Sony boss Sir Howard Stringer has revealed the corporate giants ambitions to evolve the PlayStation Network beyond the PS3 platform.
Why? Well, PS3 sales have put ”a limit” on network scale and Sony want it much bigger. Conceding it will ”take time”, executives are hopeful nonetheless with their ”open scheme” DRM.
”We developed brand new, absolutely incredible technology for the PS3, but the cost was high,” Stringer told Nikkei Electronics.
”We’ve adopted a slightly different approach now, and are evolving the PS3 into a platform for Web services.” Does this mean we could one day see the PlayStation Network challenge Microsoft’s own Games For Windows Live Marketplace?
”Next we will be expanding the PlayStation Network to hardware other than the PS3, because the number of PS3 units sold puts a limit on the scale of the network possible.”
”A lot of people thought Sony’s content download service was doomed, but it’s in a pretty good place right now in the form of the PlayStation Network,” he continued.
”The DRM is based on Marlin, an open scheme developed by consumer electronics companies and other companies. What does all this mean? Very simply, it means that Sony has begun the transition from a closed system to an open one.”
He also pats Nintendo on the back for developing the Wii, and in achieving something that Sony hasn’t with the PS3; ”namely, generating profit from hardware sales.”
Would it be wise for PSN to expand its way onto PC?