Updated: March 10, 2006

PlayStation Live?

Fresh evidence that Sony is prepping to jettison its unwieldy online strategy for something more Microsoftian.

Evidence is building that Sony will soon announce a new online service for PlayStation 3 to rival Xbox Live on Xbox 360. The company has ditched the open access system of the PlayStation 2 for something closer to Microsoft's popular service.

The new system, apparently named PlayStation HUB, will feature online play, voice chat, downloadable demos and independent games and it will also support online PSP play, says a report at Next Generation.

Sony's new CEO, Howard Stringer, is reportedly also keen on getting the rest of Sony's digital content involved in the new service.

It is thought that PlayStation HUB would be a subscription service, with customers having to pay a regular fee for access.

This latest report jives with an earlier report at US magazine PSM, which predicted the same features for Sony's new network. PlayStation HUB is being developed by Sony's European arm, probably by the same branch that spawned EyeToy Chat for the PlayStation 2.

Sony has declined to comment on the veracity of the reports. The company is expected to reveal its full online gameplan by E3 at the latest.

The latest report suggests that the console will ship this September in both North America and Japan with Europe to follow. This is in line with our own prediction, based on Kikizo's recent exclusive hands-on time with the PlayStation 3.