Everything You Wanted to Know about PS3's Online Capabilities

If you've been carefully planning your extended stakeout at your local electronics store for the PlayStation 3 launch, then you'll want to read this. Rob Fahey over at Eurogamer got to spend some time with a working PS3 at Sony's Soho office in London, and provides a detailed account of his experiences using the beta version of the PlayStation Network online service. A few tidbits:

• Booting up the PS3 (remember when you just turned a console on?) gives you a Cross Media Bar, just like the PSP. In fact, in their bid to promote consistency across their products, there are many similarities between the two interfaces.
• The PS3 supports multiple user profiles, each with personalized settings.
• The Web browser is fuly functional, including support for "a wide variety of standards right up to the complex Web 2.0 stuff you find places like Gmail using."
• Parents can use master accounts to control associated accounts, providing spending limits for their kids (and presumably other limits as well).
• Everything is free, except for items you purchase in the store.

Based on Fahey's article, PlayStation Network might give Xbox Live a run for its (okay, your) money. It should be an interesting 2007 for gamers.

(Thanks to Penny Arcade for the link.)