PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation Network

By Andrew Rodriguez

Introduction

The PlayStation 3 is a new form of technology that converts internet and communication into a video game system. This console is one of the top selling video game consoles around the world. This is because of the crisp, vivid graphic display and the services that are provided for users. The PlayStation 3 brings many forms of new media together into one device. People that have a PlayStation 3 can use certain features like Netflix, Facebook, and the PlayStation Network. This system promotes a strong use of communication with people around the world. With the PlayStation Network, video game users can play on-line with people who are logged on from different regions of the world and interact with them. People can add people as friends that they find when they play on-line and use the in game messaging system to talk to your those friends you have on your PlayStation Network friends list. Video game users can also use a bluetooth headset and talk with the people they are playing with while they are in the game. The PlayStation Network also allows you to use certain social networks as Sony’s very own PlayStation Home. It is a 3D virtual world were you can meet people and talk with them. The PlayStation 3 is a great device to communicate with people from around the globe and use different forms of media on one device. It is more then just playing a video game when you start talking and interacting with other people that are on-line. It is a huge social network and you can cross paths with thousands of other video game players every day.

PlayStation Network

The PlayStation Network is the main feature of the PlayStation 3. This video game console revolves around the network as its main form of interacting and communicating with other people on-line. When logged on to the PlayStation Network, you are available to use many features that the PlayStation 3 runs on. You can use all the features like the PlayStation store, Netflix, PlayStation Home, and Life With PlayStation. The main use of the PlayStation Network is to play video games on-line. When you play on-line, you can come across thousands of people who are playing the exact same game. You team up with people that you have never met before to beat another team of people (Eastin, 2007). While you are in the middle of a game you can communicate to the other players by the PlayStation Network messaging system or a bluetooth headset. Most people use the headset option because it is very convenient to talk to people to come up with a game plan and different strategies. This a great way to meet people. Most games also have places where you can go into a lobby room and chat with other people that are logged on. This is used with the PlayStation Network messaging system. In the lobby rooms you can look for people that want to play and you can team up and go into a game or play against someone. If you find someone you create a great connection with and want to play with again in the future you can add them on your PlayStation Network friends list. Once they are added to your friends list, you can message with that person anytime and continue communication. Also, the PlayStation Network provides many features to keep in touch with your friends. A notification will always show on your screen whenever one of your friends has logged on to play. Through the friends list, you can view a friends status and see what game they are playing. This is convenient so you can play and interact with your friends at anytime. Users can also send invites to their friends to join there game they are playing. This is a great feature for when you and a friend are playing the same game, you can send a invitation to join a private party and you and however many friends can play together without anyone interrupting. The PlayStation Network is a great feature to play on-line and create a social network by playing video games (Kennedy & Wilson, 2007).

New Media and the PlayStation 3

The PlayStation 3 brings many forms of media into one device. One application that is popular and can be used on the video game console is Netflix. This allows for users to stream movies instantly form their console. Once you download the application, users can scroll through the thousands of movies that are available and pick which ones to view. Movie streaming has become a hot commodity in media and communication in our recent society. This Netflix application is a great source of new media to bring into the PlayStation 3 and makes it a very versatile video game console (Stone, 2009).

The Playstation 3 also can bring social networking into its long list of many uses. Facebook is form of media and social networking that can be used on the PlayStation 3. By downloading the application, users can bring their Facebook network onto their video game console. While people play video games, they can stay connected with their friends an everything that is going on within Facebook. Video games allow an option to post status’s on to your Facebook profile notifying your friends what you are playing at the moment. Other features allow you to challenge your friends by sending status updates saying that you are looking to challenge a friend on-line in a certain game. The PlayStation system also will post a status whenever you complete a achievement or reach a goal in a video game. PlayStation 3 uses Facebook to promote and strengthen their use of social networking and

communicating (Williams, 2006).

