It’s been a long time since we first heard rumours of a late 2008 launch and nearly as long since it really did launch in Europe. But Sony told us at the start of 2009 that we’d see PlayTV by the end of the year, and they’ve delivered… just in time.

PlayTV lets you watch, pause and record free-to-air TV, even while you’re playing a PS3 game. You can also use it in conjunction with your PSP to watch TV remotely. PlayStation Australia boss Michael Ephraim reckons it’s a “must-have for every Australian family.”

“PlayTV further extends the broad entertainment credentials of PS3,” says Ephraim.

“PS3 already provides the best High Definition gaming, Blu-ray Disc movie playback, VidZone music video streaming, video, photo album, web browsing and PlayStation Network content. With the introduction of PlayTV’s state of the art TV tuner and PVR functionality, PS3 continues to be the best choice for the home entertainment needs of the Australian family.”

PS3 owners, are you interested in picking up a PlayTV box?

Kotaku AU NZ Note: Quick update for our New Zealand readers. Sony has confirmed PlayTV will not be launching in NZ this year. A Sony spokesperson told us: “PlayTV will not be launching in New Zealand in 2009. We understand that there is a lot of anticipation for the domestic arrival of PlayTV, and we are working hard to make it a reality for PlayStation 3 users in New Zealand in the future. Sony Computer Entertainment NZ will advise of further developments and announcements in 2010.”

We’ve heard from Nintendo and Microsoft in our look back on the year that was. And they both claimed to be pleased. But how about Sony and the PlayStation 3?
Pleased, that’s the answer, according to Sony Australia’s Rebecca Rice. She also thinks next year looks exciting with the pledge we’ll see the streaming TV of PlayTV and streaming music videos of Vidzone launch locally, plus games like Killzone 2, Haevy Rain and flOwer.Here’s the full email exchange:

Kotaku: How was 2008 for Sony and PS3, and what are your expectations for your Xmas sales?
Rebecca Rice: It’s been a big year. We’ve seen a cracking range of titles come to the platform over 2008, delivered by SCE WWS as well as third party developers and it’s been great to see such a broad showcase of games, both exclusive and multi platform, now being enjoyed on PS3.

Regarding our Christmas sales to date, we’ve reviewed the data across all three PlayStation platforms and, in general, are pleased with our performance. We are on course to hit our projected sales targets, with the current bonus game offer with every PS3 purchase proving popular with consumers. Across the board, the 2008 GfK sales data we’ve seen is very encouraging for everyone in the industry, with massive growth of the entire category achieved; an accomplishment which should be celebrated by all of us.

Kotaku: What were your highlights for 2008?
Rebecca: There have been a good few, but a couple spring to mind immediately – Firstly, seeing LittleBigPlanet launch and watching how it has been embraced by the community as well as seeing their creative minds go to work with the results being some absolutely phenomenal level creations.

Secondly, Resistance 2 – Ted Price, CEO Insomniac Games, took some time out to come to Australia and participate in an event that saw him sit on in a panel discussion with other members of the Australian Games Media. The reception from the guests who were able to attend and the discussion topics that were driven via both the panelists and questions from the floor were really interesting.

Kotaku: What were your lowlights?
Rebecca: All in all, it’s been balanced, but we’ve not gone without our share of challenging moments this year. One would of course be the well publicised delay in launch of LittleBigPlanet, but on a positive, the action taken by Media Molecule and everyone involved within SCE saw the delay be kept to as short a time as possible.

Kotaku: How would you grade the PS3’s performance over the whole year (where A = stellar, surpassing all expectations and F = terrible, we should just give up)?
Rebecca: We’ve been pleased. Having been on sale for less than two years, PS3 is still a new offering in the market and we’ve focussed this year on increasing the software range available and have seen that be delivered through well received titles like Resistance 2, MotorStorm Pacific Rift, GTA IV, Metal Gear Solid 4, and LittleBigPlanet to name a few.

We’ve also been able to bring popular franchises like Buzz! and SingStar to the more casual and social gaming audience. Hand in hand with the software focus, we’ve continued to demonstrate to consumers the advanced technology that they are buying into with PS3 via system software upgrades, Blu-ray and high definition content and growth of online services through the PlayStation Network.

Kotaku: What do Aussie gamers have to look forward to from the PS3 and Sony next year?
Rebecca: A lot! The innovation and diversification of the PS3’s offering is only going to increase and there’s an awesome range of exclusive titles set to hit the platform throughout the course of 2009, with the likes of InFamous, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Heavy Rain – firstly though, we’ll be kicking the year off with Killzone 2 in February.

