1.
Sony Interactive Entertainment
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Sony Interactive Entertainment is a multinational video game company and is an owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products and Services Group of Sony. The company was founded and established on November 16,1993, as Sony Computer Entertainment, since the successful launch of the original PlayStation console in 1994, the company has since been developing the PlayStation lineup of home video game consoles and accessories. Expanding upon North America and other countries, the company soon became Sonys main resource for research and development in video games, in 1994, Sony Computer Entertainment America, began to produce the original PlayStation console in North America. The starting price for this console was originally listed at $299.99, in April 2016, SCE and Sony Network Entertainment was restructured and reorganized into Sony Interactive Entertainment, carrying over the operations and primary objectives from both companies. Sony Interactive Entertainment handles the research and development, production, alongside, it is also a developer and publisher of video game titles and is composed of several subsidiaries of Sonys largest markets, North America, Europe and Asia. As of September 30,2016, the company has sold more than 486 million PlayStation consoles worldwide. Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. was jointly established by Sony, the original PlayStation console was released on December 3,1994, in Japan. The companys North American operations, Sony Computer Entertainment of America, were established in May 1995 as a division of Sony Electronic Publishing. Located in Foster City, California, the North American office was headed by Steve Race. On August 7,1995, Race unexpectedly resigned and was named CEO of Spectrum HoloByte three days later and he was replaced by Sony Electronics veteran Martin Homlish. The PS console was released in the United States on September 9,1995, as part of a worldwide restructuring at the beginning of 1997, SCEA was re-established as a wholly owned subsidiary of SCEI. The launch of the second PS console, the PlayStation 2 was released in Japan on March 4,2000, on July 1,2002, chairman of SCEI, Shigeo Maruyama, was replaced by Tamotsu Iba as chairman. Jack Tretton and Phil Harrison were also promoted to vice presidents of SCE. The PlayStation Portable was SCEIs first foray into the handheld console market. Its development was first announced during SCEs E3 conference in 2003, the system was released in Japan on December 12,2004, in North America on March 24,2005, and in Europe and Australia on September 1,2005. On September 14,2005, SCEI formed Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, shuhei Yoshida was named as President of SCE WWS on May 16,2008, replacing Kazuo Hirai, who was serving interim after Harrison left the company in early 2008. On December 8,2005, video game developer Guerrilla Games, on January 24,2006, video game developer Zipper Interactive, developers of the Socom series, was acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment as part of its SCE WWS. Sony also stated that the service would always be connected, free, the launch date for the PS3 was announced by Hirai at the pre-Electronic Entertainment Expo conference held at Sony Pictures Studios in Los Angeles, U. S. on May 8,2006
2.
PlayStation Portable
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The PlayStation Portable is a handheld game console developed by Sony. Development of the handheld was announced during E32003, and it was unveiled on May 11,2004, the system was released in Japan on December 12,2004, in North America on March 24,2005, and in the PAL region on September 1,2005. It primarily competed with the Nintendo DS, as part of the generation of video games. The PlayStation Portable became the most powerful system when launched. It was the first real competitor to Nintendos handheld domination, where many challengers, such as SNKs Neo Geo Pocket and Nokias N-Gage and it also features connectivity with the PlayStation 3, other PSPs and the Internet. It is the handheld console to use an optical disc format, Universal Media Disc. The original PSP model was replaced by a model with design changes in 2007. Another remodeling followed in 2008, PSP-3000, which included a new screen, a complete redesign, PSP Go, came in 2009, followed by a budget model, PSP-E1000, in 2011. The PSP line was succeeded by the PlayStation Vita, released in December 2011 in Japan, the PlayStation Vita features backward compatibility with many PlayStation Portable games digitally released on the PlayStation Network, via PlayStation Store. Shipments of the PlayStation Portable ended throughout 2014 worldwide, having sold 80 million units in its 10-year lifetime, Sony first announced development of the PlayStation Portable at a press conference before E32004. Although mock-ups of the system were not present at the conference or E3. Then-CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Jose Villeta called the device the Walkman of the 21st Century in a reference to the multimedia capabilities. Several gaming websites were impressed by the handhelds computing capabilities and looked forward to the potential as a gaming platform. Nintendo had been dominating the market since launching its Game Boy in 1989, with the only close competitor being Segas Game Gear. Later offerings from both SNK and Nokia also failed to cut into Nintendos share, the PSP was called the first legitimate competitor to Nintendo’s dominance in the handheld market by an IDC analyst in 2004. The first concept images of the PSP appeared in November 2002 at the Sony Corporate Strategy Meeting and showed a PSP with flat buttons and no analog stick. Although some expressed concern over the lack of an analog joystick, in addition to announcing more details about the system and its accessories, Sony also released a list of 99 developer companies that had pledged support for the new handheld. Several PSP game demos, such as Konamis Metal Gear Acid and SCE Studio Liverpools Wipeout Pure were also shown at the conference
3.
PlayStation 3
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The PlayStation 3 is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is the successor to PlayStation 2, and is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles and it was first released on November 11,2006, in Japan, November 17,2006, in North America, and March 23,2007, in Europe and Australia. The PlayStation 3 mainly competes against consoles such as Microsofts Xbox 360, the console was first officially announced at E32005, and was released at the end of 2006. It was the first console to use Blu-ray Disc as its storage medium. In September 2009, the Slim model of the PlayStation 3 was released and it no longer provided the hardware ability to run PS2 games. It was lighter and thinner than the version, and featured a redesigned logo and marketing design. A Super Slim variation was released in late 2012, further refining and redesigning the console. The system had a start in the market but managed to recover. As of March 2016, PlayStation 3 has sold 85 million units worldwide, putting it about on par with Xbox 360 and its successor, the PlayStation 4, was released later in November 2013. On September 29,2015, Sony confirmed that sales of the PlayStation 3 were to be discontinued in New Zealand, in March 2017, the official site for PlayStation 3 in Japan was updated to state that it would be discontinued soon. Sony officially unveiled PlayStation 3 to the public on May 16,2005, at E32005, Video footage based on the predicted PlayStation 3 specifications was also shown. Two hardware configurations were also announced for the console, a 20 GB model, the 60 GB model was to be the only configuration to feature an HDMI port, Wi-Fi internet, flash card readers and a chrome trim with the logo in silver. Both models were announced for a worldwide release, November 11,2006, for Japan and November 17,2006, for North America. On September 6,2006, Sony announced that PAL region PlayStation 3 launch would be delayed until March 2007, because of a shortage of materials used in the Blu-ray drive. Also, the price of the Japanese 20 GB model was reduced by over 20%. During the event, Sony showed 27 playable PS3 games running on final hardware, PlayStation 3 was first released in Japan on November 11,2006, at 07,00. According to Media Create,81,639 PS3 systems were sold within 24 hours of its introduction in Japan, soon after its release in Japan, PS3 was released in North America on November 17,2006. Reports of violence surrounded the release of PS3, a customer was shot, campers were robbed at gunpoint, customers were shot in a drive-by shooting with BB guns, and 60 campers fought over 10 systems
4.
Kevin Butler (character)
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He starred as the Vice President of various fictitious departments within the PlayStation division of Sony, responding to Dear PlayStation queries. Due to the reception of the commercials, Sony extended them throughout the remainder of 2010 as well as into 2011. The character was created by Deutsch/LA, the agency responsible for the campaign. Deutsch/LA also manages Kevin Butlers Twitter account and wrote his E32010 speech, creative Circus graduates Will Lindberg and Mark Adler are responsible for creating the Hall of Play Facebook application to induct PlayStation gamers into the Hall of Play by Kevin Butler. Kevin Butler first appeared in a 2009 ad for MLB09, The Show called Dustin vs. PlayStation where he and he then appeared in another ad for the game called Joe the Fan discussing Pedroias abilities with a fan named Joe Biancanellio, a Baseball Connoisseur. These are the two commercials not part of the It Only Does Everything campaign and featured the original model PS3 due to these two commercials being made before the slim model was released. The original PS3 model can also be seen in Kevin Butlers Artist Spotlight for ModNation Racers, Kevin Butler has since appeared in many additional commercials. On June 15,2010, he made an appearance at Sonys E3 press conference promoting the PlayStation Move. He revealed on his Twitter account that he has a degree in M. B. A. In the What Are You Waiting For, commercial, it is shown that Kevin Butler has his own RV called The PlayStation VP-ehicle and he put the PlayStation Move to the ultimate test by spending 90 days in the Maguire familys house. For the 2009 holiday season, Kevin Butler teamed up with Best Buy employee Nick DeVita from New York to promote a PS3 Best Buy bundle and they have since teamed up to promote PS3 Best Buy bundles for the consequent holiday seasons in 2010 and 2011. On August 26,2011, Butler told his Twitter followers KBs off to be PRESIDENT of my uncles new upstart company which was revealed to be fictional Economy Flooring. This led to the launch of a new marketing campaign, Long Live Play, on October 27,2011, as part of the Long Live Play campaign, Kevin Butler opened the Hall of Play inducting PlayStation gamers into the Hall of Play through Facebook. As part of a DLC pack for LittleBigPlanet Karting, players who pre-order the game receive a Kevin Butler Sackboy Costume. He has a different title in each commercial, such as Director of Rumor Confirmation or VP of First Person Shooter Relations, in his YouTube Channel, he notes that he is PlayStation VP of. In the PlayStation Move commercials, instead of responding to Dear PlayStation queries, in the EyePet, Theres a New Pet in Town commercial, he has a Dear Puppies query for puppies. In the video announcing the launch of video streaming on PlayStation 3 in Canada, there have also been some unofficial titles given to him. The Hall of Play is a fictional Hall of Fame that honors PlayStation gamers as part of Sonys Long Live Play campaign, the Hall of Play opened on October 27,2011 with a Kevin Butler version of PlayStations To Michael commercial
5.
Deutsch Inc.
