Amazon Instant Video launching for PS3 today

Starting today, Amazon Instant Video is launching for the PlayStation 3, and it’s about damn time that a gaming console can finally access Amazon’s growing library of free and paid video content.

The streaming app, which should just appear on your PS3’s XMB, provides Amazon members with access to 120,000 commercial-free movies and TV shows for rental or purchase. But that’s not the best part, users that are also Amazon Prime subscribers get free access to Amazon’s library of over 17,000 Prime Instant Videos. As a Prime subscriber, all I have to say is ‘hell yeah!’.

Jump on over to the PlayStation Blog for more info.

Take a look at it in action right below:

[youtube_sc url=”2evtXQutvDs” width=”550″]

Read on for the official announcement from Amazon and SCEA.

Amazon.com, Inc. and Sony Computer Entertainment LLC (SCEA) today announced the launch of the Amazon Instant Video app for PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system, as well as an agreement to prominently feature the app on all PlayStation 3 game systems in the U.S. This makes the PS3 system the first and only video game console system to offer Amazon Instant Video. Customers can access Amazon Instant Video on their PlayStation 3 system for free by installing the Amazon Instant Video app directly from the TV/Video Services category on the XMB (XrossMediaBar). The Amazon Instant Video app can also be found in the PlayStation Store, under the Media & Apps category. For more information on how to get started visit, www.amazon.com/instantvideo/ps3.

Starting today, Amazon Prime members can watch Prime Instant Videos on PlayStation Network, streamed directly to their PS3 system. In addition to receiving free two-day shipping on millions of items and access to thousands of books from the Kindle Owners? Lending Library, Prime members can instantly stream more than 17,000 TV shows and movies, all for just $79 a year. Prime Instant Videos include hit TV shows like Glee, Downton Abbey and Sons of Anarchy and classic movies such as Office Space, The Graduate and Brokeback Mountain. Non-Prime members can start their free one-month trial today.

The Amazon Instant Video app also offers more than 120,000 TV shows and movies to buy or rent, including the latest hit movies like The Descendants, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and War Horse and popular TV shows like Mad Men, Vampire Diaries and Justified. Plus, to celebrate the launch of the PS3 system app, Amazon is offering the first episode of more than 100 TV shows for free instant streaming to both Prime and non-Prime customers.

The Amazon Instant Video app is custom designed to harness the powerful entertainment capabilities of the PlayStation 3 system and provide customers with the best Amazon Instant Video experience to date including:

• Instant streaming of nearly 25,000 high-definition movies and TV shows that start and resume in just seconds.
• New smart lists such as Recently Watched, Next Episode and Personal Recommendations. These lists appear on the home screen of the PS3 system app and update dynamically based on what customers watch and buy. They make it easy for customers to find the next thing they want to watch – start watching an episode where they left off, watch the next episode in a series and introduce them to new TV shows and movies that they will love.
• Whispersync lets customers seamlessly switch from one device to another. Start streaming a movie on Kindle Fire, then pick up right where you left off on your PS3 system – avoid the frustration of having to find your spot.
• Your Video Library gives customers access to purchases from Amazon Instant Video on the PlayStation 3 system or any of the hundreds of other devices enabled for Amazon Instant Video. For a list of compatible devices click here.

?PlayStation 3 is a powerful home entertainment system and is incredibly popular with our customers. Since the launch of Prime Instant Videos one of the top customer requests has been to provide customers with an app for PlayStation 3,? said Bill Carr, VP of Video and Music at Amazon. ?Pushbutton, which we acquired specifically for their expertise in TV entertainment app development, has done a fantastic job of developing our best video app yet. We are excited to deliver the PS3 app to customers today.?

?We?re always looking for new ways to expand the digital entertainment offerings across PlayStation Network, and we?re thrilled to be the first game console to deliver Amazon Instant Video to our community,? said Jack Buser, senior director of PlayStation Digital Platforms, SCEA. ?Working with Amazon is a prime example of our commitment to providing our community with a wealth of options so they can experience entertainment the way they want.?