PS3 viral web code cracked

by Kyle Orland { Oct 12th 2006 at 9:35AM }

A few days ago, Sony launched the PlayB3yond web site with a picture of a melting clock and minimal fanfare. Yesterday, the site updated to a feature a mysterious assortment of 26 clickable symbols that bear a passing resemblance to the PlayStation controller buttons. Mere hours later, the mystery has been solved by intrepid Joystiq reader Zelda X (who either has an inside source or way too much free time). Using the alphabet key and codes in the image above, PS3 fans can use the PlayB3yond site to unlock wallpapers, soundtracks, videos and behind-the-scenes interviews for some big name PS3 launch games. Try not to get too excited.

It's not clear whether this list is complete or if other words and phrases will also unlock content. Some common PS3-related phrases returned nothing when tried by Joystiq, and the codes found on recent PS3 billboards were similarly useless. Perhaps something more interesting will come out of the site in the weeks leading up to the PS3 launch, but as of now, this attempt at a viral ad campaign doesn't really hold a candle to a major multimedia marketing event like ilovebees.

Tags: ad, capaign, I Love Bees, ILoveBees, marketing, PlayB3yond, PlayBeyond, PS3, viral

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Jellodyne @ Oct 12th 2006 9:43AM

Joystiq is biased against PS3 viral marketing, the Microsoft viral marketing fanboys! (Sorry, it was going to be said, I thought I'd get it out of the way)

jyerby @ Oct 12th 2006 9:42AM

This attempt at "viral marketing" on Sony's part seems pretty half-assed. It isn't clever or subtle, its just frustrating, even WITH this guide.

minus_273 @ Oct 12th 2006 9:55AM

ridge racer. has anyone tried ridge racer?

KAS @ Oct 12th 2006 9:55AM

599 US DOLLA

PayB3yond:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Wzmf0ChL24&mode=related&search=

SuicideNinja @ Oct 12th 2006 5:08PM

This whole whole "B3yond" spelling is really annoying. Now and forever.

jeremiah @ Oct 12th 2006 10:09AM

i'm all about games and fun don't get me wrong...but why in the world should i have to "unlock" special things like information on a product that you're making me spend 600+ for...

i was a sony fan before this whole mess of a system came out...not so much anymore...

its one thing to make a site interactive and flashy...its another thing to make it completely useless and impossible to navigate...

also...since when could the ps3 float in mid air??? why didn't they announce that as a feature...i mean it makes sense where all that 600 is going to now...levitation devices

White Rose Duelist @ Oct 12th 2006 10:12AM

Talk to me when they put something up in labanotation, Theban or encrypted with the solitaire cipher.

saboola @ Oct 12th 2006 10:26AM

minus_273: Ridge racer does not work, but riiiiiiiiiidge raaaaacceeeeer does. Go figure.

Einhanderkiller @ Oct 12th 2006 10:37AM

Somebody needs to ban that "599 US DOLLA" guy. All he does is spam.

White Rose Duelist @ Oct 12th 2006 10:47AM

If Joystiq banned him, they'd also have to ban xboxstiq.com guy, and then all the other irrational fanboys, and what would we be left with? Intelligent discussion? Coherent arguments? Respect for all console manufacturers and for our fellow man? You can see why we can't have that, right?

fanboyslasher @ Oct 12th 2006 10:50AM

Microsoft must own joystiq cuz all i see here is xbox fanboys. This site sucks ass and so do all the fanboys here.

Ben Hobbs @ Oct 12th 2006 10:55AM

Pay$tation

Blur-Ray

Riiiiiddge Raaacceer!!!!

Massive Damage

Just lol! However did Sony manage to become the laughing stock of the industry?

mykie @ Oct 12th 2006 11:01AM

@#5 jeremiah:
"also...since when could the ps3 float in mid air??? why didn't they announce that as a feature...i mean it makes sense where all that 600 is going to now...levitation devices"

It's not really floating so much as hovering from the massive jet propulsion that is required to cool the Cell processors and RSX GPU.

rapture @ Oct 12th 2006 11:04AM

Here's looking forward to another HALO-related ARG.

Joe P. @ Oct 12th 2006 11:25AM

My, my, aren't we all jaded, negative little boys? I think it's kinda cool, especially the organic animated rorschach test. Kudos to Zelda X for the quick solve.

darryl @ Oct 12th 2006 11:35AM

All "viral marketing" campaigns are lame. Glad to know that Joystiq thinks the PS3 version isn't as good as the 360's... Shocking! *GASP*

jonm @ Oct 12th 2006 11:47AM

If you use the symbols from the Playstation controller, X, O, Triangle, Square, and the corresponding letters spell out play.

darryl @ Oct 12th 2006 11:54AM

"Mere hours later, the mystery has been solved by intrepid Joystiq reader Zelda X (who either has an inside source or way too much free time)."

Or, perhaps a Flash decompiler?

LaughingTarget @ Oct 12th 2006 11:58AM

They liked the Halo 2 one, not the 360 one.

As stated above, good viral marketing hits you with something when you aren't expecting it. ilovebees was perfect. It came out of nowhere, wasn't even registered through Microsoft (couldn't trace it back to them), and was catch, then it dumped Halo 2 on you.

Microsoft's more recent attempt, the one with the apples on the tree, was poor because we all knew it was Microsoft's site, and unquestionably, it was for the 360.

This one is even worse because it has a huge PS3 sitting in the lower left and it uses symbols that Sony popularized. We all know it is a PS3 sales site, and when the code is broken, it doesn't reward you with anything but game clips you can get elsewhere without having to translate everything.

Now if it were just a site with a bunch of strange symbols, with Sony making sure to avoid using their famous symbol sets, with no PS3 anywhere to be seen, then it would have been a lot better.

gamefan1975 @ Oct 16th 2006 5:10PM

this isn't a bad attempt at getting some new faces, not the same old boring faces on this forum who probably still go do ilovebees when they are lonely or tired of posting about msft. not only does joystiq hate on sony too much, it is starting to turn the table and force people to pay attention and hate the media.

Houp @ Oct 12th 2006 12:31PM

Is it just me or is there Zero Hype around the whole PS3 Launch? I mean, this thing comes out in 1 month and I still don't see any positive hype. All I see are people talking about eBaying preorders and complaints about every aspect of the system.

Manny Fleurmond @ Oct 12th 2006 4:49PM

They are using a variation of Chicken Scratch

saboola @ Oct 12th 2006 12:47PM

To follow #20, all the pre-order posts I have seen are pepopel flipping the PS3 on Ebay, which brings up the question is anyone actually buying one to play with? I am sure the Ebayers will definitely make some sort of profit, due to the very limited amount of PS3 on the shelves, but at the same time I don't see anyone actually commenting that they have a pre-order for themselves. The Wii post from earlier on the other hand, seems that a lot of people want one for themselves and not for Ebay.