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Deutsch Inc. is an American, multi disciplinary marketing communications agency headquartered in New York City. Founded as David Deutsch Associates, Inc. by David Deutsch in 1969, Deutsch LA opened its office in 1995 and in November 2000, the agency was sold to Interpublic Group of Companies. Deutsch is currently led by Linda Sawyer who took over the role as Chairman in January 2015 and by Mike Sheldon, Deutsch launched its first DLatino practice in the fall of 2014, aiming to focus on Hispanic marketing. In 2016, Deutsch launched a branded entertainment department, DeutschMusic, val DiFebo was named CEO in October 2009, and oversees day-to-day business and operations with a team of agency partners. Dan Kelleher is Chief Creative Officer, andrew Dawson is Chief Strategy Officer and Trevor O’Brien is Chief Technology Officer. Deutsch LA opened its doors in 1995 and is led by Kim Getty. Pete Favat is Chief Creative Officer, North America, winston Binch is Chief Digital Officer, North America. Furniture retailer IKEA airs Deutsch-produced ad that is the first mainstream depiction of identifiable, adWeek picked the Deutsch commercial, The Force, for Volkswagen AG, as the top commercial of 2011. The Association of Independent Commercial Producers also listed that commercial as one of the top 3 of 2011 in several categories, Deutsch executed “Art Heist for Good” for pro bono client Water is Life. The campaign involved taking art from Kibera, one of the most violent slums in Kenya, and using the proceeds to fund clean-water and sanitation systems in the region. Deutsch created TacoBot, an artificially intelligent chatbot for placing orders, Creative awards include, Effies, Clios, Cannes Lions, Addys, Webby’s, One Show Pencils, and Emmy nominations
6.
Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010
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The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010, commonly known as E32010, was the 16th Electronic Entertainment Expo held. The event took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles and it began on June 14,2010, and ended on June 17,2010, with 45,600 total attendees. There was also an E3 event held in Sonys PlayStation Home, E32010 was held at the Los Angeles Convention Center with the show occupying the South and West Halls as well as the first floor. Sony Computer Entertainment and Nintendo had booths that were directly opposite of each other, other notable developers and publishers located on this floor were Atlus, Atari, Bethesda, Sony Online Entertainment, and Capcom. The hall has three types of booths, large, medium and small, the large booths were occupied by Square Enix, MTV Games, Microsoft, Ubisoft, Disney Interactive Studios, and Electronic Arts. The medium booths were occupied by Sega, Konami, THQ, the small booths were occupied by Namco Bandai and Tecmo Koei. Phil Spencer, vice president of Microsoft Studios, hosted the event for Kinect, on June 15,2010, Nintendo held its conference, hosted by Reggie Fils-Aimé. Shigeru Miyamoto appeared on stage and presented gameplay of their new game The Legend of Zelda, Skyward Sword, on June 15,2010, Sony held its conference It was hosted by Jack Tretton. The conference opened up, with Kaz Hirai talking about 3D, Sony also announced its plans to advertise PlayStation Move starting with a partnership with Coca-Cola. They also announced plans to start PlayStation Plus, littleBigPlanet 2, Dead Space 2, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 were demoed. Other games shown include Infamous 2, Medal of Honor, God of War, Ghost of Sparta, the show closed with a teaser trailer, and demo for an upcoming Twisted Metal game. Konamis press conference stood out with its numerous ill-received stunts and performances, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Valve, Namco Bandai, Square Enix also held conferences. Hideo Kojima, creator of the Metal Gear Solid series, made an appearance at Microsofts press conference, prior to that he attended the third annual PlayStation. Blog E3 Meetup and gave away free bundles of Metal Gear Solid, Peace Walker. Tetsuya Nomura, director of Final Fantasy XV and series director of Kingdom Hearts, in addition he is met with Square Enixs Osaka-based Product Development Group 5 which recently worked on Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. This was revealed by Shinji Hashimoto, a Japanese game producer for Square Enix, Japanese game developers Hideki Kamiya, Yuji Naka, Suda 51, and Shinji Mikami all went to E32010. While American game director David Jaffe, head of Eat Sleep Play, was also in attendance, Electronic Arts Chief Executive Officer, John Riccitiello, has billed E32010 as being the Biggest and Best Ever. He also adds that All the best games and all the best developers will be together in LA to unveil new titles and celebrate the creativity and new technology that makes gaming so much fun. Valve Corporation claimed that they were going to be unveiling a surprise at E32010, the Portal 2 event was cancelled on June 1,2010 with the surprise as its replacement
7.
YouTube
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YouTube is an American video-sharing website headquartered in San Bruno, California. The service was created by three former PayPal employees—Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim—in February 2005, Google bought the site in November 2006 for US$1.65 billion, YouTube now operates as one of Googles subsidiaries. Unregistered users can watch videos on the site, while registered users are permitted to upload an unlimited number of videos. Videos deemed potentially offensive are available only to registered users affirming themselves to be at least 18 years old, YouTube earns advertising revenue from Google AdSense, a program which targets ads according to site content and audience. YouTube was founded by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim, Hurley had studied design at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and Chen and Karim studied computer science together at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Karim could not easily find video clips of either event online, Hurley and Chen said that the original idea for YouTube was a video version of an online dating service, and had been influenced by the website Hot or Not. YouTube began as a venture capital-funded technology startup, primarily from an $11.5 million investment by Sequoia Capital between November 2005 and April 2006, YouTubes early headquarters were situated above a pizzeria and Japanese restaurant in San Mateo, California. The domain name www. youtube. com was activated on February 14,2005, the first YouTube video, titled Me at the zoo, shows co-founder Jawed Karim at the San Diego Zoo. The video was uploaded on April 23,2005, and can still be viewed on the site, YouTube offered the public a beta test of the site in May 2005. The first video to reach one million views was a Nike advertisement featuring Ronaldinho in November 2005. Following a $3.5 million investment from Sequoia Capital in November, the site grew rapidly, and in July 2006 the company announced that more than 65,000 new videos were being uploaded every day, and that the site was receiving 100 million video views per day. The site has 800 million unique users a month and it is estimated that in 2007 YouTube consumed as much bandwidth as the entire Internet in 2000. The choice of the name www. youtube. com led to problems for a similarly named website, the sites owner, Universal Tube & Rollform Equipment, filed a lawsuit against YouTube in November 2006 after being regularly overloaded by people looking for YouTube. Universal Tube has since changed the name of its website to www. utubeonline. com, in October 2006, Google Inc. announced that it had acquired YouTube for $1.65 billion in Google stock, and the deal was finalized on November 13,2006. In March 2010, YouTube began free streaming of certain content, according to YouTube, this was the first worldwide free online broadcast of a major sporting event. On March 31,2010, the YouTube website launched a new design, with the aim of simplifying the interface, Google product manager Shiva Rajaraman commented, We really felt like we needed to step back and remove the clutter. In May 2010, YouTube videos were watched more than two times per day. This increased to three billion in May 2011, and four billion in January 2012, in February 2017, one billion hours of YouTube was watched every day
8.
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
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Metal Gear Solid, Peace Walker is an action-adventure stealth video game developed by Kojima Productions and published by Konami for the PlayStation Portable in 2010. This is the first title in the series to alter the traditional tagline Tactical Espionage Action to Tactical Espionage Operations, referring to the base building and mission mechanics of the game. Set in 1974 in Costa Rica, the game follows the exploits of returning protagonist Snake as he runs the mercenary unit Militaires Sans Frontières, Peace Walker consists of two primary gameplay modes, Mission and Mother Base. Players get to choose which missions to play from the Mission Selector screen, there are two main types of Missions, Main Ops are the primary story-based missions in which goals are determined by the narrative and must be played in a strict order in order to proceed. Some Main Ops missions include illustrated cutscenes that involve bits of interactivity in order to proceed, extra Ops are optional missions that involve much more elaborate goals ranging from simple target practices to obtaining secret documents. When the player completes a mission, his or her performance is evaluated afterward, players can replay previously cleared missions for higher scores. The game adopts certain play mechanics from Metal Gear Solid 4, such as the walk, the over-the-shoulder shooting view, the CQC system. The cardboard box used to hide from enemy soldiers is now available in two-man versions called Love Boxes, the player can also use marking devices to call in artillery strikes or resupply drops. Players will be unable to move or shoot while lying down, the player can set the control system according to that of Portable Ops, Guns of the Patriots, or Capcoms Monster Hunter series. Before starting a mission, the player can choose a character, along with his or her weapon loadout, players can choose to control Snake or any MSF soldier assigned to the combat unit, with male and female members both available to choose from. Each soldier has his or her own stats, which measures a soldiers offensive and defensive capabilities. Some of the missions will only be available to Snake. The players carrying capacity is limited and any items that the player obtains during a mission will be transferred over to Mother Bases inventory. There are four types of uniforms that can be worn by the player character. Jungle Fatigues — The default uniform, a balance of stealth, defense, weapons, and inventory. When worn by an MSF soldier, theyll be wearing a tank top. The design of the Sneaking Suit worn by MSF soldiers differs slightly from Snakes version, a variant outfitted with a metal headband for Snake, or a helmet for MSF Soldiers, is also available, which increases the defenses. Other outfits are available, such as t-shirts in various designs, swimsuits
9.
ModNation Racers
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ModNation Racers is a kart racing game developed by United Front Games for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable. User generated content is an aspect of the game, such that it uses the same Play, Create. Adage as LittleBigPlanet to convey its basis in online user-generated content sharing, ModNation Racers for PlayStation 3 was announced and first shown publicly at E32009. The PSP version was announced in February 2010, both versions of the game were released in Europe on May 21,2010, the UK on May 19 and North America on May 25. An online beta was available for the PlayStation 3 in the U. S. in December 2009. Players are able to accelerate and drift, successful drifts allow players to fill their boost meter, players are able to collect weapons as they race which can be upgraded to up to three levels of power, weapons include sonic attacks, missiles and lightning strikes. In addition to the emphasis on user-generated content, the game includes a full-fledged single-player mode featuring a story by professional Hollywood writers, ModSpot is the main lobby area for ModNation Racers. Players can meet up, race, and create and download content, players can start chats using text, voice or gestures. When the game was first announced, it was likened to LittleBigPlanet to highlight the games emphasis on customization, players are able to design and create their own characters, vehicles and race tracks in great detail. The overall style of the cars and characters is based on art and collectors toys. Players are also able to create and modify race tracks using the in-game Track Studio tool and this tool was showcased at Sonys E32009 press conference where one of the games developers created a race track and its surroundings in a five-minute presentation. In April 2010, Infamous developer Sucker Punch Productions showcased the games editing tools with a based on Empire City. Players start off by customizing their racer who begins as a character model similar to Sackboy from LittleBigPlanet. Players can put various decals, different skins, masks, facial hair as well as details on their racer. The material properties of certain customizable accessories allow players to make materials look more rubbery or metallic, the track creation was designed to be user friendly and has been described as probably one of the deepest you’ve ever seen in a racing game. The player drives over a flat terrain template and paints the road from the point of the race to the finish. The player can then modify things such as deformation, lakes, mountains, surface texture, houses, item pick-ups, trees, animals. 30 staff-made circuits were available on release, according to United Front Games at E32009, players can choose between 29 different types of terrain to create a track on
10.
