| Developer | Sony Computer Entertainment |
|---|---|
| Type | Online market |
| Launch date | November 2006 (PS3), September 2007 (PC), October 2008 (PSP)[1] |
| Platform |
PlayStation 3, Mobile |
| Website | Official Website |
The PlayStation Store is an online virtual market available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3 (PS3), PlayStation Vita and PlayStation Portable (PSP) 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 and movie trailers. The service is accessible through an icon on the XMB on the PS3 and PSP. The PS3 store can also be accessed on the PSP via a Remote Play connection to the PS3. The PSP store is also available via the PC application, Media Go. As of September 24, 2009, there have been over 600 million downloads from the PlayStation Store worldwide.[2]
The PlayStation Store is updated with new content each Tuesday in North America, and each Wednesday in PAL regions.[3] In May 2010 this was changed from Thursdays to allow PSP games to be released digitally, closer to the time they are released on UMD.[4]
The PlayStation Store was unavailable worldwide due to a PlayStation Network outage in April 2011. The service has been fully restored in Sony's American and European markets since June 2, 2011.[5]
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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 account's full game, trial demo, and add-on download activity. A guest user can use his/her master account Download List to download free content or to purchase content on another console however, a single account can only be used on up to five consoles. 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.
Unlike Microsoft's Xbox Live Marketplace as well as Nintendo's Wii Shop Channel and Nintendo DSi Shop, which each use their own specific currencies (Microsoft Points and Nintendo Points, respectively), all purchases are made in the user's local currency. The PlayStation Store uses a 'wallet' system whereby funds are added to the wallet – either in set denominations or an amount dictated by the price of the current transaction – then debited from the account's wallet when the user makes a purchase.
The user can add funds to their wallet in a number of ways, the most common of which is by credit or debit card. 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.[6]
In Japan, users may use the Edy e-money system. With a USB IC card reader/writer called PaSoRi, users can add funds to their wallet by swiping a smart card across the device.[7]
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 (including Oceania and the Middle East), Japan, and North America. Content may vary per country. There are no PlayStation Stores in China and Latin America.
Available content includes:
Picture:
Music:
Video:
Game:
Miscellaneous:
Qore ( /ˈkɔər/ core), presented by the PlayStation Network, announced on June 3, 2008 by SCEA, is a subscription-based interactive online magazine for the PlayStation Network,[10] which launched on the PlayStation Store in North America on June 5, 2008.
FirstPlay (previously known as Official PlayStation Magazine HD or OPMHD) is an electronic magazine similar to Qore, produced by Future Publishing. Released in April 2010, it is available to PlayStation 3 users via the PlayStation Store in the UK. Like Qore, FirstPlay offers exclusive videos, demos and downloads.[11][12] but is released weekly instead of monthly.[13]
As of March 22, 2007, background downloading became possible while watching a video stored on the HDD, listening to music, looking at photos, using the web browser and playing PS1, or offline PS3 games.[14] 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 activated a pop-up message will appear in the top right corner of the screen to notify the user that a download is finished.
Some cross-platform store content such as emulated PlayStation games and demos can be transferred from the PlayStation 3 HDD to the PSP Memory Stick using a USB connection.
PSP games and demos need a USB linked PSP in order to start the download from the store to the PSP through the PlayStation 3 internet connection.
Downloads from the PlayStation Store to the PSP can be performed later using the "Download List" log available in both the PS3 and PSP PlayStation Stores.
Since April 15, 2008, the PlayStation Store can be accessed on PSP handheld console through Remote Play function.
After the installation of firmware version 5.00 released on October 15, 2008, the PlayStation Store can be accessed directly from the PSP without the need to use a PC or PS3 as an intermediary.[15] It will be accessible under the PlayStation Network category on the Portable's XMB. However users who do not have any method for connecting wirelessly can still use the Playstation Store on the PC using a downloadable program from Sony called Media Manager for PSP 3.0. As long as you have a working Store account you can use the program to download the software from the Store using the PC while connected to the PSP via a USB Cable.
Following feedback from a large number of PlayStation Network users, a redesigned version of the PlayStation Store was launched on April 15, 2008 via a firmware update.[16] The new design is OS based rather than the previous Store's web based design enabling the Store to process information more quickly.
A minor update to the Store was released during the Sony E3 2009 Press Conference. This update makes the top page change pictures (with their links) regularly, and changes the navigation sounds.
At the PlayStation Store's initial launch, PSP owners could only access the PSP section of the store by means of a PS3 connection. This meant that only PSP owners who also had a PS3 could access PSOne games and other content available exclusively on the PlayStation Network. However, the PSP-oriented PlayStation Store (PC) launched in Asia on September 20, 2007 at the Tokyo Games Show and was accessible through supported internet browsers on Windows PCs. The PC store became available for the U.S. and Europe on November 20, 2007.
A year later on October 15, 2008, System Software 5.00 was released for the PSP. For the first time PSP owners could also access the store directly on their PSP consoles.[17] Two weeks later on October 28, 2008, the PC store was relaunched, this time being able to be accessed via PSP Media Manager 3. Like with the PS3, PSP and PSOne games downloaded from the PlayStation Store can only be used on up to 5 separate PSPs activated on the account the content was purchased by.
During E3 2009, Sony announced the release of Media Go, a Windows application used to access, download and install games and software to a connected PSP, as well as Sony Walkman devices and Sony Ericsson cell phones. The software can also be used to manage and transfer other media such as music, videos and photos stored on the PSP and other compatible devices. Files are transferred to the PSP via a USB connection and saved onto a flash memory card (or internal flash storage on the PSPgo). The software was initially offered as an alternative to the already-existing PSP Media Manager (and the various other Media Manager applications for Sony devices) and can also be used to manage and transfer other media such as music, videos and photos stored on the PSP and other compatible devices. However, Sony soon completely replaced the Media Manager family of software with Media Go.[17] Media Go is now the only way to access PSN content from a PC. It is only compatible with 32-bit versions of Windows XP and both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7.
A DRM tool called the PlayStation Network Downloader is also required to download content from the Playstation Store onto a PC. When downloading store content, an *.xpd file is first downloaded onto the user's computer and then opened by the Playstation Network Downloader, which downloads the content directly to a PSP connected via a USB cable. This 'DRM' tool prevents the user from directly saving store contents onto their PC and illegally distributing the content. Currently, this software is also only compatible with certain Microsoft Windows operating systems.
Available content for the PSP includes:
Video:
Game:
Comics:
Other:
PlayStation Store is currently only available in a select number of countries.
Pakistan Users from non-PS Store countries such as China and Argentina are not officially supported, although it is possible for users in those countries to access the PlayStation Store if they provide an address, located in a supported country; but that goes against the Playstation Network's terms of use.
On July 21, 2011, Playstation Store was released in Brazil, despite official informations about its release on October 12, 2011, and now has all the content you can download directly to your PS3 and PSP. Purchases can be made using a credit card and the prices are showing in local currency, the Real.
Although Playstation 3 has been officially launched in the Philippines in March 2010,[19] the Philippines is not included in the PS Store list of countries. Petitions for the Philippines to be included in the list are ongoing in the gaming online communities but remain unheeded by Sony Philippines.[20][21][22][23][24]
The Playstation 3 console has been officially launched in Bulgaria in March 2007, but Bulgaria is not included in the PlayStation Store list of countries, although Bulgaria has access to the PlayStation Network. Petitions for Bulgaria to be included in the list are ongoing since 2008 but remain unheeded by Sony. [25]
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