak #9 2 years ago

    a testament to how critical the European market will continue to be.

    Hey guys, if you really mean that, how about you stop shitting on the continent with your late releases and inflated prices?

    $1 != £1

  • KRadiation #10 2 years ago

    They can't offer us a straight up exchange rate for $'s into £'s. It's not how currency works.
    Edited by KRadiation at 17/02/10 @ 12:34

  • Eraser #11 2 years ago

    Such coincidence!

  • Toothball #12 2 years ago

    Every week my disappointment with PSN grows as they fail to make games available in Europe that are available in other regions. And then there's the whole lack of PSP download games as usual.

  • Rirekon #13 2 years ago

    The main problem with the PSN is the lack of serious support from the hardware that uses it; Add standby downloading and webstore queuing-to-console already, the fact that I can remotely turn on my PS3 using a PSP really suggests this shouldn't be a problem and yet it's still not been implemented.

    On a side note; what the hell is it with the PS3 requiring manual installs of downloaded content, can the uber-core not just do it for me? If my Xbox can do it then there's no real excuse... except possibly Sony being idiots.

  • spiny #14 2 years ago

    "The Sony Ericsson Aino handset already works with PS3"

    Shame it's a poo phone :(

  • altitude2k #15 2 years ago

    "The Sony Ericsson Aino handset already works with PS3"

    Shame it's a poo phone :(

    That can't be a nice thing to have to carry in your pocket...

  • Darren #16 2 years ago

    I have three PSN accounts (UK, US and Japanese) so I'd imagine that 40 million figure doesn't represent the true number of people actually using the service.

  • berelain #17 2 years ago

    Unfortunately the PSN is still mostly rubbish. I can't even get movies from the PSN because it takes too long to download and they don't stream smoothly, whilst the Xbox sitting next to the PS3 can stream HD absolutely fine.

    As for the Aino phone, that only uses the same remote play that the PSP uses, and which is mostly useless, since you need to have the PS3 turned on all day waiting for the remote connection and when you do manage it, it doesn't tend to run very well.

  • GamerG #18 2 years ago

    Microsoft only include accounts used in the last 6 months, do Sony simply include every last account ever set up?

  • cyacomini #19 2 years ago

    I only use my PS3 once or twice every few months and the first thing I do is check PSN to see what I've missed.

    Usually nothing.

    Except the Heavy Rain demo - which I just had to try.

  • reality_cheque #20 2 years ago

    Why would you want a bluray player logging into your PSN account!?! (for the record I'd feel exactly the same if MS told me I could log into XBL on anything that couldn't play games)

  • MaxiSleep #21 2 years ago

    Sony's "not-so-usefull weapon" is PSN

    Fixed

  • Monkey_Puncher #22 2 years ago

    Can I play Pixel Junk Monsters on my Blu-Ray now?

  • moggsy #23 2 years ago

    @reality_cheque

    So that you could watch a streamed film?

  • Widge #24 2 years ago

    Bluray player logging into PSN -> if the thing has a built in HDD, you could use the Video Store for rentals etc.
    Oh yeah, and for streaming and all that.

  • GamesConnoisseur #25 2 years ago

    I have 4 accounts, so would say a good proportion of 40 million accounts are duplicates but Sony is correct about numbers out there and where they COULD do a ruddy lot more to make their service damn more competitive!!

    Would wait and see for proof in the pudding of how they are taking it forward.

    By the way got Bravia TV and yet to be amazed with it's online app features.

  • Banksy #26 2 years ago

    He "sopke"?! Is this Eurogamer Sweden?

  • Murton #27 2 years ago

    sony seem to be willy waving alot today. id take note of their willy waving if they announced cross game party chat for the ps3. now thts something worth waving a willy over


    We have just come off the back of the Microsoft only willy waving bonanza that is X10, it's important for Sony to try and show an inch more before everyone forgets what theirs looks like.

    I'm gonna have to echo the above comments in that there's going to be more than a few dupe accounts, especially in Europe where if you want demos and trailers while they're still relevant your really do need at least a US account. Americans and Japs however have no need for additional extra-terrestrial accounts as their territory is adequately supported by the PSN. I'd probably say around 30 million of those accounts is unique to a player if you count people who share a console but have their own accounts or have a master and sub account.

  • Rodster #28 2 years ago

    I have 10 PSN accounts Stringer, so what does that do to your figures?

    It simply shows how figures lie and liars figure.

  • Peew971 #29 2 years ago

    Since Sony Ericsson are making Windows Phones you could potentially have both your PSN and Live accounts in your pocket :D

  • Bigglesworth #30 2 years ago

    As has been pointed out, couples, families or even housemates can create multiple accounts on one machine - but why are these accounts not as 'real' as any others?