PlayStation
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It is created and owned by Sony Interactive Entertainment since December 3,1994, with the launch of the original PlayStation console in Japan. The original console in the series was the first video game console to ship 100 million units,9 years and 6 months after its initial launch and its successor, the PlayStation 2, was released in 2000. The PlayStation 2 is the home console to date, having reached over 155 million units sold as of December 28,2012. Sonys next console, the PlayStation 3, was released in 2006 and has sold over 80 million consoles worldwide as of November 2013. Sonys latest console, the PlayStation 4, was released in 2013, selling 1 million consoles in its first 24 hours on sale, the first handheld game console in the PlayStation series, sold a total of 80 million units worldwide by November 2013. Its successor, the PlayStation Vita, which launched in Japan on December 17,2011, PlayStation TV is a microconsole and a non-portable variant of the PlayStation Vita handheld game console. The main series of controllers utilized by the PlayStation series is the DualShock, the PlayStation Network is an online service with over 110 million users worldwide. PlayStation Mobile is a framework that provides PlayStation content on mobile devices. Content set to be released under the framework consist of only original PlayStation games currently, 7th generation PlayStation products also use the XrossMediaBar, which is an award-winning graphical user interface. A new touch screen-based user interface called LiveArea was launched for the PlayStation Vita, additionally, PlayStation 2 and original PlayStation 3 consoles also featured support for Linux-based operating systems, though this has since been discontinued. The series has also known for its numerous marketing campaigns. The consoles origins date back to 1988 where it was originally a joint project between Nintendo and Sony to create a CD-ROM for the Super Famicom. However, a day after the announcement at CES, Nintendo announced that it would be breaking its partnership with Sony, opting to go with Philips instead but using the same technology. The deal was broken by Nintendo after they were unable to come to an agreement on how revenue would be split between the two companies. The breaking of the partnership infuriated Sony President Norio Ohga, who responded by appointing Kutaragi with the responsibility of developing the PlayStation project to rival Nintendo. At that time, negotiations were still on-going between Nintendo and Sony, with Nintendo offering Sony a non-gaming role regarding their new partnership with Philips. This proposal was rejected by Kutaragi who was facing increasing criticism over his work with regard to entering the video game industry from within Sony. At the meeting, Kutaragi unveiled a proprietary CD-ROM-based system he had working on which involved playing video games with 3D graphics to the board
11.
PlayStation (console)
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The PlayStation is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The console was released on 3 December 1994 in Japan,9 September 1995 in North America,29 September 1995 in Europe, the console was the first of the PlayStation lineup of home video game consoles. It primarily competed with the Nintendo 64 and the Sega Saturn as part of the generation of video game consoles. The PlayStation is the first computer entertainment platform to ship 100 million units, in 2000, a redesigned, slim version called the PSone was released, replacing the original grey console and named appropriately to avoid confusion with its successor, the PlayStation 2. In 1999, Sony announced the successor to the PlayStation, the PlayStation 2, which is compatible with the PlayStations DualShock controller and games. The last PSone units were sold in winter 2004 before it was discontinued in March 2005. The inception of what would become the released PlayStation dates back to 1986 with a joint venture between Nintendo and Sony, Nintendo approached Sony to develop a CD-ROM add-on, tentatively titled the Play Station or SNES-CD. A contract was signed, and work began, Kutaragi was nearly fired by Sony because he was originally working with Nintendo on the side without Sonys knowledge. It was then-CEO, Norio Ohga, who recognized the potential in Kutaragis chip, Ohga kept Kutaragi on at Sony, and it was not until Nintendo cancelled the project that Sony decided to develop its own console. This was also to be the used in SNES-CDs, giving a large degree of control to Sony despite Nintendos leading position in the video gaming market. The product, dubbed the Play Station was to be announced at the May 1991 Consumer Electronics Show, yamauchi decided that the contract was totally unacceptable and he secretly cancelled all plans for the joint Nintendo-Sony SNES CD attachment. After the collapse of the project, Sony briefly considered allying itself with Sega to produce a stand-alone console. The Sega CEO at the time, Tom Kalinske, took the proposal to Segas Board of Directors in Tokyo, Kalinske, in a 2013 interview recalled them saying that’s a stupid idea, Sony doesnt know how to make hardware. They don’t know how to make software either, why would we want to do this. The federal judge presiding over the case denied the injunction and, in October 1991, however, it is theorized that only 200 or so of these machines were ever produced. However, Sony decided in early 1993 to begin reworking the Play Station concept to target a new generation of hardware and software. As part of process the SNES cartridge port was dropped. Early advertising prior to the launch in North America referenced PSX
12.
PlayStation models
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A number of models of Sonys PlayStation video game console were produced. The PlayStation went through a number of variants during its production run, from an external perspective, the most notable change was the gradual reduction in the number of external connectors from the back of the unit. This started very early on with the original Japanese launch units, the SCPH-1000, released on December 3,1994, was the model that had an S-Video port. Also, the first models had problems with function and developers had to use another function instead. The CD player also included reverberation effects unique to those systems until the release of the PS one in 2000 and this model was followed by the SCPH-550x and exclusive PAL SCPH-5552 units, released in April 1997. Starting with the SCPH-550x series, PAL variants had the power, originally, the PlayStation was supposed to have provision on Video CD support, but this feature was only included on the Asian exclusive SCPH-5903 model. New to the SCPH-700x series was the introduction of the Sound Scope - light show music visualizations and these were accessible by pressing the Select button while playing any normal audio CD in the systems CD player. While watching these visualizations, players could add various effects like color cycling or motion blur. These were seen on the SCPH-700x, 750x, 900x, the final revision to the original PlayStation was the SCPH-900x series, released in May 1999. These had the hardware as the SCPH-750x models, except the parallel port was removed. It also incorporated a modified version of the menu design previously used only on PAL consoles. The later revision was functionally identical, but reduced manufacturing cost by moving to more highly integrated chips. There were also debugging consoles - these were generally in blue or green cases, although there were some special production units that were grey. The debug units were designed to be as close as possible to retail consoles, the reason for the two different case colors was a hardware change that Sony had made fairly early in the PlayStation production cycle - the original machines were built using Rev. They also used VRAM to store the video data - the later models used Rev, C silicon and SGRAM - although the two chipsets had very similar performance, they were not identical - the Rev. Because this made the two machine types quite significantly different from other, you had to test your title on both of them before submitting it. The blue debugs had the old silicon and the green ones had the new silicon, in 1997, Sony released a version of the PlayStation called the Net Yaroze. Naturally, the Net Yaroze lacked many of the features the full developer suite provided, programmers were also limited by the 2 MB of total game space that Net Yaroze allowed
13.
PlayStation technical specifications
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The PlayStation technical specifications describe the various components of the original PlayStation video game console. LSI CoreWare CW33300-based core MIPS R3000A-compatible 32-Bit RISC CPU MIPS R3051 with 5KB L1 cache, the microprocessor was manufactured by LSI Logic Corp. with technology licensed from SGI. Operating performance,10 MIPS Documented device mode is to read three RLE-encoded 16×16 macroblocks, run IDCT and assemble a single 16×16 RGB macroblock, output data may be transferred directly to GPU via DMA. It is possible to overwrite IDCT matrix and some additional parameters, features, Compatible with MJPEG and H.261 files Directly connected to CPU bus System Control Coprocessor This unit is part of the CPU. Modified from the original R3000A cop0 architecture, with the addition of a few registers, controls memory management through virtual memory technique, system interrupts, exception handling, and breakpoints. 2 MiB main EDO DRAM Additional RAM is integrated with the GPU and SPU, cache RAM for CPU core and CD-ROM. See the relevant sections for details, flash RAM support through the use of memory cards, see below
14.
