gamescom, Cologne, 18th August 2009: Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) today announced the latest addition to the PlayStation® entertainment experience with its new PlayStation®Network video delivery service for Europe and the PAL territories. Launching this November in France, Germany, Spain and the UK, with other markets to follow in 2010, the service will allow movie fans to download the latest releases straight to their PlayStation®3 (PS3™) and PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable) for viewing at home or on the go.

The video delivery service will offer high quality entertainment, available to buy or to rent, from major movie studios including 20th Century Fox, Disney-ABC-ESPN Television1, Lionsgate2, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM), Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Starz Media2, Universal2, and Warner Bros., in addition to local market studios including Universum Film (Germany) and Constantin Film (Germany).  Additional local studios in other territories will be announced closer to launch.

Hundreds of titles will be available at launch including Angels and Demons; Bruno; The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe; Crank 2; The Dark Knight; Dead Space: Downfall; Gran Torino; Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix; National Treasure; Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl; Public Enemies; Star Trek; Terminator Salvation; Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen; Valkyrie; and X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

The video delivery service will be fully integrated within the PlayStation Network, using the same log-in, wallet system and user-interface. Visitors can search for movies by name, or can browse categories such as “new releases”, “genres” and ”most popular downloads”. PS3’s progressive downloading allows viewers to start watching a film shortly after the download begins.  They can also access certain games or other content on their PS3 while the download is taking place.  

Consumers who choose to rent have up to 14 days to watch their movie, and, once playback is started, they have a minimum of 24 hours to watch the content. Further specifics for viewing times will be announced closer to launch of the service.  Purchased movies are stored on the PS3 hard disk drive and can be accessed at home via PS3 or transferred to PSP for content on the go.

“PlayStation is becoming the home of entertainment from games to music channels, from creative platforms to virtual pets,” said Andrew House, President and CEO, SCEE. “The addition of the PlayStation Network video delivery service for PS3 and PSP provides a simple way for PlayStation owners to access movie content and enjoy the latest blockbuster whenever and wherever they choose.”

Available from this November, the PlayStation Network video delivery service will take the prime position in a line-up of PlayStation entertainment features, alongside streaming music video with VidZone® and free digital TV viewing with PlayTV™. With games, music, Internet, photos, communications and more, it’s yet another reason to make PS3 and PSP the heart of your entertainment world. To find out more, visit www.eu.playstation.com.

1 At launch content from this studio will be available only in the UK, for rent only
2 At launch, content from these studios will be available only in the UK

ENDS

For more information, please contact your local PR manager.

About Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE), based in London, is responsible for the distribution, marketing and sales of PlayStation®3, PlayStation®2, PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable) and PlayStation®Network software and hardware in 99 territories across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Oceania. SCEE also develops, publishes, markets and distributes entertainment software for these formats, and manages the third party licensing programs for the formats in these territories. Since the launch of PlayStation 3 in November 2006, over 23.7 million units have been sold globally and continue to be sold at a record level.  Maintaining its position as one of the most successful consumer electronic products in history, PlayStation 2 has sold over 138.8 million systems worldwide.  Since its launch at the end of 2004, over 52.9 million PSPs have been sold globally, highlighting the importance of the portable entertainment market.  With the huge increase in interest and accessibility of network applications and network gaming, over 27 million accounts have registered to PlayStation Network, the free-to-access interactive environment, and over 560 million items have been downloaded.

More information about PlayStation products can be found at www.playstation.com or visit the Virtual Press Office at www.scee.presscentre.com.

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Readers are advised that the press releases and other information posted on this site are current only on their original publication date. Please note that such press releases and other information may now be outdated or rendered inaccurate due to passage of time or subsequent material changes in facts and circumstance.