The Official Playstation Magazine reported that Sony has elected not to use a central online gaming service for its upcoming PS3 console. Instead of using a unified system like Microsoft's Xbox Live or Nintendo's soon-to-be-launched Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, Sony is taking the same path as it did with the PS2. This means that it will be up to publishers themselves to provide players with online features and, likewise, for the players to have a separate account for each publisher in order to play online.

While this means that Sony's publishers will have more freedom to do what they want in terms of their online content, it also means Sony will have a more difficult time controlling the quality of the online experience.