PlayStation 2
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The PlayStation 2 is a home video game console that was developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is the successor to the PlayStation, and is the installment in the PlayStation lineup of consoles. It was released on March 4,2000 in Japan, October 26,2000 in North America, November 24,2000 in Europe and it competed with Segas Dreamcast, Microsofts Xbox, and Nintendos GameCube in the sixth generation of video game consoles. Announced in 1999, the PlayStation 2 was the first PlayStation console to offer backwards compatibility for its predecessors DualShock controller, the PlayStation 2 is the best-selling video game console of all time, selling over 155 million units, with 150 million confirmed by Sony in 2011. More than 3,874 game titles have been released for the PS2 since launch, Sony later manufactured several smaller, lighter revisions of the console known as Slimline models in 2004 and well on, and in 2006, announced and launched its successor, the PlayStation 3. Sony unveiled the PlayStation 4 console the following month on February 20,2013, Sony announced the PlayStation 2 on March 1,1999. The Dreamcast itself launched very successfully in North America later that year, soon after the Dreamcasts North American launch, Sony unveiled the PlayStation 2 at the Tokyo Game Show on September 20,1999. Sony showed fully playable demos of upcoming PlayStation 2 games including Gran Turismo 2000 and Tekken Tag Tournament – which showed the consoles graphic abilities, the PS2 was launched in March 2000 in Japan, October in North America and November in Europe. Sales of the console, games and accessories pulled in $250 million on the first day, directly after its release, it was difficult to find PS2 units on retailer shelves due to manufacturing delays. Another option was purchasing the console online through websites such as eBay. This allowed the PS2 to tap the large install base established by the PlayStation – another major selling point over the competition, later, Sony added new development kits for game developers and more PS2 units for consumers. The PS2s built-in functionality also expanded its audience beyond the gamer and this made the console a low cost entry into the home theater market. The PS2 remained as the only active sixth generation console for over 6 months, before it would face competition from rivals, Nintendos GameCube and Microsofts Xbox. While the PlayStation 2 theoretically had the weakest specification of the three, it had a start due to its installed base plus strong developer commitment. Sony also countered the Xbox by temporarily securing PlayStation 2 exclusives for highly anticipated games such as the Grand Theft Auto series and Metal Gear Solid 2, Sons of Liberty. Sony cut the price of the console in May 2002 from US$299 to $199 in North America, making it the price as the GameCube. It also planned to cut the price in Japan around that time and it cut the price twice in Japan in 2003. In 2006, Sony cut the cost of the console in anticipation of the release of the PlayStation 3, Sony, unlike Sega with its Dreamcast, originally placed little emphasis on online gaming during its first few years, although that changed upon the launch of the online-capable Xbox
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PlayStation 2 models
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There were many revisions of the PlayStation 2 in its history from 2000 to 2013, some only of internal construction and others involving substantial external changes. These are colloquially known among PS2 hardware hackers as V0, V1, each region receives a different model number, for example, the V18 was released in North America as SCPH-90001, in Australia as SCPH-90002, and in Hong Kong as SCPH-90006. The final digit is a code with no bearing on the hardware, many games and DVDs are restricted to certain regions. The PS2 is primarily differentiated between models with the original fat case design, and slimline models introduced at the end of 2004, in 2010 a television incorporating a PS2 was introduced. Three of the original PS2 launch models were sold in Japan. These models instead included a PCMCIA slot, sCPH-10000 and SCPH-15000 did not have built-in DVD movie playback and instead relied on encrypted playback software that was copied to a memory card from an included CD-ROM. V3 had a different internal structure from the subsequent revisions. In V4 everything except the power supply was unified onto one board, v5 also introduced a more reliable laser than the ones used in previous models. V7 and V8 included only minor revisions to V6, beginning with model SCPH-500xx, the i. LINK port was removed. An infrared receiver was added for use with a remote to control DVD playback, the PS2 standard color is matte black. The small PlayStation logo on the front of the disc tray could be rotated 90 degrees and this feature is also used on slimline consoles. In September 2004, Sony unveiled its third major hardware revision, available in late October 2004, it is smaller, thinner, and quieter than the older versions and includes a built-in Ethernet port. Due to its profile, it does not contain the 3.5 expansion bay. It also lacks an internal power supply, similar to the GameCube, the removal of the expansion bay has been criticized as a limitation due to the existence of titles such as Final Fantasy XI, which require the use of the HDD. The official PS2 Linux also requires an expansion bay to function, currently only the modified Multitap is sold in stores, however, these are also compatible with the older versions, and also added support for multiple memory cards on some games. Third-party connectors can be soldered into the unit giving hard drive support, however, IDE connections were removed in the V14 revision. Certain mod chips enable the use of a USB hard drive or other storage device. There are two sub-versions of the SCPH-700xx, one with the old EE and GS chips, and the other with the newer unified EE+GS chip, but otherwise are identical
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PlayStation 2 technical specifications
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The PlayStation 2 technical specifications describe the various components of the PlayStation 2 video game console. The sixth-generation hardware of the PlayStation 2 video game consists of various components. At the heart of the configuration is its central processing unit. The CPU heavily relies on its integration with two vector processing units, known as VPU0 and VPU1, the Graphics Synthesizer, and a floating-point unit in order to render 3D graphics. Other components, such as the systems DVD-ROM optical drive and DualShock 2 controller, provide the software, PlayStation 2 software is distributed on CD-ROM and DVD-ROM. In addition, the console can play audio CDs and DVD movies and this is accomplished through the inclusion of the original PlayStations CPU which also serves as the PS2s I/O processor. The PS2 also supports limited functionality with PS1 memory cards and controllers, the PS2s DualShock 2 controller is an upgraded version of the PS1s DualShock with analog face, shoulder and D-pad buttons replacing the digital buttons of the original. Like its predecessor, the DualShock 2 controller features force feedback technology, the standard PlayStation 2 memory card has an 8 MB capacity and uses Sonys MagicGate encryption. This requirement prevented the production of cards by third parties who did not purchase a MagicGate license. Memory cards without encryption can be used to store PlayStation game saves, there are a variety of non-Sony manufactured memory cards available for the PlayStation 2, allowing for a larger memory capacity than the standard 8 MB. However their use is unsupported and compatibility is not guaranteed and these memory cards can have up to 128 MB storage space. The console also features USB and IEEE1394 expansion ports, compatibility with USB and IEEE1394 devices is dependent on the software supporting the device. For example, the PS2 BIOS will not boot an ISO image from a USB flash drive or operate a USB printer, by contrast, Gran Turismo 4 and Tourist Trophy are programmed to save screenshots to a USB mass storage device and print images on certain USB printers. A PlayStation 2 HDD can be installed via the bay in the back of the console. Instruction set, MIPS III, MIPS IV subset with Sonys proprietary 107 vector SIMD multimedia instructions, the custom instruction set was implemented by grouping the two 64-bit integer ALUs. 32-bit FPU coprocessor with 6 stage long pipeline, 32-bit VLIW-SIMD vector units at 147.456 MHz, VPU0 and VPU1 each VPU contains a vector unit, instruction cache, data cache and interface unit. VPU1 has an additional EFU unit and it also allowed vector quantization for 2D graphics data. This extended memory provides 16 kilobytes of fast RAM available to be used by the application, scratchpad memory can be used to store temporary data that is waiting to be sent via DMA or for any other temporary storage that the programmer can define
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PlayStation 3 models
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The PlayStation 3 video game console has been produced in various models during its life cycle. Since then, Sony have released two redesigned models, the Slim and Super Slim models. As of December 2013, the number of consoles sold is estimated at 77 million. There are several original PlayStation 3 hardware models, which are referred to by the size of their included hard disk drive,20,40,60,80. Although referred to by their HDD size, the capabilities of the consoles vary by region and release date. The only difference in the appearance of the first five models was the color of the trim, number of USB ports, compatibility issues with games for both systems are detailed in a public database hosted by the manufacturer. All models, excluding the 20 GB model, include 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi, in addition to all of the features of the 20 GB model, the 60 GB model has internal IEEE802.11 b/g Wi-Fi, multiple flash card readers and a chrome colored trim. In terms of hardware, the 80 GB model CECHE released in South Korea is identical to the 60 GB model CECHC released in the PAL regions, however, it retains the Graphics Synthesizer GPU resulting in a hybrid hardware and software emulation. Due to the elimination of the Emotion Engine and its replacement with a software-emulated version and this was due to the removal of Graphics Synthesizer GPU, which stripped the units of all PlayStation 2 based hardware. No official Wi-Fi or flash card readers were ever released by Sony for the 20 GB system. As of September 2009, Sony had placed no further emphasis on these proposed add-ons. It was rumored that the Cell processors in the third-generation PS3s would move from a 90 nm process to the newer 65 nm process, which SCEI CEO Kaz Hirai later confirmed and this change lowers the power consumption of the console and makes it less expensive to produce. The Cell microprocessor has moved to a 45 nm manufacturing process, which lets it run cooler and quieter than previous models, the RSX moved to a 40 nm process in the latest revision. The PS3 slim also includes support for CEC which allows control of the console over HDMI by using the TVs remote control, the PS3 Slim no longer has the main power switch like the previous PS3 models, similar to redesigned slimline PlayStation 2. As of October 2011, PS2 classics are available for purchase in the PlayStation Store, the PS3 slim was officially released on September 1,2009, in North America and Europe and on September 3,2009, in Japan, Australia and New Zealand. However, some such as Amazon. com, Best Buy. The PS3 Slim sold in excess of a million units in its first 3 weeks on sale. S, federal Communications Commission filings as the PS3 CECH-2000B. Although no North American bundles have been announced for the 250 GB PS3 slim, in July 2010, Sony announced two new sizes of Slim PS3,160 GB and 320 GB, with the 120 GB model being discontinued in Japan
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PlayStation 3 technical specifications
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The PlayStation 3 technical specifications describe the various components of the PlayStation 3 video game console. The PS3 uses the Cell microprocessor, which is made up of one 3.2 GHz PowerPC-based Power Processing Element, a seventh runs in a special mode and is dedicated to aspects of the OS and security, and an eighth is a spare to improve production yields. The PS3 has 256 MB of Rambus XDR DRAM, clocked at CPU die speed. The PPE has 64 KB L1 cache and 512 KB L2 cache, while the SPEs have 2 MB local memory, according to Nvidia, the RSX—the graphics processing unit —is based on the NVIDIA G70 architecture. The GPU is clocked at 500 MHz and makes use of 256 MB GDDR3 RAM clocked at 650 MHz with a transmission rate of 1.3 GHz. The RSX has a floating-point performance of 400.4 GFLOPS, to date, the PS3 has had several component revisions which serve to reduce power consumption. This in turn results in production savings, lower production, lower cooling requirements. Since launch, the Cell processor has shrunk from 90 nm to 45 nm, the RSX GPU has also seen reduction in size over periodic revisions of the PS3. Major improvements were introduced with the PS3 Slim, on all models of the PS3, the last seven characters of the serial number make up the consoles model number. This begins with CECH, followed by a letter indicating what model the system is, the last two characters of the model number indicate what region the system is from. The PS3 supports numerous SDTV and HDTV resolutions and connectivity options, the PS3 slim features an upgraded HDMI chip that allows bitstreaming of lossless audio codecs to an external receiver. For the optical drive, a wide variety of DVD and CD formats are supported. A20,40,60,80,120,160,250,320, in the early 60 GB and 80 GB configurations, flash memory can also be used, either Memory Sticks, CompactFlash cards, or SD/MMC cards. All models support USB memory devices, flash drives and external drives are both automatically recognized. However, they must be formatted with the FAT32 file system. For communication, the system sported four USB2.0 ports at the front on the 20 and 60 GB models as well as the NTSC80 GB model, but the 40 GB and 80 GB PAL models only have two USB ports. All models released after August 2008 have been reduced to two USB ports, as well as dropping CompactFlash and SD card support, one Gigabit Ethernet port, Bluetooth 2.0 support, and built-in Wi-Fi. The original PlayStation 3 console is approximately 5 kg,325 mm ×98 mm ×274 mm, the case was designed by Teiyu Goto of Sony, and uses the Spider-Man font
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PlayStation 3 system software
