New Sony service hints to PS3 strategy (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Sony Corp. (6758.T) has revealedlittle about its upcoming PlayStation 3 online service to rivalMicrosoft Corp.'s (Nasdaq: - ) Live, but an upcoming offeringfrom the Japanese giant's online game division may hint at itsdirection.

Sony Online Entertainment in July will debut a service,known by its working title "Station Launcher," which providesusers access to several of its online PC games.

Station Launcher, which ties together several programsalready offered by Sony, will also consolidate lists ofplayers' friends from a variety of the company's games, supportchat and provide downloads of new game content and trinkets.Also, it will offer a single point where players can managepayments and link to other Sony-run sites carrying playerrankings and information.

"It's not going to stop at the PC," said Nathan Pearce, acreative director at Sony Online Entertainment, which is asubsidiary of Sony Pictures Digital.

At the debut, Station Launcher will connect users to Sony's"EverQuest," "The Matrix Online," "Star Wars Galaxies,""PlanetSide" and "EverQuest II." Unlimited play of all fivegames through a Sony Station Access subscription plan costs$24.99 a month.

Sony also will add "Vanguard: Saga of Heroes" to theStation Launcher lineup this winter, Pearce said.

Games on Station Launcher will constantly update tocomputers with live online connections so subscribers can gostraight into play rather than waiting for new information todownload every time they boot up. The service uses technologyfrom Microsoft that transfers files using leftover bandwidth,ensuring uninterrupted computer use.

Microsoft has had unexpected success with Xbox Live, whichconnects through its Xbox and Xbox 360 consoles and allowsplayers to compete, download content, chat and build an onlineprofile.

The community-oriented features behind Xbox Live'spopularity are nothing new to many PC gamers who have beenchatting, competing, trading and building virtual charactersinside individual games for years. They have also helped todrive the success of upstarts like MySpace.com as well as majoronline companies like eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: - )

Sony, which aims to retain its dominance in the $30 billionglobal video game market with the PS3, has vaguely outlined itsplan to offer features that will match Xbox Live.

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