Sony PS3 video store due this summer?

Sony's anticipated PlayStation 3 video store could be available as soon as this summer and with wide support, sources tell the LA Times. The console maker is allegedly in talks with multiple major studios and would open the store with a mixture of full-length movies and TV shows. No information has yet been supplied as to which companies are likely to be onboard or whether Sony will offer any videos in HD.

The initiative is both an attempt to rival a similar service available through the PS3's most immediate challenger, Microsoft's Xbox 360, as well as to take advantage of the PS3's popularity to gain an edge in the media hub market over closer competitors such as the Apple TV. Sony credits the PS3 in helping to muscle HD DVD out of the movie disc business and is believed to have a similar hope for strictly online content.

Sony has typically struggled with online video, having sold off Movielink to Blockbuster and gaining modest support for its BRAVIA Internet Link that displays pre-supplied content directly to some of the company's HDTV sets.

Filed under: industry, gadgets
Other story tags: Microsoft, sony, PS3, Apple TV, Xbox 360, Blockbuster, Vudu, Bravia, Movielink