PlayStation Home

Another form of social networking the PlayStation 3 has is the PlayStation Home feature. PlayStation Home brings the PlayStation Network to life. It is a 3D virtual world where people can meet other PlayStation 3 users. This feature can be compared to the on-line computer games The Sims or Second Life. PlayStation Home users first start their virtual world experience by creating an avatar. An avatar is a graphical representation of the user or user’s alter ego. This avatar can be made to look realistically or however the user wishes it to look like. This avatar represents the user and how he will be judged in the on-line world. Once you are done creating your avatar, You create your apartment space which will be the avatar’s main domain in the on-line world. As your play the game, users can win or purchase other items to continue customizing their avatar or apartment. The main purpose of PlayStation Home is to venture out and experience the virtual community. It is a place to connect with friends and meet new people (Arendt, 2007). Users can communicate in many ways. When you meet someone in PlayStation Home, you can write text messages back and forth on the on screen keyboard. The messages appear as speech bubbles over the avatars heads. Users can also talk via a headset and actually hear the person’s voice. This is a lot more appealing then text messaging. Users can also join small groups up to eight PlayStation Home users and create a forum like conversation. Users can go through the PlayStation Home virtual world and play as if it were real life. You can go to the mall, the bowling alley, a restaurant, and build relationships. PlayStation Home is a great way to meet and interact with people around the world. It is a giant social network that instead of viewing as words on a web page, you can actually see it as a virtual world (Takahashi, 2011).

Communication Options

The PlayStation Network messaging system is a great form of communication. Using the built in messaging system you can talk to anyone who is logged on to the PlayStation Network. The messaging system can be used for many various forms of communication and media. When messaging another user, you can attach pictures, links, videos, and files through the message (Rothman, 2008). This a great way to exchange information and new media. The messaging system can also be used to join games and send invitations to have people join your game.

Another option PlayStation 3 users have to communicate is through a headset. During video game play, users can talk to other people they are currently in the game with. This is a great tool to enhance the social side of video game play. Players can speak strategy and teach people their own tips on how to get better. Voice impacts the players a lot more then just playing the game normally. Users get more involved in the game and try to out due or cooperate more with who ever they are talking to through a headset (Williams, Caplan & Xiong, 2007).

Conclusion

Even though the PlayStation 3 is known as a video game console, it is a lot more then that. I wanted to research and do this project to inform people that the PlayStation 3 is much more then it seems. It brings together a great combination of technology, internet, communication, and new media all into one device. This video game system is a huge social network were you can meet a whole world of video gamers and interact with them. Communicating through messages and bluetooth headsets promotes a social network of gamers to come together and play for the same goal and cause. With the mass amounts of new media the PlayStation 3 can provide its customers, this device is way more then just a video game console, it is a social network of video gamers itself.

4 Scholarly Sources

Eastin, M. S. (2007). The influence of competitive and cooperative group game play on state hostility. Human Communication Research, 33(4), 450-466. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2958.2007.00307.x

Kennedy, H., & Wilson, J. (2007). Playing with convergence. Convergence: The journal of research into new media technologies, 13(4), 331-333. doi:10.1177/1354856507082455.

Williams, D., Caplan, S., & Xiong, L. (2007). Can you hear me now? The impact of voice in an online gaming community. Human Communication Research, 33(4), 427-449. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2958.2007.00306.x

Williams, D. (2006). Groups and goblins: The social and civic impact of an online game. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 50(4), 651-670. doi:10.1207/s15506878jobem5004_5

4 Non-Scholarly Sources

Arendt, S. (2007, July 2). Study: Online gaming good for teens. Wired. www.wired.com/gamelife/2007/07/study-online-ga/

Rothman, W. (2008, Nov 20). Sony playstation 3 vs microsoft xbox 360 with HD DVD player. Time.http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1561414,00.html

Stone, B. (2009, Oct 26). Netflix movies to stream to sony’s playstation. New York Times. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/26/netflix-movies-stream-to-sonys-playstation-3/?scp=15&sq=playstation&st=nyt

Takahashi, D. (2011, April 20). Sony’s new version of playstation home virtual world goes live wednesday. New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/external/venturebeat/2011/04/20/20venturebeat-sonys-new-version-of-playstation-home-virtua-55347.html?scp=1&sq=playstation&st=cse

Websites

Life with PlayStation (2011, April 1). Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_with_PlatStation

PlayStation Home (2011, April 7). Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_Home

PlayStation Network (2011, April 18). Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_Network

Pew Internet and American Life study

Lenhart, A., Kahne, J., Middaugh, A., Macgill, A., Evans, C., Vitak, J. (2008, Sep 16). Teens, Video Games and Civics. Pew and American Life Study Retrieved from www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2008/Teens-Video-Games-and-Civics.aspx