Sony Launches Spotify On PlayStation And It's 'Much Better'

Sony has finally killed its failed Music Unlimited app for PlayStation for a new Spotify-powered PlayStation Music service. The service was launched Monday in 41 countries.

The new app is available for PlayStation 3 and 4 consoles and is designed to work with gamers. Users of the PlayStation can stream Spotify tracks in the background as they play video games. Further they can also use mobile device to control the music via the regular Spotify app without having to interrupt the game.

 "It's a much better product. We aren't afraid to say that," Eric Lempel, Sony's global head of marketing, told NBC News at a meeting and product demonstration in New York City last week.

"It was really a no-brainer," Lempel added. "We're in 41 countries on day one, and Music Unlimited was in 19 [after four years]."

Recently Sony launched Playstation Vue online-TV service, further in an effort to expand the PlayStation's reputation not only as a video-game console but as a media hub.

"Honestly, a lot of these 'partnerships' are pretty low effort. We'll throw a couple guys on it, and that's it," Miles Lennon, a product management leader at Spotify, told NBC News. "But for this [project], we had PlayStation engineers consulting with us every step of the way. Eric is here all the time. It really was this major joint effort."

Sony believes the PlayStation Music, Vue and other media services will help "capture people in gaming households who are not gamers."