‘Social gaming’ is a big deal on the PlayStation 3 and PS2. Check out the official press release below for what to expect over the coming year.

With PlayStation, games have never been more family-friendly. We’ve created up the genre of ‘social gaming’: games where players of all ages socialise through gaming. For the kids and the young-at-heart, there are EyeToy® games that burn physical as well as mental energy. We’ve got puzzle games that everyone will want to try– whether at home or in the car – and we’re also allowing you to take TV on the move. You can even team up as a family to challenge your overseas relatives to a round of online quizzing over PLAYSTATION®Network (PSN) – and when it comes to keeping in touch further, we’ve just given PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable) video and voice chat capabilities.

PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™): the next generation system that brings you High Definition gaming, Blu-ray movies, internet browsing, music, TV and entry into the online community of PLAYSTATION Network.

Buzz!™: Quiz TV (PS3)
Buzz!: Quiz TV for PS3™ is the next-gen game that takes the Buzz! experience into the future and across the world via the online PLAYSTATION Network. Arriving this June, it’ll give you instant access to quizzes on almost any subject you can think of, and will be supported by vast downloadable and user-generated content. The game’s Blu-ray disc comes with wireless buzzers and contains a whopping 5000 questions, divided into five selectable channels to suit every quiz fanatic – it’s a quiz where you choose the content. Not enough questions on your subject of choice? Write your own. New online quiz community MyBuzz!™ links directly from the internet to the game and allows players to write and upload personalised quizzes plus download quizzes created by other online players which suit their questioning needs. The disc is also your gateway to online gaming and content, connecting you to Sofa vs Sofa mode, in which you can team up with everyone at home to challenge up to three other teams of gamers online, as well as to extra downloadable quiz packs and quizzes written by other Buzz! users.

echochrome (PSP and PS3)
In echochrome, it’s not what you see, it’s the way that you see it – and the more pairs of eyes involved, the better your chances of solving the dozens of fiendish puzzles ahead. The world of echochrome consists of a series of crazy mazes inhabited by the endlessly wandering Walker, and your goal is to help him get where he wants to go – despite being faced with seemingly insurmountable obstacles and hazards. The trick is to open your mind and let your imagination run riot: by rotating each maze and changing your perspective on the action, you might just be able to change reality… A brand new and brain-busting puzzle experience, echochrome will have you asking everyone you know: “Can you see the answer?”

PlayTV™ (PS3)
Television how, when and where you want it; Play TV lets you pause, rewind and record free-to-air digital television using your PS3 and, best of all – after a one-off payment for the peripheral, the service is completely free. End family squabbles as you watch one channel while recording another through a dual TV tuner, stream television anywhere using a wi-fi connected PSP or pause television should household events demand your attention – Play TV offers access to great TV without the pocket-punching bills this later this year.

Folding@home (PS3)
Developed by Stanford University, Folding@home uses the combined power of interlinked computers around the world to perform mathematical calculations that help with research into protein folding – research that could lead to breakthroughs in the fight against diseases such as Alzheimer’s, CJD, Parkinson’s and various forms of cancer. In 2006, it was realised that a network of interlinked PS3 processors could boost the project’s output to unprecedented levels thanks to the power of the PS3’s Cell processor. All you need to do to play a part in Folding@home is to select the project’s icon in the Network column of the Cross-Media Bar (XMB), then leave your machine running.

PLAYSTATION®Network (PSN)
The online home of PS3, PLAYSTATION®Network is where you’ll find some of PlayStation’s most innovative and fun games for you to download at wallet-friendly prices. You’ll also find downloadable extras, free online gaming, voice chat, video chat, web surfing and more.

Elefunk™ (PSN for PS3)
A herd of elephants needing safe guidance through a series of perilous levels requires a guide, so help steer the jungle giants to safety this May. Across 20 levels, create safe passage across ravines, rivers, fires, pits and swamps with the materials available to you. Plus, swap construction for Deconstruction in a specially designed multiplayer game where players must disassemble a structure as carefully as possible without letting the structure, or imperilled elephants, fall…

Buzz! Junior™ (PSN for PS3)
This summer, we’re bringing the fun of the children’s Buzz! Junior range to PSN with bundles of mini-games for PS3 owners to download at pocket money prices. Buzz! Junior titles offer all the fun, easy play of Buzz! controllers, but with wacky mini-games of skill and speed rather than trivia-based play – they’re perfect for youngsters to play with friends and family. Buzz! Junior: Jungle Party will be the first to arrive on PSN in a download featuring five great mini-games from the original PS2 version – now in 720p High Definition; it’ll be followed by similar downloads from Buzz! Junior: RoboJam and Buzz! Junior: Monster Rumble.

PixelJunk™ Eden (PSN for PS3)
After sowing seeds with its Racers and Monsters, PixelJunk puts down roots on PLAYSTATION®Network with PixelJunk Eden. Leap and swing between lush alien vegetation in a truly innovative platform game which constantly evolves over time as you move through the perfectly realised undergrowth, hunting treasures and smashing enemies from his path. Destroyed enemies scatter pollen across the landscape, which the player must collect and use to pollinate seed pods before using the new growth to progress further.

PlayStation®2 (PS2™): the world’s best-selling entertainment system that offers you great gameplay and the biggest social gaming brands

EyeToy® Play: PomPom Party (PS2)
Limber-up for the first cheerleading game for PS2, which comes bundled with real pompoms to help every wannabe-cheerleader pull off some groovy moves. As you follow the directions on-screen and shake your pompoms to the music, the EyeToy Camera will detect your movements and score your routines. So keep that rhythm going, and soon the whole block will be bouncing to your cheers in EyeToy Play: PomPom Party – it’s arriving in time for Christmas in late 2008.

EyeToy® Play: Hero (PS2)
The ultimate quest for all budding adventurers – embark on a fantastic journey through a colourful, exciting fantasy world. EyeToy Play: Hero includes its own toy sword for you to wield; the EyeToy Camera will detect your sword’s movements as you perform feats of bravery throughout the land. Watch your adventure unfold on-screen, hone your swordplay, and maybe one day you’ll be considered a true hero of the kingdom! It’s arriving in time for Christmas in late 2008.

PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable): the handheld entertainment system that offers games, music, film, TV, communications, GPS mapping and more

Buzz!™: Master Quiz (PSP)
Turning PSP into the ultimate social gaming experience, Buzz! makes his handheld debut in Buzz!: Master Quiz. Keep friends and family amused and entertained on the move, on holiday or on the bus as Buzz! hits the road, free from its front-room beginnings. Play solo or get involved with new multiplayer rounds such as Pass Around (which enables six players to play Buzz! with just one PSP!). The ultimate PlayStation quiz experience has hit the road – are you along for the ride this July?

Go!Messenger™ (PSP)
Keep in touch using your PSP with a revolutionary new addition, which turns your handheld system into a wireless communication tool featuring video chat, voice chat and instant messaging. It allows PSP owners to instant message each other– then, just add a headset and voice messaging and voice calls become possible. Add Go!Cam, the USB camera for PSP, and video calls and video messaging become a possibility. Go!Messenger is out now – it’s another reason why PSP is becoming a travel essential.

SKYPE™ (PSP)
Skype, the online communication software that allows Internet users to call each other free of charge*, has now arrived on the new Slim and Light PSP. Talk to any one of the hundred million Skype users worldwide with free voice calls, managing your contacts list and checking which of your friends are online via your PSP. You can opt into the SkypeOut and SkypeIn features, which connect Skype callers with landline and mobile users – and you can do all of this from any wireless hotspot – anywhere in the world.