VidZone closes in on 3 million Aussie downloads; 530K PS3 consoles now sold down under

Sony’s recently launched music video streaming application VidZone is fast becoming a popular attraction on the PlayStation Network. The publisher revealed this week that since launching in Australia on June 11, VidZone is now ranked as the number one download on the PSN down under, with just under 3 million videos streamed locally by Aussie users.

Sony also reported worldwide figures, announcing over 1 million users have now downloaded VidZone to their PS3s, resulting in over 100 million music videos streamed across seven launch territories: UK, France, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Germany, and Australia.

Michael Ephraim, managing director of Sony Computer Entertainment Australia, said in a statement this week that applications like VidZone are what consumers expect from true next-gen game consoles.

“Expanded entertainment services are one of our ongoing priorities,” Ephraim said. “The very best gaming experiences, partnered with the expansion of compelling non-gaming services, such as free music streaming enabled by VidZone, are part of our ongoing commitment to the entertainment-seeking PS3 user.”

Sony also revealed that more than 55 percent of Australian PS3 owners are now connected to PSN, from an overall install base of over 530,000 PS3 consoles in Australia.

VidZone is a free downloadable service from the PlayStation Store that lets users stream music videos to their PS3 consoles. Once downloaded, users can select music videos to play with the option of pausing, rewinding, or fast-forwarding and creating a library of custom and preselected playlists.

The top ten videos viewed to date in Australia are:

1. I Gotta Feeling--Black Eyed Peas
2. Paparazzi--Lady Gaga
3. Boom Boom Pow--Black Eyed Peas
4. Thriller--Michael Jackson
5. You Belong With Me--Taylor Swift
6. Hush Hush; Hush Hush--The Pussycat Dolls
7. Billie Jean--Michael Jackson
8. Sweet Dreams--Beyonce
9. Knock You Down--Keri Hilson
10. Black or White--Michael Jackson