PlayTV PVR for PS3 Unveiled By Sony at Leipzig Games Convention

Pricing wasn’t disclosed on the PlayTV. The twin- channel TV tuner peripheral and PVR software will turn PS3 “into a state of the art TV recorder, allowing users to watch, pause and record live TV,” the company said. PlayTV will allow users to record individual programs or whole series to the PS3’s hard drive for viewing later on the family TV or for transfer to PSPs for remote viewing outside the home. It will operate on the widely available DVB-T format and use a seven-day electronic program guide, the company said. However, the seven-day guide was likely only possible in the U.K. and Germany now, meaning other countries will have guides for a smaller number of days, varying by the country, an SCEE spokesman told us. The PVR system is “our own,” he said, telling us TiVo had nothing to do with its development.

The two TV tuners are HD-ready and allow viewing, recording and playback of HD signals in 1080p, SCEE said, adding PlayTV will also “evolve with time” with unspecified “added value” functionality updated via the online PlayStation Network. PlayTV will “extend the already broad entertainment credentials of PS3 and makes it an exceptionally attractive proposition for the whole family,” said SCEE President David Reeves.

The PlayTV announcement didn’t come as a shock because Warwick Light, SCE New Zealand’s head of marketing, was recently quoted as saying the company hoped to launch such a product (CED Aug 2 p8). At the time, SCEE’s spokesman said only a digital tuner was “just one of many functions PS3 would be capable of providing.” SCE America (SCEA) hasn’t announced a similar offering for North America.

A total of 1.3 million PS3 consoles have been sold in PAL territories, SCEE said. It didn’t break the sales down by country. It also predicted 140 million PlayStation systems across will have been sold in PAL markets by 2010.

SCEE will also begin shipping the same slimmer, lighter version of the PSP that SCEA unveiled at E3 (CED July 13 p4), but at 169 euros, about $229, in Europe. It costs $169.99 in the U.S. The revised PSP will be available in Europe in piano black, ceramic white and ice silver -- the same three colors unveiled in the U.S., but the ceramic white and ice silver units are being made available to U.S. consumers only in bundles. SCEE is offering bundles in Europe, but different ones. One of the exclusive PSP bundles for Europe -- both to be made available in limited supplies -- will include a PSP in “Spider-Man red and black,” Activision’s Spider-Man 3 videogame and Sony’s Spider-Man 3 movie on Universal Media Disc (UMD). The other includes a “Simpsons yellow” PSP and a Simpsons game from Electronic Arts. Each bundle will cost 199.99 euros ($398.35). More than 69 PSP titles are expected to be released by Christmas from SCEE and its third party publishing partners, including WipEout, Pursuit Force and Syphon Filter, as well as new games including the music title Patapon and Echo Chrome, a three- dimensional brain teaser.

SCEE also provided details on its VoD joint venture with British Sky Broadcasting (Sky) announced last month for the U.K. and Ireland (CED July 30 p8). The Go video download service will launch in early 2008 and will be the first official PSP video download service anywhere in Europe, SCEE said, adding that the service will launch with “a rich selection of high quality entertainment.” The programs will include a mix of Sky content, including sports, entertainment, movies, music and animation, SCEE said. In addition to a selection of content from its own channels, Sky “plans to work with third-party channel brands and content owners to create an even more comprehensive service,” SCEE said. Pricing wasn’t disclosed.

Also unveiled were details on GoMessenger, a wireless communications package for PSP set for commercial launch in January, SCEE said. It was jointly developed by BT and SCEE, and will bring a variety of wireless communications features to the device, including high-quality video calls, voice calls and instant messaging, it said. The PSP software, developed by BT, will be available to all new and existing PSPs, via online download or by being shared between users. It will allow PSP users to send instant messages to each other using a new on-screen keyboard when connected to wireless broadband at home or a public Wi-Fi hotspot, including BT Openzone hotspots in and around city centers, SCEE said.

It will also allow free calls and messages to a range of existing BT softphone products and paid calls to fixed and mobile phones. A headset will also allow gamers to use voice chat and leave voice messages, while the attachable GoCam video camera will allow them to make video calls and leave video messages, the company said. BT will work with SCEE to promote the product in five European countries initially -- the U.K., France, Germany, Spain and Italy -- before extending it to the remainder of SCEE’s global market, the companies said.

SCEE will also launch GoExplore, a GPS navigation package for PSP in 2008, it said. The company developed that service with TeleAtlas and NavNGo, and it will support 11 languages on each geographic version: English, German, French, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish. SCEA hasn’t announce PSP VoD, downloading, Messenger or navigation plans for North America, and wouldn’t say Wednesday whether it will.

The Games Convention’s organizer said there was a 25 percent increase in exhibition space from last year. A total of 503 exhibitors are attending this time from 31 countries, an increase from 374 exhibitors and 24 countries in 2006, it said, adding 200,000 exhibitors are expected, up from 183,000 last year. Though E3 was downsized this year, the Leipzig show is enjoying increased attendance and exhibitors, producers boasted Wednesday. Sony’s hardware news alone at Leipzig was more significant than all the Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo news announced at E3 last month.