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The PlayStation®3 system software is the updatable firmware and operating system of the PlayStation 3. The process of updating is almost identical to that of the PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, the initial slim PS3s SKU shipped with a unique firmware with new features, also seen in software 3.00. The native operating system of the PlayStation 3 is CellOS, which is believed to be a fork of FreeBSDPlayStation License, tCP/IP stack fingerprinting identifies a PlayStation 3 as running FreeBSD, and the PlayStation 3 is known to contain code from FreeBSD and NetBSD. The 3D computer graphics API software used in the PlayStation 3 is LibGCM and PSGL, based on OpenGL ES, LibGCM is a low level API, and PSGL is a higher level API, but most developers preferred to use libGCM due to higher levels of performance. This is similar to the later PlayStation 4 console which also has two APIs, the low level GNM and the higher level GNMX. Due to the fact that it requires an agreement with Sony. XMB displays icons horizontally across the screen that be seen as categories, when one category is selected, there are usually more specific options then available to select that are spread vertically above and below the selected icon. Users may navigate among these options by using the up and down buttons of the D-pad, the basic features offered by XMB implementations varies based on device and software version. Apart from those appearing in the PSP console such as icons for Photos, Music and Games. Also, XMB offers a degree of multitasking, in-game XMB features were added to the PS3 properly with firmware version 2.41 after causing early implementation problems. The PlayStation 3 supports Remote Play with Sonys handheld game consoles, the PlayStation Portable, however, unlike Remote Play between the PlayStation 4 and the PlayStation Vita, the problem with PS3 was that it only supported a select few titles and results were often laggy. However, it is clear that Remote Play with the PS3 was the bed for its much better integration with the PS4. Furthermore, they can use a service called Cross-Buy which allows them to buy certain games that support this one time. Not only that, but in the case of most such games, their saved games actually transfer back, there is also a feature called Cross-Play covering any PlayStation Vita software title that can interact with a PlayStation 3 software title. Different software titles use Cross-Play in different ways, for example, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is a title supporting the Cross-Play feature, and the PS3 version of the game can be controlled using the PS Vita system. In addition, some PS3 games can be played on the PS Vita using the PlayStation Now streaming service, similar to many other consoles, the PlayStation 3 is capable of photo, audio, and video playback in a variety of formats. It also includes various photo slideshow options and several music visualizations, furthermore, the PlayStation 3 is able to play Blu-ray and DVD movies as well as CDs out of the box, and also capable of adopting streaming media services such as Netflix. However, unlike the PS4, the PS3 is able to play Adobe Flash, early versions of the PlayStation 3 system software also provided a feature called OtherOS that was available on the PS3 systems prior to the slimmer models launched in September 2009
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PlayStation 4
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The PlayStation 4 is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It competes with Nintendos Wii U and Microsofts Xbox One, as part of the generation of video game consoles.84 teraflops. The consoles controller was redesigned and improved over the PlayStation 3, with improved buttons and analog sticks. Heightened demand also helped Sony top global console sales, by the end of 2016, more than 53 million consoles have been sold worldwide, with more than 57 million shipped. All models, including the original sold in 2013, support HDR10 high-dynamic-range color, according to lead architect Mark Cerny, development of Sonys fourth video game console began as early as 2008. Less than two earlier, the PlayStation 3 had launched after months of delays due to issues with production. The delay placed Sony almost a year behind Microsofts Xbox 360, PlayStation Europe CEO Jim Ryan said Sony wanted to avoid repeating the same mistake with PS3s successor. In designing the system, Sony worked with software developer Bungie, in 2012, Sony began shipping development kits to game developers, consisting of a modified PC running the AMD Accelerated Processing Unit chipset. These development kits were known as Orbis, in early 2013, Sony announced that an event known as PlayStation Meeting 2013 would be held in New York City, U. S. on February 20,2013, to cover the future of PlayStation. Sony officially announced the PlayStation 4 at the event and it revealed details about the consoles hardware and discussed some of the new features it will introduce. Sony also showed off real-time footage of games in development, as well as some technical demonstrations, the design of the console was unveiled in June 2013 at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, and the initial recommended retail prices of $399, €399, and £349 given. The console was released on November 15,2013 in the United States and Canada, by the end of 2013, the PS4 was launched in more European, Asian and South American countries The PS4 released in Japan at ¥39,980 on February 22,2014. Sony finalized a deal with the Chinese government in May 2014 to sell its products in mainland China, and the PS4 will be the first product to be released. Kazuo Hirai, chief officer of Sony, said in May, The Chinese market. I think that we will be able to replicate the kind of success we have had with PS4 in other parts of the world in China. In September 2015, Sony reduced the price of the PS4 in Japan to ¥34,980, with similar price drops in other Southeast Asian markets. The first official sub £300 PS4 bundle was the £299.99 Uncharted Nathan Drake Collection 500GB, released in the UK on October 9,2015, a 1TB £329.99 version was offered at the same time. On October 9,2015, the first official cut of the PS4 in North America was announced
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PlayStation 4 system software
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The PlayStation 4 is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It competes with Nintendos Wii U and Microsofts Xbox One, as part of the generation of video game consoles.84 teraflops. The consoles controller was redesigned and improved over the PlayStation 3, with improved buttons and analog sticks. Heightened demand also helped Sony top global console sales, by the end of 2016, more than 53 million consoles have been sold worldwide, with more than 57 million shipped. All models, including the original sold in 2013, support HDR10 high-dynamic-range color, according to lead architect Mark Cerny, development of Sonys fourth video game console began as early as 2008. Less than two earlier, the PlayStation 3 had launched after months of delays due to issues with production. The delay placed Sony almost a year behind Microsofts Xbox 360, PlayStation Europe CEO Jim Ryan said Sony wanted to avoid repeating the same mistake with PS3s successor. In designing the system, Sony worked with software developer Bungie, in 2012, Sony began shipping development kits to game developers, consisting of a modified PC running the AMD Accelerated Processing Unit chipset. These development kits were known as Orbis, in early 2013, Sony announced that an event known as PlayStation Meeting 2013 would be held in New York City, U. S. on February 20,2013, to cover the future of PlayStation. Sony officially announced the PlayStation 4 at the event and it revealed details about the consoles hardware and discussed some of the new features it will introduce. Sony also showed off real-time footage of games in development, as well as some technical demonstrations, the design of the console was unveiled in June 2013 at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, and the initial recommended retail prices of $399, €399, and £349 given. The console was released on November 15,2013 in the United States and Canada, by the end of 2013, the PS4 was launched in more European, Asian and South American countries The PS4 released in Japan at ¥39,980 on February 22,2014. Sony finalized a deal with the Chinese government in May 2014 to sell its products in mainland China, and the PS4 will be the first product to be released. Kazuo Hirai, chief officer of Sony, said in May, The Chinese market. I think that we will be able to replicate the kind of success we have had with PS4 in other parts of the world in China. In September 2015, Sony reduced the price of the PS4 in Japan to ¥34,980, with similar price drops in other Southeast Asian markets. The first official sub £300 PS4 bundle was the £299.99 Uncharted Nathan Drake Collection 500GB, released in the UK on October 9,2015, a 1TB £329.99 version was offered at the same time. On October 9,2015, the first official cut of the PS4 in North America was announced
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PlayStation Vita
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The PlayStation Vita is a handheld game console developed and released by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It is the successor to the PlayStation Portable as part of the PlayStation brand of gaming devices and it was released in Japan on December 17,2011, with releases in North America, Europe, and other worldwide regions starting on February 22,2012. It primarily competes with the Nintendo 3DS as part of the generation of video game consoles. Internally, the Vita features a quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore processor, the systems design was created to meld the experience of big budget, dedicated video game platforms with the then up-and-coming trend of mobile gaming through smart phones and tablets. However, in the year after the successful launch, sales of the hardware and its bigger budget games stalled. A concentrated effort to attract smaller, indie developers in the West, combined with support from mid-level Japanese companies. While Sony has not released sales figures, market analyst EEDAR estimates its sales to be around 10 million sold as of the end of 2015. In 2004, it released the PlayStation Portable to compete with the Nintendo DS as part of the generation of video game consoles. After a slow start in the market, it was invigorated in Japan with multiple releases in the Monster Hunter series. With the series being less popular in regions, it failed to revive the platform in the same way. The PSP ended up being a result for the company. Despite this, it was still managed to sell a little over half of what its actual market competitor, the DS, had sold. Through mid-2010, websites continued to run stories about accounts of the existence of a PSP2, reports arose during the Tokyo Game Show that the device was unveiled internally during a private meeting during mid-September held at Sony Computer Entertainments headquarters in Aoyama, Tokyo. A report later confirmed by Mortal Kombat Executive Producer Shaun Himmerick, by November, Senior Vice President of Electronic Arts, Patrick Soderlund, confirmed that he had seen the PlayStation Portable successor existed, but could not confirm details. Throughout 2010, Sony would not confirm reports of a PSP successor. The device was announced by Sony on January 27,2011. Its power was described by Sony engineers as about halfway between the PSP and PS3. Sony also revealed that the device would be using a mix of retail, further details were announced at Game Developers Conference 2011, including that Sony would be dropping the PSPs UMD disc format in favor of small game cartridges of 2GB or 4GB size variants
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PlayStation Vita system software
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The PlayStation Vita system software is the official firmware and operating system for the PlayStation Vita and PlayStation TV video game consoles. It uses the LiveArea as its graphical shell, the PlayStation Vita system software has one optional add-on component, the PlayStation Mobile Runtime Package. The system is built on a Unix-base which is derived from FreeBSD and NetBSD, the current version of the system software is 3.63, which was made available on November 1,2016. The LiveArea is the name of the user interface of the PlayStation Vita system software developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The interface features a new touch-based screen and acts like a hub page, the PlayStation Vita system software uses LiveArea as its user interface, which includes various social networking features via the PlayStation Network. Users can select the icon for a game or an application on the screen to open the LiveArea screen for that game or application in PlayStation Vita or PlayStation TV. As a new feature of PlayStation Vita and PlayStation TVs LiveArea, in addition, by scrolling down the games LiveArea, the Activity of other users who are playing the same game can be checked instantly. The PlayStation Vita supports a feature called Remote Play with Sonys home video game such as the PlayStation 3. It allows the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 to transmit its video, besides, the PlayStation Vita can be used as a second screen device for the PS4 for streaming content directly from the console to the PlayStation Vita. Updates of the PlayStation Vita system software can also be downloaded to PS Vita devices via a PS3 system, furthermore, a service called Cross-Buy can be used which allows players to buy certain games that support this feature one time, and play them in both Sony platforms. Minecraft and Terraria are examples of games, and their saved worlds are transferable between the consoles. Minecraft is no longer cross buy as of February 25th 2016, there is also a feature called Cross-Play covering any PlayStation Vita software title that can interact with a PlayStation 3 or a PlayStation 4 software title. Different software titles use Cross-Play in different ways, for example, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is a title supporting the Cross-Play feature, and the PS3 version of the game can be controlled using the PS Vita system. In addition, PS Vita users may play some PS3 games using the PlayStation Now cloud-based gaming service, although the PlayStation Vita console can function without any Internet connection, it will provide more functionality when it is connected to the Internet. For example, users may download updates to the software from Internet as well as playing online when the Internet is properly connected. Applications such as the PlayStation Now App and the Live from PlayStation App as well as various video streaming apps also require an Internet connection to function properly, the Browser is a pre-installed app on the PlayStation Vita for browsing the web. Although its not very different from web browsing on a PlayStation Portable, the browser app does not have tabs, but users can have up to 8 separate browser windows open at once. They can also save images from webpages to the PS Vita memory card by touching and holding on the image until a menu appears, furthermore, while the PS Vita web browser supports HTML5, cookies and Javascript, it does not support Adobe Flash at launch
