PS3 to get Entitlements?

Tuesday 1 August 2006
PlayStation 3 will have its own version of Xbox 360's Achievements which will be called Entitlements, according to current industry rumours.

The reports, which originate from a podcast by US games mag EGM, have been termed "purely speculation" today by a Sony spokesman. But it wouldn't come as a complete surprise to see PS3 include an Achievements-style ranking system, especially given that the PlayStation creators do seem to be cherry picking ideas from Microsoft's Xbox Live service.

Sony has already confirmed that gamers will be able to buy new game content online for SingStar, a similar idea to the 360 Marketplace, and there are further reports that it is planning a similar game downloading service to Arcade Live.

Xbox 360 Achievements have proved popular with gamers, who are able to build up their GamerScore by completing specific in-game objectives. Many see them as real measurement of gaming skill and there's been the odd outcry when some games have awarded Achievements for relatively easy tasks - Prey, for instance, rewards players with Achievement points simply for completing levels.

While it isn't a shock that Sony is apparently repurposing an existing idea, what is it a bit strange is the name supposedly chosen for it. Entitlements isn't particularly sexy although it does suggest that gamers are given a access to something else... but what?

We asked Sony for a response to the speculation but were simply told that there won't be any further announcements about PS3's online service until the Tokyo Game Show, which kicks off on 22 September. So we'll just have to wait till then.