PlayStation Network, often abbreviated to PSN, is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service provided/run by Sony Computer Entertainment for use with the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable video game consoles.
Did you know that as of June 2010, there are now over 50 million registered PlayStation Network accounts worldwide?
Registration is performed via the PlayStation 3 console, a PlayStation Portable or a PC. Two types of accounts can be created; Master accounts and Sub accounts.
Master accounts allow full access to all settings, including parental control, but the Master must be over the age of 18 to create an account. Sub accounts can subsequently be created with desired restrictions set by the master account holder.
Since Master/Sub accounts are not linked to the PlayStation 3 serial number, which allows users to buy and sell used consoles, they can be used with different consoles as a guest user; therefore a single console can have multiple Master accounts.
Although unregistered users can access and browse the PlayStation Store, registration is required to purchase items. Once purchased, items can be downloaded from the PlayStation Store to up to five consoles, however, if the owner account is deleted from a console, the content becomes invalid and is locked.
PlayStation Network launched in November 2006 to coincide with the launch of the PlayStation 3 console in North America and Japan. Due to the delay of the European launch to March 2007, Sony allowed residents of Europe to pre-register their PlayStation Network via PC in order to reserve their favored PSN ID, allowing them to quickly retrieve their details on the day of release.
