Sony plans parental controls for PS3

Parents concerned about the kind of material their children are exposed to should be resting a little easier today.

All Headline News reported that Sony has decided to implement parental controls on its next-generation video game console, PlayStation 3.

That device is expected to hit North American shores (and stores) in the fall of 2006. It appears it will have some sort of toggle to enable parents to restrict which games their children play by using the Entertainment Software Association's rating system.

All Headline News has written that Microsoft has already implemented such a parental control system for the Xbox 360, which launched last week. The publication also said the ESA has promised that Nintendo will give parents similar control over content with its next-generation console, Revolution, which is expected next year.

All in all, this is good news for parents. Their only concern now should be how quickly the hacking community figures out how to cut through the controls so little Johnny can watch and play whatever he wants on his new machine.