From PlayStation Network, PS3 owners will see the content offering within the PlayStation Home open beta expand, a stellar range of network games such as flOwer and Rag Doll Kung Fu, alongside a mixture of game expansion packs coming to the PlayStation store throughout the year.

PS3 owners will also see an expansion of services beyond gaming, including PlayTV and Vidzone, the free streaming music video service, all coming in 2009. The year ahead is set to be an exciting one.

For the £69.99 price tag the feature set doesn’t seem too shabby, but I don’t think North Americans need to be shedding any tears over missing out on the peripheral. Hit the link for CVG’s full review of PlayTV.

PlayTV Review [CVG]

When we first heard about the PlayTV’s ability to record TV while you played it sounded great and the decision to allow ‘format shifting’ of recordings to other devices was a real sea-change for the usually clenched Sony.

Sadly, it is back to tense-buttocked business as usual. Sony has announced that PlayTV owners will now only be able to stream recordings to a PSP using Remote Play. No reason, just because, although the usual concerns about intellectual property and loss of advertising revenue will doubtless be trotted out at some point.

Talk about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory…

PlayTV saved files no longer transferable [EuroGamer]

Play TV Release Information [ThreeSpeech]

PlayTV dated, will record TV while gaming [Eurogamer]

The overall message seems to highlight the PS3’s diversity as an entertainment device, with the aim of appealing to an all-ages audience.

Full release follows the jump:

06/05/2008 17:30
Get closer to friends and family with PlayStation

London, 6th May 2008- With PlayStation, games have never been more family-friendly. We’ve created up the genre of ’social gaming’: games where players of all ages socialise through gaming. For the kids and the young-at-heart, there are EyeToy® games that burn physical as well as mental energy. We’ve got puzzle games that everyone will want to try- whether at home or in the car – and we’re also allowing you to take TV on the move. You can even team up as a family to challenge your overseas relatives to a round of online quizzing over PLAYSTATION®Network (PSN) – and when it comes to keeping in touch further, we’ve just given PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable) video and voice chat capabilities.

PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™): the next generation system that brings you High Definition gaming, Blu-ray movies, internet browsing, music, TV and entry into the online community of PLAYSTATION Network.

Buzz!™: Quiz TV (PS3)

Buzz!: Quiz TV for PS3™ is the next-gen game that takes the Buzz! experience into the future and across the world via the online PLAYSTATION Network. Arriving this June, it’ll give you instant access to quizzes on almost any subject you can think of, and will be supported by vast downloadable and user-generated content. The game’s Blu-ray disc comes with wireless buzzers and contains a whopping 5000 questions, divided into five selectable channels to suit every quiz fanatic – it’s a quiz where you choose the content. Not enough questions on your subject of choice? Write your own. New online quiz community MyBuzz!™ links directly from the internet to the game and allows players to write and upload personalised quizzes plus download quizzes created by other online players which suit their questioning needs. The disc is also your gateway to online gaming and content, connecting you to Sofa vs Sofa mode, in which you can team up with everyone at home to challenge up to three other teams of gamers online, as well as to extra downloadable quiz packs and quizzes written by other Buzz! users.

echochrome (PSP and PS3)

In echochrome, it’s not what you see, it’s the way that you see it – and the more pairs of eyes involved, the better your chances of solving the dozens of fiendish puzzles ahead. The world of echochrome consists of a series of crazy mazes inhabited by the endlessly wandering Walker, and your goal is to help him get where he wants to go – despite being faced with seemingly insurmountable obstacles and hazards. The trick is to open your mind and let your imagination run riot: by rotating each maze and changing your perspective on the action, you might just be able to change reality… A brand new and brain-busting puzzle experience, echochrome will have you asking everyone you know: “Can you see the answer?”

PlayTV™ (PS3)

Television how, when and where you want it; Play TV lets you pause, rewind and record free-to-air digital television using your PS3 and, best of all – after a one-off payment for the peripheral, the service is completely free. End family squabbles as you watch one channel while recording another through a dual TV tuner, stream television anywhere using a wi-fi connected PSP or pause television should household events demand your attention – Play TV offers access to great TV without the pocket-punching bills this later this year.

Folding@home (PS3)

Developed by Stanford University, Folding@home uses the combined power of interlinked computers around the world to perform mathematical calculations that help with research into protein folding – research that could lead to breakthroughs in the fight against diseases such as Alzheimer’s, CJD, Parkinson’s and various forms of cancer. In 2006, it was realised that a network of interlinked PS3 processors could boost the project’s output to unprecedented levels thanks to the power of the PS3’s Cell processor. All you need to do to play a part in Folding@home is to select the project’s icon in the Network column of the Cross-Media Bar (XMB), then leave your machine running.

