New Sony Station Launcher online service hints at PS3 strategy

Sony has revealed little about its upcoming PlayStation 3 online service to rival Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox Live, but an upcoming offering from the Japanese giant’s online game division may hint at its direction. Sony Online Entertainment in July will debut a service, known by its working title "Station Launcher," which provides users access to several of its online PC games.

Station Launcher, which ties together several programs already offered by Sony, will also consolidate lists of players’ friends from a variety of the company’s games, support chat and provide downloads of new game content and trinkets. Also, it will offer a single point where players can manage payments and link to other Sony-run sites carrying player rankings and information.

"It’s not going to stop at the PC," said Nathan Pearce, a creative director at Sony Online Entertainment, which is a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Digital.

Reuters