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PocketStation
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The PocketStation is a Memory Card peripheral by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation home video game console. To use the memory card functionality, it must be connected to a PlayStation through a memory card slot. It was released exclusively in Japan on January 23,1999, software for the PocketStation was typically distributed as extras for PlayStation games, included in the CD-ROM, enhancing the games with added features. Stand-alone software could also be downloaded through the PlayStation console, the software is then transferred to the PocketStation for use. A built-in infrared data interface allows direct transfer of such as game saves between PocketStation units, as well as multiplayer gaming. The original Japanese ship date for the PocketStation was set for December 23,1998, Sony only shipped an initial 60,000 units of the peripheral when it was released on January 23,1999. It was initially available in two colors, white and clear. It proved extremely popular, selling out all over the region, Sony planned to release the PocketStation outside Japan, engaging in promotional activity in Europe and North America, but the release did not occur. SCEA cited an inability meeting Japanese demand as the reason for the PocketStations absence, a few games, such as Final Fantasy VIII and SaGa Frontier 2, retained PocketStation functionality in their localized versions. The PocketStations most popular game was Dokodemo Issho, which sold over 1.5 million copies in Japan and is the first game to star Sonys mascot Toro, the PocketStation was discontinued in July 2002 after having shipped nearly five million units. Originally it was available to PlayStation Plus members, it was later released to the general public. It remains an exclusive to the Japanese PlayStation Vitas, dimensions,64 ×42 ×13.5 mm Weight, Approximately 30g All Japan Pro Wrestling Arc the Lad III Armored Core, Master of Arena Battle Bug Story Be Pirates. Q. Shop Keeper Spyro the Dragon Spyro 2, Riptos Rage, Street Fighter Alpha 3 Street Fighter Zero 3 Super Robot Wars Alpha Tales of Eternia Theme Aquarium Tokimeki Memorial 2 World Neverland 2 World Stadium 3 Yu-Gi-Oh. True Duel Monsters, Sealed Memories VMU, an accessory for the Sega Dreamcast console
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PSX (digital video recorder)
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The PSX is a Sony digital video recorder with a fully integrated PlayStation 2 video game console. It was released in Japan on December 13,2003 and its high cost resulted in poor sales, meaning that the PSX was never released outside of Japan. This made it a commercial failure, the device is a fully functional digital video recorder with an included Infrared remote control and S-Video, composite video, and RF inputs. It is able to tune analog VHF and CATV and it can also be linked with a PlayStation Portable to transfer videos and music via USB ports, and features software for non-linear video editing, image editing and audio editing. DVD+R support was to be introduced in a future update and it was the first device to use Sonys XrossMediaBar graphical user interface, which was later used on the PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3, and 2008-era BRAVIA TVs. The PSX fully supports both PlayStation and PlayStation 2 software by its slot-loading DVD drive, as the onboard EE+GS chip is a unification of the PS2s Emotion Engine, online game compatibility is available using the broadband connection, Games that use the PS2 HDD are supported as well. The PSX is not supplied with any game controllers, but there are two ports on the back of the device. Two PlayStation memory card ports were on the front of the PSX, because of the different placement of the memory card slots, the PSX is incompatible with the PlayStation Multitap and its PS2 counterpart, and no PSX-compatible multitap was ever produced. Games that require the use of two or more USB ports are also incompatible with the PSX, like standard PS2 consoles, the PSX can be laid horizontally or stood up vertically. The PSX was released in eight retail configurations during its lifespan, software updates were made available by disc and download. The 7500/7700 models added a Ghost Reduction Tuner, the inclusion of BS and UHF/VHF connectors varied by model. Only the final revision of each supported the PlayStation Portable. All models have two sets of lights, power lights and Infrared receivers, one along the front for horizontal orientation. The Disk Rec indicator is only on the front of the device in later models, before being known as the PS1, the first PlayStation console came to be known colloquially by its provisional codename of PSX. This can cause confusion as to which device is being referred to. The PSX was initially displayed at CEATEC in white, silver, yellow, red, the white variant was released commercially, with a limited edition silver model made available in 2004
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PlayStation TV
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PlayStation TV, known in Japan and other parts of Asia as the PlayStation Vita TV or PS Vita TV, is a microconsole, and a non-handheld variant of the PlayStation Vita handheld game console. It was released in Japan on November 14,2013, North America on October 14,2014, however, not all content is compatible with the device, since certain features in the PS Vita such as the gyroscope and microphone are not available on the PS TV. Nevertheless, the PS TV is able to touch input for both the Vitas front and rear touchpads using the DS3/DS4 controller. In Japan, PlayStation TV was the given to PlayStation 3 retail kiosks from 2006 to 2014, which consisted of a PS3 unit, an LCD monitor. The system was released in Japan on November 14,2013, the device on its own sold for 9,954 yen tax inclusive, whilst a bundle version with an 8 GB memory card and DualShock 3 controller retailed for 14,994 yen. Andrew House, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, explains that Sony hopes to use the PS Vita TV to penetrate the Chinese gaming market, the PS Vita TV was released in five other Southeast Asian countries and the special region of Hong Kong on January 16,2014. At E32014, the system was announced for North America and Europe, under the name PlayStation TV, final release dates for the western release were announced at Gamescom 2014. Open beta trials for PlayStation Now functionality on the PS TV began on October 14,2014 in North America, by the end of March, in Europe, Sony has dropped the price of PlayStation TV by 40% with the new price of €59.99. That same week the sales has increased 1272%, on February 29,2016, Engadget reported that Sony has stopped shipping the PlayStation TV in Japan. Instead of featuring a display screen, the connects to a television via HDMI. The device is referred to by Sony as the VTE-1000 series. The in-built scaler has been removed from the PCH-2000 series PlayStation Vita model, PS4 Remote Play functionality for the PS Vita TV gained full support with the release of the 1.70 PS4 firmware update. The device includes the features of the PS Vita, such as the Web browser. There are future plans for media server and DLNA support for video streaming. The console measures 6.5 cm by 10.5 cm and it is charged with the same model/type of charger used for the original PlayStation Portable. Because of the PlayStation TVs lack of the Vitas touchscreen, rear touchpad, microphone, camera and motion sensors and these included Uncharted, Golden Abyss, Call of Duty, Black Ops, Declassified, Gravity Rush, and Tearaway. If a player inserted a Vita game card that was not on the whitelist, the decision to blacklist certain Vita games was not well received by players. Many of them some of the Vitas most popular titles were included on the blacklist
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High-definition remasters for PlayStation consoles
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Sony has released a number of previously released PlayStation video games, remastered in high-definition for their newer consoles, a form of porting. A number of related programs exist, the most prominent two being Classics HD and PSP Remasters, the former consists of multiple PlayStation 2 games compiled on one Blu-ray Disc. The latter are individual PlayStation Portable games republished on Blu-ray and these games are not direct ports, but remastered versions in high-definition, to take advantage of the newer consoles capabilities. The remastering of the games include updated graphics, new textures, and Trophy support, some HD remasters have also been released individually or in bundles as downloads on the PlayStation Store, others are released exclusively as downloads. This remastering began in 2009 with the release of God of War Collection, PlayStation Portable games began being remastered for the latter in 2011, Monster Hunter Portable 3rd HD ver. was the first of these. After the release of the PlayStation Vita in 2012, several of the remastered PS2, some original PlayStation games also began being remastered. With the launch of the PlayStation 4 in 2013, Vita and PS3 games, in addition to the older platforms games, Classics HD is the official name given for these compilations in Europe, no equivalent of such name exists in North America or Japan. However, these include the subtitle Remastered in High Definition or HD Collection on the North American cover. PSP Remasters is the name given by Sony for collections featuring remasters of PSP games. Remastered games released on the PlayStation 4 will sometimes have the subtitle HD Remaster, Remastered, the first remastered collection to be released was God of War Collection, which consists of God of War and God of War II. This collection was released before the line of Classics HD games. God of War Collection was brought about from feedback in anticipation for God of War III, from this feedback, Sony released the collection separate from God of War III as a way to introduce new players to the franchise. The success of God of War Collection prompted Sony to make a new line of games that would be bannered Classics HD in PAL regions, One of the reasons why this brand was created is that PlayStation 2 discs are not compatible with PlayStation 3 consoles released after August 2007. The second series of games ported to the PlayStation 3 and first to use the Classics HD banner was The Sly Collection, the Prince of Persia series was the first non-Sony published games remastered, published by Ubisoft. At E32011 during Sonys press conference, the PSP Remasters line was announced, Monster Hunter Portable 3rd HD ver. was the first of this line to be announced. During an interview with Game Informer, Kingdom Hearts creator Tetsuya Nomura expressed interest in HD versions and was researching them for his Kingdom Hearts series and he said, I would like to do something about the series being spread over so many different consoles, too. I am thinking a lot about the future, in September 2012, Square Enix announced Kingdom Hearts HD1.5 Remix, a compilation for the PlayStation 3 including both Kingdom Hearts Final Mix and Re, Chain of Memories in HD with Trophy support. Additionally, the collection included HD cinematic scenes from Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, the following year, Kingdom Hearts HD2.5 Remix released on PS3, containing Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, Birth by Sleep Final Mix, and HD remastered cinematic scenes from Re, coded
28.
Greatest Hits (PlayStation)
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Greatest Hits are video games for the North American Sony PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Portable consoles that have been officially re-released at a lower price by Sony. While the term Greatest Hits only applies to selections in America, equivalent programs exist in PAL territories, Japan and Asia, Korea, the program parallels other budget range software by Sega, Nintendo, and Microsoft to promote best-selling games on their consoles as well. Typical for marketing labels like Greatest Hits and Xbox Classics, Greatest Hits titles are colloquially referred to as red label. This refers to the band that is added to the packaging to differentiate it from regular releases. A game can earn this distinction if it meets certain sales criteria within two years after its release, the original versions of the game are often sought after as collectables. There are also White label games, which are collectors editions and these mainly are collections, having all the games in a series in one box. When Sony introduced the program for PlayStation in 1997, games could become Greatest Hits titles after selling at least 150,000 copies, minimum sales required eventually rose to 250,000. When the program came to PlayStation 2 in 2002, games could become Greatest Hits titles after selling at least 400,000 copies, suggested retail prices of Greatest Hits titles were initially $24.99, but they now typically retail for $19.99. Additionally, Sony allows 3rd party developers some flexibility in the pricing of their own Greatest Hits titles, games that are multi-million sellers may become Greatest Hits titles much later than 9 months to maximize profits. It is also a practice for a game to re-release on the Greatest Hits label at a close proximity to the release of that games sequel or follow-up. In 2006, Sony extended the Greatest Hits program to the PlayStation Portable, to qualify, a title must be on the market for at least 9 months and have sold 250,000 copies or more. The Greatest Hits price for PlayStation Portable games typically begins at $19.99, on July 28,2008, the program was introduced on the PlayStation 3. A PlayStation 3 game must be on the market for 10 months, PlayStation 3 Greatest Hits titles currently sell at $29.99. Since the PS4s release on November 15,2013, there have four titles that have been named Greatest Hits for the PlayStation 4 with an as of yet unknown criteria for meeting the label. Occasionally, significant changes are implemented into the game, the following titles have been released on the Greatest Hits label for PlayStation. The following titles have been released on the Greatest Hits label for PlayStation 2, the following titles have been released on the Greatest Hits label for PlayStation 3. The following titles have been released on the Greatest Hits label for PlayStation Portable, the following titles have been given the Greatest Hits label on PlayStation 4 in Asia. Nintendo Selects Platinum Hits Official US PlayStation sites list Official US PlayStation sites list Official US PlayStation sites list
29.
