Sony confirms PSN release schedule and prices

Sony has confirmed the release dates for the first seven games for its PlayStation Network in Europe.

The company has also announced pricing for the downloadable games for UK owners of the PlayStation 3, which will cost between £1.99 and £6.99.

Sony's PlayStation Network will offer demos and small arcade-style games for download direct to the console in much the same way as Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade and Nintendo's Virtual Console.

Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, Blast Factor and Gran Turismo HD will all be available on the console's PAL launch date of 23 March, costing £6.99, £3.49 and nothing respectively.

Super Rub-A-Dub is set to follow on 30 March at the maximum price of £6.99. April will see another four titles added to the PlayStation Network, with flOw available on 6 April, Go! Sudoku on 13 April and Go! Puzzle on 20 April.

Calling All Cars, Lemmings and Gripshift are also expected to arrive on the PlayStation Network soon, although there is no official release date for these titles.

UK pricing is almost in line with the European pricing of €2.99 and €9.99. At the current exchange rate of €1.45 to the £1, UK members will pay slightly more for the premium games at the equivalent of €10.13.

However, the UK gets a slightly better deal the lower end of the scale, paying the equivalent of €2.89.

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