PLAYSTATION®Network (PSN)

The online home of PS3, PLAYSTATION®Network is where you’ll find some of PlayStation’s most innovative and fun games for you to download at wallet-friendly prices. You’ll also find downloadable extras, free online gaming, voice chat, video chat, web surfing and more.

Elefunk™ (PSN for PS3)

A herd of elephants needing safe guidance through a series of perilous levels requires a guide, so help steer the jungle giants to safety this May. Across 20 levels, create safe passage across ravines, rivers, fires, pits and swamps with the materials available to you. Plus, swap construction for Deconstruction in a specially designed multiplayer game where players must disassemble a structure as carefully as possible without letting the structure, or imperilled elephants, fall…

Buzz! Junior™ (PSN for PS3)

This summer, we’re bringing the fun of the children’s Buzz! Junior range to PSN with bundles of mini-games for PS3 owners to download at pocket money prices. Buzz! Junior titles offer all the fun, easy play of Buzz! controllers, but with wacky mini-games of skill and speed rather than trivia-based play – they’re perfect for youngsters to play with friends and family. Buzz! Junior: Jungle Party will be the first to arrive on PSN in a download featuring five great mini-games from the original PS2 version – now in 720p High Definition; it’ll be followed by similar downloads from Buzz! Junior: RoboJam and Buzz! Junior: Monster Rumble.

PixelJunk™ Eden (PSN for PS3)

After sowing seeds with its Racers and Monsters, PixelJunk puts down roots on PLAYSTATION®Network with PixelJunk Eden. Leap and swing between lush alien vegetation in a truly innovative platform game which constantly evolves over time as you move through the perfectly realised undergrowth, hunting treasures and smashing enemies from his path. Destroyed enemies scatter pollen across the landscape, which the player must collect and use to pollinate seed pods before using the new growth to progress further.

PlayStation®2 (PS2™): the world’s best-selling entertainment system that offers you great gameplay and the biggest social gaming brands

EyeToy® Play: PomPom Party (PS2)

Limber-up for the first cheerleading game for PS2, which comes bundled with real pompoms to help every wannabe-cheerleader pull off some groovy moves. As you follow the directions on-screen and shake your pompoms to the music, the EyeToy Camera will detect your movements and score your routines. So keep that rhythm going, and soon the whole block will be bouncing to your cheers in EyeToy Play: PomPom Party – it’s arriving in time for Christmas in late 2008.

EyeToy® Play: Hero (PS2)

The ultimate quest for all budding adventurers – embark on a fantastic journey through a colourful, exciting fantasy world. EyeToy Play: Hero includes its own toy sword for you to wield; the EyeToy Camera will detect your sword’s movements as you perform feats of bravery throughout the land. Watch your adventure unfold on-screen, hone your swordplay, and maybe one day you’ll be considered a true hero of the kingdom! It’s arriving in time for Christmas in late 2008. p>

PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable): the handheld entertainment system that offers games, music, film, TV, communications, GPS mapping and more

Buzz!™: Master Quiz (PSP)

Turning PSP into the ultimate social gaming experience, Buzz! makes his handheld debut in Buzz!: Master Quiz. Keep friends and family amused and entertained on the move, on holiday or on the bus as Buzz! hits the road, free from its front-room beginnings. Play solo or get involved with new multiplayer rounds such as Pass Around (which enables six players to play Buzz! with just one PSP!). The ultimate PlayStation quiz experience has hit the road – are you along for the ride this July?

Go!Messenger™ (PSP)

Keep in touch using your PSP with a revolutionary new addition, which turns your handheld system into a wireless communication tool featuring video chat, voice chat and instant messaging. It allows PSP owners to instant message each other- then, just add a headset and voice messaging and voice calls become possible. Add Go!Cam, the USB camera for PSP, and video calls and video messaging become a possibility. Go!Messenger is out now – it’s another reason why PSP is becoming a travel essential.

SKYPE™ (PSP)

Skype, the online communication software that allows Internet users to call each other free of charge*, has now arrived on the new Slim and Light PSP. Talk to any one of the hundred million Skype users worldwide with free voice calls, managing your contacts list and checking which of your friends are online via your PSP. You can opt into the SkypeOut and SkypeIn features, which connect Skype callers with landline and mobile users – and you can do all of this from any wireless hotspot – anywhere in the world.