Essentials (PlayStation)
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Essentials is the Sony PlayStation budget range in the PAL region, which covers Europe, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Africa. It was launched in January 1997 as the Platinum range but was renamed for PSP in 2010. Similar budget ranges from Sony include the Greatest Hits and The Best labels for the North American and Japanese markets, Platinum Range titles were recognisable by a platinum/silver coloured band on the games casing. This band runs along the top of the cases front, in old PlayStation 2 platinum games it is also common for the silver band to act as a border and to contain the games original cover, which is shrunk to fill about 75% of the platinum cover. The PlayStation logo is repeated twice on the front case, once on the platinum border, the new PlayStation 2 platinum games feature a new layout. They have a border, and silver outlines around the shrunk original game cover. There is also a red orb located at the bottom of the game cover with the words Platinum on it. The platinum band can also be seen on the manual, PlayStation Portable platinum games use the original games disc design whilst PlayStation 3 platinum games use the original disc design with a platinum design on the disc. To become a Platinum release it was required that a game have over 400,000 total worldwide sales after generally one year on the market. After reaching the level of sales, Sony often dropped the prices of the original title to Platinum pricing levels. The Platinum distinction has since extended to the PSP and the PlayStation 3. The first PS3 titles were released on August 1,2008
30.
The Best (PlayStation)
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The Best, stylized as the Best, is a Sony PlayStation budget range in Japan and parts of Asia. Similar budget ranges include Greatest Hits in North America, Essentials in PAL regions, for the PlayStation, The Best was followed by PS one Books when the PS one was released in 2001. These games were top selling popular titles that were available again in a low-priced version under this new label. Games released under the PS one Books label did not come in standard jewel cases like other PlayStation games, the games instruction booklets were typically placed outside of the case, with both booklet and case sealed in plastic packaging. The software contained on the discs was usually the original retail game, PS one Books titles were still being released until late 2006. The first PlayStation 3 The Best titles were released on March 19,2008, however Armored Core 4 had been prior released as early as January 10,2008 in the Best Collection
31.
PlayStation Network
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PlayStation Network is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, as of April 2016, over 110 million users have been documented, with 65 million of them active monthly. Launched in the year 2000, Sonys second home console, the PlayStation 2, had rudimentary online features in select games via its online network and it required a network adaptor, which was available as an add-on for original models and integrated into the hardware on slimline models. However, Sony provided no unified service for the system, so support for features was specific to each game and third-party server. In March 2006, Sony officially introduced its online service. A list of supporting features was announced at the Tokyo Game Show later the same year, Sony launched an optional premium subscription service on top of the free PSN service in June 2010. Known as PlayStation Plus, the system provides access to content, complimentary games, regular store discounts. Following a security intrusion, the PlayStation Network had a suspension of operation which began on April 20,2011. Lasting 23 days, this outage was the longest amount of time the PSN had been offline since its inception in 2006, Sony reported that user data had been obtained during the intrusion. Users also received 30 free days of PlayStation Plus, while users who were already subscribed before the outage got 60 free days, in July 2012, Sony Computer Entertainment announced that they had acquired video game streaming service Gaikai for $380 million. The acquisition was later strengthened when Sony acquired the assets of Gaikais market rival OnLive, during 2014, Sony rolled out the service in North America on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 in beta form as a means for users to test performance and pricing structures. On December 25,2014, PlayStation Network and Xbox Live suffered network disruption after a denial-of-service attack, both services were flooded with millions of inauthentic connection requests, making it hard for genuine users to establish a connection. Functionality was restored on December 26, with some users experiencing difficulties in the days that followed, on January 1,2015, Sony announced that users would be compensated for the downtime with a 5-day extension to PlayStation Plus memberships. Formerly the gaming provision of the much broader Sony Entertainment Network, while synonymous with gaming, Sony said the PlayStation Network had evolved to become a comprehensive digital entertainment brand. The PlayStation Network is available as both a free and subscription-based service, known as PlayStation Plus, a comparison of free and premium services, Friends list, allowing for 100 friends on PS3 and up to 2000 friends on PS4 and PS Vita. Online gaming, including cooperative and competitive multiplayer, matchmaking and cross-platform play in supported titles, Live from PlayStation, Browse live or archived game streams. Parental controls, limiting access to age restricted content and shopping cart, including block list, Portable ID, A small infographic, showcasing a users Online ID and trophy level, intended for use as a forum signature. Share Play allows users to invite a friend to join their game session
32.
2011 PlayStation Network outage
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The attack occurred between April 17 and April 19,2011, forcing Sony to turn off the PlayStation Network on April 20. On May 4 Sony confirmed that personally identifiable information from each of the 77 million accounts had been exposed, at the time of the outage, with a count of 77 million registered PlayStation Network accounts, it was one of the largest data security breaches in history. It surpassed the 2007 TJX hack which affected 45 million customers, government officials in various countries voiced concern over the theft and Sonys one-week delay before warning its users. Sony stated on April 26 that it was attempting to get online services running within a week, on May 14, Sony released PlayStation 3 firmware version 3.61 as a security patch. The firmware required users to change their password upon signing in, at the time the firmware was released, the network was still offline. Regional restoration was announced by Kazuo Hirai in a video from Sony, a map of regional restoration and the network within the United States was shared as the service was coming back online. On April 20,2011, Sony acknowledged that on the official PlayStation Blog that it was aware certain functions of the PlayStation Network were down, upon attempting to sign in via the PlayStation 3, users received a message indicating that the network was undergoing maintenance. The following day, Sony asked its customers for patience while the cause of outage was investigated and stated that it may take a day or two to get the service fully functional again. The company later announced an external intrusion had affected the PlayStation Network and this intrusion occurred between April 17 and April 19. On April 20, Sony suspended all PlayStation Network and Qriocity services worldwide, Sony expressed their regrets for the downtime and called the task of repairing the system time-consuming but would lead to a stronger network infrastructure and additional security. On April 25, Sony spokesman Patrick Seybold reiterated on the PlayStation Blog that fixing and enhancing the network was an intensive process with no estimated time of completion. However, the next day Sony stated that there was a path to have PlayStation Network and Qriocity systems back online. Furthermore, Sony acknowledged the compromise of personal information as a result of an intrusion on our systems. On May 1 Sony announced a Welcome Back program for customers affected by the outage, the company also confirmed that some PSN and Qriocity services would be available during the first week of May. Over 12,000 credit card numbers, albeit in encrypted form, cardholders and additional information from 24.7 million SOE accounts may have been accessed. During the week, Sony sent a letter to the US House of Representatives, on May 6 Sony stated they had begun final stages of internal testing for the PlayStation Network, which had been rebuilt. SOE confirmed on their Twitter account that their games would not be available until sometime after the weekend, reuters began reporting the event as the biggest Internet security break-in ever. The actions came with an update for the PS3, version 3.61
33.
FirstPlay
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FirstPlay was a video gaming online magazine published by Future Publishing for Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. It was produced by the team behind PlayStation Official Magazine and features reviews and previews and screenshots of upcoming. Episodes were released weekly on the PlayStation Store where users could choose to purchase a single episode or a 90-day subscription at a discounted rate, editorial content in FirstPlay was scripted by Associate editor Nathan Ditum and writer Matthew Elliott with contributions from the Official PlayStation Magazine UK team. The videos were edited by a production team and narrated by Lucy Porter. All video content was presented in 720p, each episode consists of four sections, HD Reviews & Previews, Network Highlights, Featured Downloads and Screenshot Galleries. Typically, each episode of FirstPlay has four features in each section, the HD Reviews & Previews and Network Highlights sections both offer video content. Advertisements of up to 30 seconds in length are run before each video feature, the user may choose to skip these after they have viewed five in total. Users can control the playback of content in the same way that they can from video on the XMB, with the ability to pause, rewind, fastforward. The Screenshot Galleries feature screenshots of upcoming games, each screenshot is accompanied by a voice-over providing commentary about a specific image, or general information about the game. The user can zoom into and pan around images and can export images to their XMB to access from outside of FirstPlay. The Featured Downloads section offers exclusive downloadable content which varies in each episode and this could include free add-ons for retail games, XMB themes, PlayStation Minis or other content. Sony Computer Entertainment first announced in September 2008 that they were working with Future Publishing to produce a digital magazine for PlayStation Network users in Europe. This was following the release of Qore, a similar service available to users in North America. The service was scheduled for release in early 2009. In October 2009 it was revealed through a Future Publishing job listing that the service would be called Official PlayStation Magazine HD, the product was finally announced as FirstPlay in February 2010 and it was confirmed that it would launch in Spring 2010. The first issue of FirstPlay was released on the PlayStation Store on 8 April 2010, in July 2011 SCEE announced that the FirstPlay service was to end, leaving 6 July episode as the final FirstPlay to be released. The announcement went on to confirm that a new, yet-to-be-named service would replace FirstPlay, as with its predecessor this new service will be produced by Future Publishing and delivered via the PSN Store, however this time the show will be free of charge. It is due to be replaced with a new show, FirstPlay initially received a generally mixed reaction from viewers
34.
PlayStation App
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The PlayStation App is a software application for the iOS and Android mobile operating systems developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It allows users to stay connected to the PlayStation Network from tablet and smartphones, the application allows users to view their PSN activity feed, send and receive messages, and use their mobile device as a second screen for use with the PS4. The application also allows users to watch embedded videos, and to news or products on their Facebook. Version 1.0 of the application was released on January 11,2011 in Australia and Europe, currently, the application can be used on devices running iOS6 and above or Android 4.0 and above. Xbox app List of PlayStation applications iTunes Preview Google Play Store
35.
