So This is Sony’s Answer to iTunes and Unbox.
Posted by Nav on May 10, 2007
NOTE: This post was largely based on conjecture and guesswork and is no longer valid. Sony’s answer to iTunes and Unbox -i.e. their plans for downloadable video and music - will be the Playstation Network, as has been stated by Sony CEO Howard Stringer. Look for the first details in Q1 2008 with a launch later in the year.
Can Sony Finally Make Sense of the Digital Age?
Sony have long been baffled by the shift to digital media and online content delivery. From MP3 players that didn’t play MP3s, to the disaster of planning that led to the failure of Connect, to the ho-hum reception that the (virtually empty) Playstation Network has received, the company has yet to devise a centralised, efficient and compelling way to sell music, movies, tv shows and games online.
Despite Sony’s many recent gaffes, this inability to capitalise on the new waves of content is particularly frustrating, as few companies’ hardware is as impressive as Sony’s. But, as Sony’s disastrous foray into the MP3 player market has shown, good hardware is nothing when coupled with buggy, lackluster software and services; even the gorgeous new NW-A800 series, superior in many ways to the iPod Nano, is still lumbered with the aging and cumbersome Sonicstage software package.
Enter ‘Station’, a service that promises to be Sony’s answer to iTunes and Amazon’s Unbox. Though station.com already exists, for now it is exclusively a gaming website - and not a particularly good one at that. But the new service promises to centralise content delivery across a variety of platforms, delivering HD, movies and TV shows to the PS3, PSP and the PC. You can, therefore, pay to own Casino Royale and download a copy to your PS3 and PC, and a smaller, lower resolution copy to your PSP, all for one price.
The fact that this news has not made enormous waves is testament to just how much Sony’s standing in the contemporary age has fallen. The idea of a centralised online service that allows you to access your content remotely is brilliant, as is the simultaneous focus on the PC, the living room (the PS3) and the mobile markets (the PSP). If Apple or Amazon announced similar plans, the internet might have actually exploded with speculation and reaction.
But Sony’s track record on digital content is less than stellar; actually, that’s generous - it’s beyond abysmal. If, however, Sony can step back, streamline the user interface into something unintrusive and intuitive - and of course, keep the DRM restrictions to a minimum - Sony might have something on their hands. But this sounds like a huge undertaking that will involve numerous Sony brands and a need for good software, no small feat for any company today. Unfortunately, Sony’s need for a compelling online service to drive their Playstation and Walkman brands is clear - and whether or not Sony can pull it off may very well decide their future.
Link: Station Launcher to bring downloadable movies to PSP - PSP Fanboy
May 17, 2007 at 10:38 am
It sounds to me like Sony is still trying to tweak the same old tired DRM-laden model they’ve had from the beginning, only now they have the technology to port that DRM scheme across multiple platforms (PSP,PS3,PC,etc). While it may be an incremental improvement on a business model, that model was fundamentally broken to begin with.
May 17, 2007 at 10:53 am
Rod, unfortunately, you’re probably quite right. With the recent announcements by Apple and Amazon, can Sony still believe that restriction through DRM and proprietary technologies is the way to go?
I would say, however, looking at iTunes, if the DRM is as pain-free as possible, Sony may be able to buy themselves some time. Also, no-one is ready to do DRM-free video yet, as Steve Jobs himself has repeated a number of times.