14 DAY TRIAL // As you all know, yesterday was the first day of the GamesCon conference in Cologne, Germany, and it was also the day when Sony decided to hold its press conference in order to announce new and exciting things regarding its hardware and software lineup.
The first platform to be talked about was the company's PlayStation Portable handheld console, which received a brand-new service called digital reader. It will allow users of the PSP to view various kinds of media and will be especially targeted at digital comics, as Sony has already revealed that it has partnered with publishers like Marvel Entertainment, IDW Publishing, iVerse Media and many other companies.
The service has already been subject to a lot of discussions in recent months but it’s nice to see that an official confirmation was received from Sony. The digital reader and the digital comics will be released this December in select countries like the US, and various regions in Europe. Other PAL territories will follow in 2010. The Digital Comics service will grant users access to a huge amount of classic and new comics from the leading publishers in the field and allow them to read them wherever they are.
“This is a great new service that offers PSP owners even more options for entertainment on the go and makes PSP a must for comics fans,” says Isabelle Tomatis, European marketing manager, Hardware and Platforms, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. “Digital Comics will sit alongside the new PlayStation Network video delivery service as yet another way that PSP offers a whole world of entertainment in your hands.”
One of the primary features will be called Autoflow and will allow people to zoom in and move from frame to frame on each page of the digital comics. Also, thanks to the high-contrast LCD screen of the PSP, the comics will be looking extremely sharp. The service will arrive this December for countries like the UK, US, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Overall, it will certainly be a great service for many comics fans and will definitely add another great plus to the feature sheet of the PSP.