PlayStation Blog
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PlayStation Blog is a PlayStation focused blog. It is a part of the PlayStation Network and was launched on June 11,2007 and they also organize activities and events for PlayStation fans throughout the United States. A European version of the PlayStation Blog, known as PlayStation Blog Europe, was launched on May 28,2009, IOS and Android users are able to read the European blog on their mobile devices via the Official PlayStation App. The blog underwent a facelift on March 14,2011, the site was redesigned based on the most popular sections of the old site, the new site design was also used to commemorate the 4th anniversary of the site. Ross McGrath, PlayStation Store Team Jem Alexander, Social Media Fabio Santana, the PlayStation Recap, A weekly recap and summary of the weeks posts on the PlayStation Blog. It was previously known as The PSB Recap, PlayStation Around the Web, What We Read, A weekly highlight of articles around the internet across various sites regarding the PlayStation. PlayStation Store Update, A weekly feature giving a detailed list, coming to PSN this Week, A feature covering upcoming games coming to the PlayStation Network in that week. It usually involves interviews, videos, trailers or a look at the upcoming game. The Official PlayStation Blogcast is an official PlayStation podcast that is produced by the North American PlayStation Blog, the podcast usually features Sid Shuman, Ryan Clements, Justin Massongill and formerly - Nick Suttner. The podcast also features many guest appearances and interviews with other people in the gaming industry. PlayStation Blog Share is a site that allows PSN users to suggest ideas related to PlayStation, Share is a subset of the PlayStation Blog and was launched on March 17,2010 to much acclaim. It has been cited as being similar to other sites such as Digg. Its main aim is to allow PlayStation users to make suggestions to the PlayStation team which would be read by the PlayStation Blog team and approved. Afterwards other users can vote on the ideas either positively or negatively which would allow the PlayStation Blog team to track the popularity of the idea as well as the volume. Users that submit the most popular ideas will also be placed at the top of a leaderboard, the PlayStation Blog often organizes events for PlayStation fans, giving out freebies as well as exclusive items to fans who attend. These events include, The blog organizes a meet-up for PlayStation fans every year during the Electronic Entertainment Expo beginning with 2009. At their 2010 event they had a meet and greet session with Metal Gear series creator, Hideo Kojima and they also gave away limited edition PlayStation Move Kevin Butler posters autographed by Kevin Butler. The blog will be organized a meet-up in collaboration with major gaming site IGN for the Penny Arcade Expo 2010, the hosted a major multiplayer event for Metal Gear Solid, Peace Walker for attendees to play co-operatively on the games toughest levels
36.
PlayStation Home
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PlayStation Home was a virtual 3D social gaming platform developed by Sony Computer Entertainments London Studio for the PlayStation 3 on the PlayStation Network. It was accessible from the PS3s XrossMediaBar, membership was free but required a PSN account. Upon installation, users could choose how much disk space they wished to reserve for Home. Development of the began in early 2005 and it launched as an open beta on December 11,2008. Home remained as a perpetual beta until its closure on March 31,2015, Home allowed users to create a custom avatar, which could be groomed realistically. Each avatar was given an apartment that users could decorate with free, bought. Users could travel throughout the Home world, which was updated by Sony. Public spaces were made for display, entertainment, advertising, Homes primary forms of advertising included spaces themselves, video screens, posters, and mini-games. Home also featured many single and multiplayer mini-games, and hosted a variety of special events, users could use won items to further customise their avatar or apartments. PlayStation Home was originally named Hub, and started as a 2D online lobby for the PlayStation 2 game The Getaway, however, the online userbase for the PlayStation 2 was too narrow and the project was soon ported to the PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 3. In a 2007 keynote speech, Phil Harrison used the term Game 3.0 to describe the service, Home had been speculated since the launch of PSN, when Sony expressed interest in such a service, specifically trophies for first-party titles. PlayStation Home, as a feature, was first publicly mentioned in an interview with NG-Gamer and this was later detailed by Kotaku and finally confirmed by NG-Gamer. Home was delayed and expanded multiple times before initially releasing, invitations to the closed beta were offered to winners of a weekly Warhawk online gaming event. In August 2008, Sony sent additional invitations to users who downloaded a new Home XMB theme in Japan. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and Sony Computer Entertainment Hong Kong also sent out invitations to users for a closed beta. Users who purchased more than HK$60 or SG$12 worth of content in a transaction over the PlayStation Store from August 29 to September 12,2008 were also invited. In November 2008, Sony Computer Entertainment America invited annual Qore subscribers, after major version 1.0, invitations were sent worldwide. Homes open beta test began on December 11,2008, in March 2009, an alternate reality game involving puzzle and intrigue called Xi proved popular after it was released by nDreams for Home
37.
PlayStation Mobile
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PlayStation Mobile was a software framework used to provide downloadable PlayStation content for devices that meet PlayStation Certified requirements. This includes devices that both run Android 2.3 and meet specific unannounced hardware requirements, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation Mobile is based on the Mono platform. The Open Beta was released on April 19,2012, PlayStation Mobile opened in the United States, Japan, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Australia on October 3,2012. Sony states that PlayStation Mobile support will continue to be rolled out to more countries over time and it has also been stated that PlayStation Network Trophy integration is being worked on. On 8 May 2013, Sony announced that the license fee of €80/£65/$99 would be waived in an attempt to entice more developers to create games for the service. PlayStation Mobile 2.00 released in 2014 would only target PlayStation Vita and it was announced in 2015 that PlayStation Mobile will be shutting down. The service never took off despite availability on a range of handsets by many manufacturers. The storefront was planned to be closed on July 15,2015 but was live until the end of July 16, system activation was available until February 29,2016 under system settings. Users must update their PS Vita/PS TV systems to the latest system software, be connected online, developers can also make purely touch screen games, if they so choose. At E32012, Sony announced that PlayStation Mobile had 56 established software houses committed to providing content on the platform, there were more than 100 games available on the service. To ensure that Android devices run PlayStation Mobile content correctly, Sony has created a set of guidelines, the first certified device was Xperia Play. The PlayStation Vita and PlayStation TV also have access to PlayStation Mobile, in a November 2011 update, the previously released Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc, and Sony Ericsson Xperia acro became PlayStation Certified. The Sony Xperia S, Sony Xperia ion and Sony Tablets are also PlayStation Certified, HTC was the first non-Sony manufacturing company revealed to offer PlayStation Certified devices. The HTC One series handsets will be supported, noted models include HTC One X, HTC One S, HTC One V, HTC One XL, HTC One X+ and the HTC Evo 4G LTE. At Sonys 2012 Gamescom press conference, it was revealed that the WikiPad gaming tablet would also be PlayStation Certified, at Sonys Tokyo Game Show 2012 press conference, Fujitsu and Sharp were announced as two more partners. A full list of PlayStation Certified devices can be found on the Playstation Mobile download page Official website Developer Portal
38.
PlayStation Now
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PlayStation Now is a cloud gaming service developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Sony also recommends that players have a 5 Mbps internet connection at least to achieve what they consider good performance, PlayStation Now was announced on 7 January 2014 at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show. At CES, Sony presented demos of The Last of Us, God of War, Ascension, Puppeteer and Beyond, Two Souls, playable through PS Now on Bravia TVs and PlayStation Vita. The closed beta began in the United States on January 28 with PS3, at Gamescom 2014, SCE announced that PS Now will arrive in Europe in 2015, with the United Kingdom to be the first European country to access the service. On December 24,2014, Sony announced the PlayStation Now will expand to the other electronic brands, on CES2015, Sony confirmed that PlayStation Now would arrive in the North America on PS4 as full release on January 13,2015. On March 7,2015, it was revealed that the PlayStation Now is accessible in Europe, official beta invites for Europe started going out to PS4 owners on April 15,2015. Currently all of the games available to stream in PlayStation Now are PlayStation 3 games, there are over 400 such games available to stream on the PlayStation Now Open Beta service as of mid-2015, and new games are being added each week. There are two pricing options in North America for the service, $19.99 for one month
39.
PlayStation Store
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The PlayStation Store is a digital media store available to users of Sonys PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita and PlayStation Portable game consoles via the PlayStation Network. The store offers a range of downloadable content both for purchase and available free of charge, available content includes full games, add-on content, playable demos, themes and game/movie trailers. The PlayStation Store is updated with new content each Tuesday in North America and South America, the service is also available online through the Sony Entertainment Network website. A master PlayStation Network account is required to access the PlayStation Store, a log of all previously purchased items, known as Download List, records each PlayStation Store accounts complete download activity. A guest user can use their master accounts Download List to download free content or to purchase content on another console, however and this was previously five, but as of November 2011, Sony reduced this to two. The most recent firmware must be installed on the console in order to access the PlayStation Store, each master account is associated with an online virtual wallet to which funds can be added. This wallet is then debited when a purchase is made from the store, money can be added to the wallet through different systems of payment, although some of these are not available in all countries. The user can add funds to their wallet in a number of ways, users in many regions can also purchase PlayStation Network Cards or Tickets in set denominations from retailers including supermarkets or video game stores. These funds are redeemed on the PlayStation Store when the user enters the unique 12-digit code found on the card into the PlayStation Store, nintendo themselves later adopted this currency system for their succeeding eShop. As of July 2013, the UK users of the store can top up their wallet via a mobile phone, the PlayStation Store was launched on the PlayStation 3 on November 11,2006 and is accessible via an icon under the PlayStation Network category of the XMB. There are four different versions of the PlayStation Store, Asia, Europe, Japan, there is no PlayStation Store in China. Officially 16 downloads can be queued up at a time, the status of the downloads can only be checked on the XMB under the Network category. If the messaging service is enabled, a message will appear in the top right corner of the screen to notify the user that a download is finished. Cross-platform content such as emulated PlayStation games, PS Vita games and demos, some cross-platform store content such as emulated PlayStation games and demos can be transferred from the PlayStation 3 to the PlayStation Portables Memory Stick via a USB connection. After the installation of firmware version 5.00 released on October 15,2008 and it is accessible under the PlayStation Network category on the PSPs XMB. However, users who do not have any method for connecting wirelessly can still use the PlayStation Store on the PC using Media Go. Following feedback from a number of PlayStation Network users, a redesigned version of the PlayStation Store was launched on April 15,2008 via a firmware update. The new design was OS based rather than the previous Stores web based design enabling the Store to process more quickly
