Some PS3 Owners Can Use Hulu Plus Now

By Ian Bell July 14, 2010

Some PlayStation 3 users in the U.S. will be able to try out the $9.99-per-month video subscription plan from Hulu right away.

Sony Corp. says that means the PlayStation 3 will be the only game console able to play streaming videos from Hulu this year.

Hulu plans to launch its Hulu Plus subscription service on Microsoft’s Xbox 360 early next year.

Invitations will be sent to certain subscribers of PlayStation Plus, a $49.99-a-year service that offers gamers select downloads and game trials. A wider rollout to all U.S. PlayStation 3 users is expected in the next few months.

Hulu, a joint venture between NBC Universal, News Corp., The Walt Disney Corp., and Providence Equity Partners, kicked off its premium subscription plan last month to supplement advertising revenue on its free video website and expand to more devices.

Hulu Plus subscribers can get the entire current season of “Glee,” “The Office,” “House” and other series, as well as a complete roster of past seasons from broadcasters ABC, Fox and NBC.

But paying subscribers will be shown the same number of ads as users of the free website, who can only see a few recent episodes of those shows.

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Gaming

Sony’s cloud handheld, the PlayStation Portal, will only stream certain games

Astro's Playroom booting up on the PlayStation Portal.

Sony has unveiled the price for its upcoming cloud gaming handheld, as well as an official name for the device: PlayStation Portal. However, one significant caveat to its functionality might sour people's interest in the handheld: It only supports PS4 and PS5 native games that the owner purchased.
PlayStation VR2 games can't be streamed to PlayStation Portal, which does make sense. More bafflingly, though, is the fact that the PlayStation Blog post states that "games that are streamed through PlayStation Plus Premium’s cloud streaming are not supported." That means you shouldn't pick up PlayStation Portal expecting to stream some PS3 and PS4 games available through PlayStation Plus Premium to the device. That's certainly an odd omission when it's currently PlayStation's most notable cloud gaming effort.
Although Microsoft is more closely associated with cloud gaming, Sony beat it to releasing a dedicated cloud gaming device. PlayStation Portal was first teased as Project Q during May's PlayStation showcase, but now, a PlayStation Blog post more clearly explains what we can actually expect from the handheld. Most importantly, we learned that PlayStation Portal will cost $200, which puts it underneath the cost of a Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series S, and other cloud gaming devices like the Logitech G Cloud Handheld.
As for what you're getting for that price tag, it's essentially a decent screen attached to two halves of a DualSense controller. The controllers on each side share all the functionality of the DualSense, including things like haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. In-between is an 8-inch LCD screen that streams games over Wi-Fi at up to a 1080p resolution and 60 frames per second. All in all, that's fairly solid for a cloud gaming handheld that is this cheap.
Sony confirmed that the PlayStation Portal will have a 3.5mm audio jack, but also used the same blog post to unveil two new wireless audio options. There's the Pulse Elite wireless headset that features a retractable boom mic and a charging hanger and Pulse Explore wireless earbuds that offer similar audio quality in earbud form.
None of these products are available for preorder or have a specific release date just yet, but they are all expected to launch before the end of the year.

Gaming

PS Plus subscribers can get PS4’s most underrated exclusive for free next month

Art fights a giant bird in Dreams.

Sony announced the three-game lineup that PlayStation Plus Essential subscribers can redeem for free throughout the month of August. It's an odd batch of titles that includes a sports game, one of 2021's best indies, and a user-generated, content-focused PS4 exclusive that never got the love it deserved.

Specifically, those three games are PGA Tour 2K23, Death's Door, and Dreams.

Gaming

One of 2023’s most anticipated RPGs is coming to PS Plus on day one

The Solstice Warriors stand under a full moon in Sea of Stars' key art.

Sabotage Studio announced that its highly anticipated retro-style RPG Sea of Stars will be available as part of the PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium Game Catalog when it releases on August 29.
Sea of Stars is a turn-based RPG inspired by classic games like Chrono Trigger, where the main heroes' powers are based around the sun and moon. Sea of Stars' distinct visual style and polished-looking gameplay has allowed this indie game to stand out alongside the liks of Baldur's Gate 3 and Starfield, other RPGs that will release around the same time. Clearly, Sabotage wants to get this game in front of as many people as possible during this busy period for games, so it makes sense to put Sea of Stars on game subscription services.

It's in good company as a day one PS Plus Extra and Premium title, as it follows solid indies like Stray, Tchia, and Humanity. Sabotage also released a demo for Sea of Stars on PS4 and PS5 today so people can try a bit of the game early.
PS Plus Extra and Premium actually aren't the only subscription services that Sea of Stars will be on at launch. Previously, Sabotage had confirmed that the Xbox and PC versions of the game are launching on Xbox Game Pass on day one as well. So, if you have either of the major video game subscription services, you'll have ample opportunity to play the game across three platforms without having to pay for it. It will launch on Nintendo Switch, though, and you'll have to pay the full $35 price for it there.
Sea of Stars launches across Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium, and Nintendo Switch on August 29.