Sony’s Playstation 3 will offer an online service that will rival Xbox Live, the premier online service in the gaming industry. A scanned copy of the upcoming Playstation Magazine has appeared on a forum post and outlines Sony’s intentions to not only emulate, but surpass the Xbox 360 in online gaming.

“Cast aside any doubts and start gazing toward skyward, because that’s where Sony is aiming with plans that go far beyond simple leader boards and matchmaking,” the article states.

“‘Its very real,’ one source tells us. ‘They (Sony) are dead serious about it. They’ve declared a ‘full on assault’ on the latest version of Xbox Live.’”

The Magazine reveals that Sony has had discussions with developers to ensure their games will be compatible with the online service, which is yet-to-be named.

If the report is true, it comes as a change of tactics for Sony who had not identified an online service as a major area of development for the Playstation 2.

“The Sony team tasked with creating the new online service began work on it shortly after the release of the PlayStation 2 Network Adapter. ‘They realized pretty early that they had too little, too late,’ relays our source. ‘PS3 is a different story,’ however. ‘They are committed to matching Xbox Live [on the Xbox 360] feature for feature and then some.’”

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