The Go! Video Download Service will launch in early 2008, and will be the first official PSP video download service in Europe. Users will not only be able to access Sky's content, which includes sports, entertainment, movies, music and animation -- they'll also have access to third-party channels and content. This is the first time Sky has offered video content through a non-Sky branded service.
Additional pay-per-view services will be provided for new release movies and high profile sporting events. Users will not only be able to download the content from a PC, but they'll be able to download directly to their PSP systems through wi-fi.
"Both truly mobile and with a best in class high-quality screen, PSP delivers a great on-the-move video experience. Working with such a well known content brand, we will be able to offer PSP owners access to the best in cross-genre Sky content, available through the first official video download service. This really will make PSP the standout all-in-one portable gaming, video and music device", commented David Reeves, President of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. [Update: Kotaku has confirmed that this service is unlikely to ever come to America. "There is nothing really nationwide in the U.S. that delivers video content over the air by subscription. So, until that happens we won't be seeing that in the U.S."]
Sony has officially unveiled PSP's upcoming VOIP service, to be called Go! Messenger. The program will be downloadable and installed into the XMB in a future firmware upgrade. Through it, PSP owners will be able to instant message each other using a "new and intuitive on-screen keyboard." By using a headset, users will be able to voice chat; and by using Go!Cam, video chat will also be enabled.
"With Go!Messenger, PSP is pushing new boundaries, adding unique communication functionalities to all the existing multimedia experiences," said Stephane Hareau, PSP European Marketing Manager, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. "Enabling more than 8.5 Million PSP users across the SCEE region to communicate with each other, through Video or Voice chat, truly confirms the always evolving nature and potential of PSP.''
The service has been developed in partnership with BT, one of the world's leading telecom providers. Sony plans on adding even more functionality to the PSP through Go!Explore and the Go! branded video download service. European PSP owners will have a lot to look forward to -- hopefully, SCEA will follow-up with its own American service.
The Games Convention in Leipzig is only a few days away, and it appears that Konami's upcoming Silent Hill UMD demo from the show somehow got leaked for public consumption. Unlike regular demos, this must be ripped into a disc image and run off of a homebrew-enabled PSP. We're not sure if Konami is too appreciative of having early code released to the public, and we're going to refrain from linking to places where it's available for download. However, video proof (seen above) shows that this is, in fact, real.
[Thanks, Joe!]
NOTE: This editorial is the opinion of Andrew Yoon, and does not represent the opinion of PSP Fanboy, Joystiq or Weblogs, Inc.
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