  • cyacomini #31 2 years ago

    Should be fairly easy to filter accounts by MAC address - I see no reason why they can't tell us how many PS3's have PSN accounts, how many PSP accounts etc rather than how many users have one.

  • Ryze #32 2 years ago

    @farticus

    The odd eu exclusive game or demo (such as Outrun), I'd expect would cause a surge of EU accounts being opened by NA PSN users.

    The fact is, that PSP owners have PSN accounts, and it's possible and easy to make several and use none of them. For example, I have probably 3 or 4 accounts that I made over the past few years, but only got a PS3 less than a year ago.

    Sony are probably struggling to get PSN to pay for itself - especially due to issues with PSN itself, so are casting their net wider, while trying to convince everyone of how wonderful it already is.

    I've probably spent about £10-15 in the PSN - for Flower and WipEout HD.

    Peanuts - and loads of PS3 owners don't even bother going over to the PSN icon.

  • KillerMonkey #33 2 years ago

    With so many people creating lots of accounts, it would be awesome to see the amount of PSN accounts exceed the amount of PS3s sold. I'd love to see them trying to spin that into something positive.

  • woodnotes #34 2 years ago

    Erm, and Xbox LIVE is Microsoft's "not-so-secret" weapon.

  • reality_cheque #35 2 years ago

    @moggsy: err... if I'm watching a streamed film, why would I do it on a bluray machine? Surely bluray machines are designed to play bluray discs on, not stream to.

  • Murton #36 2 years ago

    With so many people creating lots of accounts, it would be awesome to see the amount of PSN accounts exceed the amount of PS3s sold. I'd love to see them trying to spin that into something positive.

    Already happened, there's also more gamertags than 360s. Just means that for whatever reason some people make multiple accounts on the same console, could be two brothers or housemates or whatever share a console and each have their own account, doesn't have to be anything sinister and I see no need for Sony or MS to try and spin that fact into anything positive.

  • NorUraeus #37 2 years ago

    @reality_cheque: uhm, most people buy things like tv's and blu-ray players to watch movies. If the box turns out to offer streaming and downloadable movies in addition to playing disc based ones, is it really that hard for you to imagine people taking advantage of that service? I for instance bought my ps3 to play games, but I have also used it to watch movies. In fact due to PlayTV I even use it to watch TV.

    So while you might think it would have been better for me to have 5 different boxes under my tv instead of one, there are those of us who disagree.

  • Retroid #38 2 years ago

    @GamerG: "Microsoft only include accounts used in the last 6 months, do Sony simply include every last account ever set up?"

    Really? I hadn't heard that. Certainly sensible if true.

  • coolbritannia #39 2 years ago

    i'd get working on an oh so secret weapon boys, y'know, in case PSN stays shit.

  • des #40 2 years ago

    More like secret dud...

  • busboy33 #41 2 years ago

    @murton:

    I can't speak for PSN personally, but on XBL the different reagions have different content (Asia especially) so even if the NA XBL has alot of stuff I've got my Asia/Europe silver accounts to get that occasional demo).

    Another good use for a multiple (Silver) XBL account is as a Clan. If you make a free account as your Clan, then set its friends list to "let people see", you can have all your teammates friend up and you have what is essentially a ClanPage (hopefully the new XBL changes will include actual ClanPages).

    (btw, does anybody know how to get the Asian XBL menus to display in english?)

  • zedzee #42 2 years ago

    "...a testament to how critical the European market will continue to be."

    Is that the same European market that you stiffed by delaying the launch of the PS3 in by five months and by setting the highest price in the world for a console in as well...?

  • Bravestinsane #43 2 years ago

    I created a PSN account so no one could have my name i use on Xbox live.... i don't own a PS3 or a PSP and i have never actually logged into the service, but as it's free what the hell ^^

  • blackbriar101 #44 2 years ago

    Yes the PSN really fails when compared to the 360's secret weapon which is noise.Nobody will hear you as you fire the shotgun placed in your mouth after a 12 year old tells you how to molest your own mother just before you get the Red Ring of conclusion to the fact M$ took advantage of my whitetrash brain.Give it a rest xbot twats.

  • reality_cheque #45 2 years ago

    @NorUraeus : that's fair enough, I just find it odd that people with PSN accounts wouldn't already own a bluray player that allows you to log in and stream movies ;)

  • Bloobat #46 2 years ago

    Like sfp_noodle said, we need cross game and party chat, this is the one feature that live has and we don't, apart from that PSN IS a great service and its FREE!
    Edited by Bloobat at 18/02/10 @ 18:45