PS3 titles to use single online sign-in

Rob Fahey 11:12 08/11/2006

One sign-in for every game, but online features may still differ

Every game on the PlayStation 3 will use the same universal sign-in and the same online ID, Sony has confirmed - even titles which do not use the central buddy list and messaging systems offered by the console.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz this morning, the UK producer on launch title Resistance, Dan Brooke, said that he "wishes to be clear that Resistance uses the PlayStation online ID to sign into the game. There is no separate login for Resistance and the online ID you create will be the same you use for all titles."

The clarification comes after Ted Price, head of Resistance developer Insomniac Games, revealed last week that despite having extensive online functionality, the game will not be using the central buddy list offered by the PS3; instead, players will build an in-game buddy list unique to the game.

Resistance is also set to offer advanced community features such as clan support, party support, match-making and ranking. At present the PlayStation 3 operating system does not offer centralised support for these features.

However, contrary to some reports which have appeared in recent weeks, gamers will not be expected to sign up new accounts for each game they play, as the PS3 will handle a single sign-in ID for this purpose.

This system is similar to how online games worked on the PlayStation 2, where users had a single Central Station ID which identified them in every game on the system - although unlike the PS2, the PS3's network adapter is built in and configures itself automatically in most network environments, and the system boasts persistent internal storage for network and sign-in details, as well as for downloaded content.

However, the PS3's service still falls significantly short of Microsoft's highly regarded Xbox Live system, whose voice chat, messaging, buddy lists and so on are not only a core part of the service, but are utilised by all online titles on the console.

There are already people in line for PS3..

I went to Best Buy this morning for a job interview (got the job, but it's seasonal) and I saw about 7 people waiting outside. I went inside and one of the workers told me that they had been there since Monday. Do these people have no lives?

The awesome thing was, as I was waiting outside, I saw a bunch of people coming to Best Buy and picking up Gears of War. A few people made some funny remarks. One guy is like, "I hope you guys brought enough food!" Another one said, "Where is the line for PS4? Is it on the other side?"

November 8, 2006 - In a recent interview conducted with Red Herring, Nolan Bushnell expressed some astonishing insights into the next-generation console wars. During the interview, the Atari and Chuck E. Cheese founder mostly focused on his recent foray into the world of restaurant entrepreneurship, but managed to find time to weigh in on the future of the impending PlayStation 3 and Wii.

Bushnell seemed to be wholly positive on the future of the Wii, echoing sentiments heard from Nintendo executives regarding the Wii's potential to "expand the market beyond the hardcore." Similarly, Bushnell seemed to have only good things to say about Microsoft's Xbox 360, its easy-to-use authoring tools, and Xbox Live.

His take on the future of the PlayStation 3 was anything but positive, however. Bushnell expressed his distaste for the difficulty of developing for the system, and the "arrogance and capriciousness" which Sony has gotten away with in the past due to its massive installed user base. Bushnell even went so far as to call first party developers "idiots" if they chose to develop for the PS3 rather than the 360.

When asked about the potential success of the PS3 compared to its predecessors, Bushnell blamed Sony's past accomplishments on timing. "They had the right pricing at the right time [and were] almost the accidental winner," said Bushnell. When it comes to the PS3, Bushnell seemed to think that Sony would have a hard time even selling through 1 million units by this time next year. Only time will tell whether or not Bushnell's predictions come true.

Yesterday, Microsoft announced a plan to make a large offering of high-def movies and TV shows available on Xbox Live on demand. And of course, Sony was quick to respond to the unveiling with a few scathing comments.

"I think they are doing a disservice to their consumer base because they are ignoring all those people who bought the Core system," said Sony Computer Entertainment America PR chief Dave Karraker, speaking specifically about the lower-end $299 360. That system doesn't come with the attachable hard drive required to store content acquired from Xbox Live.

SCEA's lead spokesman was quick to point out that both PS3 models will have the hard drives built in. "We would never segregate or shut out any of our consumers from our entertainment experience because they didn't buy the top of the line system," said Karraker.

Karraker went even further to remind us that 7 gigabytes of the 360's 20-gig hard drive are taken up by any preloaded content. Of course, he didn't mention that 4 of those 7 gigs are available for deletion if you really don't want them there, and we really don't know how much of the PS3's hard drive we'll need. The two drives available are the 20GB in the $499 PS3 and the 60GB in the $599 Premium PS3.

Microsoft intends to launch their new video and movie service on November 22. At Sony's Gamer's Day, we learned that the company is planning to "eventually" tap into that massive library of music, video, and movie content for online distribution on the PS3, but we don't have a definitive date just yet.

"We haven't announced when other entertainment content, beyond games, will be available from the PlayStation Store," finished Karraker.

November 9, 2006 - Talk about waiting until the last minute! When most of Japan woke up today, the PS3 was less than 48 hours away from launch, and Sony still hadn't announced pricing details for PlayStation Network downloads. Obviously, this was a situation as great, if not greater, than North Korea's nuclear ambitions!

Sony Computer Entertainment at last cleared things up -- just a bit -- in a release issued Thursday evening. Pricing has been set for one of the downloads set to go live on 11/11: Blast Factor. Sony's answer to Geometry Wars will sell for 840 yen, approximately $7.00 US. Sony will also make available a free demo download for those who wan to try before they buy.

Blast Factor will require at least 95 megabytes of free space on the hard disk, according to Sony. This suggests that PlayStation Network downloads will exceed the size of the original Xbox Live Arcade titles.

Pricing plans for PlayStation Network titles outside of Japan have yet to be revealed.

Sony prepping firmwares updates for PS3 launch

Posted Nov 9th 2006 6:59PM by Paul Miller

You might've hoped that after years of PS3 strife -- coupled with a couple of weeks in line, of course -- that once you'd forked over your $600 + games + accessories + HDMI, you could finally plop down on the couch and start washing away all the grief with MotoStorm / Genji / Ridge Racer / Resistance, smug in your next-gen digs. Well, you can... after you run a quick firmware update. See, Sony saved its PlayStation Network online service functionality for a version 1.1 update, which can be accessed from a menu item on the PS3 on launch day. Sony says it's also prepping a 3.0 PSP update for late November that will also add PlayStation Network support, along with the ability to access PS3 content via WiFi.