Online revolution

Across Los Angeles, at the Shrine Auditorium, Sony America boss Jack Tretton delivered his vision for the firm in the coming months.
He told the audience that Sony had succeeded in the business by taking a long-term view of a console’s lifespan, pointing out that some of the biggest games for the previous generation PlayStation 2 were not delivered until a number of years into its cycle.
“We’re well on the way to selling more than 10 million PlayStation 3s,” he said.
The emphasis of the briefing was on the firm’s online service, PlayStation network, which offers games, films and TV content.
Unveiling the new film download system, he said: “Just as our (online) game store serves all game publishers, the PlayStation Network video delivery service is open for business for all studios and networks.”
Users will be able to download titles to their PlayStation 3 or PC, and transfer them to a PlayStation portable console.
“It’s a huge step towards advancing the PSP and PlayStation 3 value. The PSP is part of our overall strategy to bring movies and games to the living room.”
A number of new games were unveiled at the press conference, including MAG, a massively multiplayer online first person shooter. Up to 256 gamers will be able to do battle in teams of eight across the PlayStation Network.