<p>MIAMI, Jan 16 &ndash; Costa Cruises and Sony Computer Entertainment Italia have announced a partnership to bring Sony&rsquo;s popular PlayStation to sea. Under the agreement, PLAYSTATION&reg;3 and PlayStation&reg;2 will be featured in certain public areas and cabins aboard Europe&rsquo;s Number One Cruise Line. Ships will feature a &ldquo;PlayStation World,&rdquo; an area dedicated exclusively to PS3. There will also be PlayStations available in the cabins, on the big screens overlooking the lido decks as well as in the children&rsquo;s and teens&rsquo; clubs. In addition, the million-plus guests who sail with Costa each year will be able to try out the latest PlayStation video games as well as purchase the PlayStation products and releases on board.</p><p>The fun starts in May 2009 aboard the Costa Luminosa, which will sail Northern European routes her first season) and the Costa Pacifica in June 2009, which will sail Western Mediterranean routes her first season. The program will be gradually extended to the other 12 ships of the Costa fleet. In addition to the PS3 and PS2 consoles available on board the Costa fleet, four PS3 touch screen cabinets will be set up in the Savona Palacrociere, the cruise terminal managed directly by Costa Cruises in Savona, Italy.</p><p>&ldquo;The PlayStation has been preempting the demands of our clientele for over 13 years now. With PS2 and PS3 we have brought innovation and entertainment into people&rsquo;s homes,&rdquo; said Sony Computer Entertainment Italia Marketing Director Andrea Cuneo. &ldquo;Now, thanks to Costa Cruises, we&rsquo;re going to take the dynamism and cutting-edge technology of our brand around the seas of the world.&rdquo; </p><p>&ldquo;Costa Cruises was the first company in Italy and across Europe to turn the cruise into a fun, accessible holiday and continues to build increasingly innovative ships at the cutting edge, offering amenities, entertainment activities and services designed to satisfy the demands of a modern international customer base,&rdquo; said Costa Cruises Vice President Corporate Marketing &amp; Communication Fabrizia Greppi. &ldquo;After the Grand Prix driving simulator, the golf simulator and the 4D cinema, this partnership will bring our guests another exciting innovation and another world exclusive feature &ndash; the PlayStation, a veritable cult object for all video gamers.&rdquo; </p><p>&ldquo;PlayStation World,&rdquo; available on the Costa Luminosa and Costa Pacifica, is a first for the global cruise industry, and will be completely dedicated to latest generation PS3-exclusive video gaming, PlayStation 3 being Sony&rsquo;s multimedia entertainment system. </p><p>Guests on the Costa Luminosa will be able to enjoy PlayStation 3 from the comfort of their own cabins, thanks to the &ldquo;PlayStation on demand&rdquo; service, which will enable PS3 availability for the entire cruise. </p><p>Onboard the entire fleet, young guests will enjoy the PlayStation 2 in the children&rsquo;s Squok Club and in the Teen Club. These areas will be outfitted with the ultimate in interactive entertainment in the form of &ldquo;Social Games&rdquo; like Buzz! &trade;, the crazy general knowledge quiz, and SingStar&reg;, the competitive music videogame, which unite friends and family around the console for fun and challenging games. </p><p>The fun is set to continue after dark as well, with &ldquo;PlayStation Nights&rdquo; on the giant 18 m&sup2; screens installed on the lido decks of four of Costa&rsquo;s fleet members (Costa Concordia, Costa Serena, Costa Luminosa, Costa Pacifica); these facilities can be used all year round in any weather thanks to a retractable glass roof. Guests here will also be able to enjoy SingStar&reg; and Buzz!&trade;.</p><p>&nbsp;</p>