Sony currently 'studying' subscription based PSN model

[Zeus]

At a business meeting, Sony has confirmed that they are looking into the possibility of rolling out a subscription model. However, fear not, Hirai noted that this model would include premium content in ADDITION to the current free services.

[tech3475]

At a business meeting, Sony has confirmed that they are looking into the possibility of rolling out a subscription model. However, fear not, Hirai noted that this model would include premium content in ADDITION to the current free services.

Which still means paying money. This wont go down well among consumers, me included.

I already pay for XBL and wont pay twice for a service unless the "premium" content is REALLY good (which is unlikely).

[nestortoy@hotma]

They are going to have to start charging because Microsoft isnt going to stop charging for the Xbox Live. IF Sony starts charging for the online play I hope they give you like a discount on the downlaod games.

[nestortoy@hotma]

Which still means paying money. This wont go down well among consumers, me included.

I already pay for XBL and wont pay twice for a service unless the "premium" content is REALLY good (which is unlikely).

I have the PS3 because i refuse to pay for online service but because of Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo will soon start to charge for their online service.

[phallius]

Sony, please don't screw us over! I bought a Bravia 46" and it died in 35 days. Getting it repaired/replaced was a flippin' nightmare- that took 3 months. If you start charging for regular service, that will give me a reason to dump my full line of Sony products. Whenever I go to Best Buy, it's Sony for everything. Please don't push me over the edge with your self-serving, M$ tactics. I will dump your product line.

[kcvfr400]

I have paid for my games so feel the right to use them to their full potential as described on the back of the box. "network play" being one of them. So I will not be playing to play as only fools pay once to purchase and twice to use.

I like the current upfront honest approach for the ps3 as there is no hidden charge or extras as it stands and that is a big plus for a positive image amongst people I know. This would ruin it and be bad p.r.

[grapeape]

wow if the replys here are any indication I guess alot of people are going to suddenly decide the Wii is great or are going to give up gaming. :rolleyes:

The "its all MS's fault" comments are amusing though, face it PSN and Live both cost money to maintain, Sony's been in the red for over 3 years. Do you folks realize how expensive it is to maintain multiple OC3 connections to the net? I have a client with a single OC3 connection and it runs around $40,000 a month just for the line itself, no maintenance or equipment included, its freakin expensive, now put it on the scale of Live or PSN and its astronomical, if they arent profiting off the consoles how are they supposed to pay for it, the lack of many demos on PSN shows that many developers arent willing to pay, so who will? With more people buying PS3's now the overhead just keeps getting bigger, they have to do something. Is it better to have games loose network support after a short life like Calling All Cars (which is being deactivated on January 1) or pay a little to keep everything going? PSN had to be free at the start, it was far inferior and honestly not worth paying for...now that its catching up they need to think about their bottom line more than fooling a bunch of fanboys into thinking that everything is free.

[tailsnake]

You guys do understand the only thing we'd likely be losing from this are major future PSN updates right?

Everything we have now we'd be keeping (which is a hell of a lot better than what people get with the silver live membership). At worst, assuming this is implemented soon, the subscription service would likely get Cross Game Chat, early demos (or, more accurately, regular timed demos while people who don't pay get them delayed), and some other bonus like free Qore.

It's nothing that would really change your PSN experience and as long as we keep everything we have now I'll be more than happy ignoring their "premium" PSN just like I ignore their "premium" themes, Qore, and their PS Home merchandise.

[crypysmoker]

I swear Zeus.. You are so blatently trying to get trolls in here..
Heres the actual article minus pictures

Back in May, Sony talked about expanding the PlayStation Network to cover other hardware devices. Today the company further details these plans, leveraging the PSN infrastructure to create an online service for all Sony hardware.

The PlayStation Network has been a big hit with PlayStation 3 and PSP owners, and now Sony wants to bring the same experience to other areas of hardware, including televisions, MP3 players, ebook readers, and laptops. According to a Sony presentation delivered this morning, the same infrastructure that is used to deliver video and games to the PlayStation and PSP will be used to deliver games, video, music, and ebooks to other Sony devices. Consumers would connect to the Sony Online Service using a single user ID, meaning that most likely your PlayStation Network ID would also be your Sony Online Service ID as well.

The network would also be used for devices like digital cameras, allowing users to share their photos and videos directly with the PlayStation 3, PSP, or newer Sony televisions without requiring the use of a computer or memory card.

A unified service would further strengthen Sony as a brand, while giving users a unified interface familiar across all products. If they pull it off, it should be a real boon to the company, with hardware users knowing exactly what to expect when they purchase a Sony product.




http://kotaku.com/5408411/sony-aims-to-create-all+encompassing-online-service-out-of-psn

Just go to Kotaku, I mean he steals the news from there anyway and words it how he sees fit.

[Taft]

As long Multiplayer is free, than I am happy :)

[danight]

:D

:D

time for someone to start a petition :rolleyes:

[QrafTee]

If they want to charge me to play online, guess what? No more console gaming for me. But I hear that online gaming will still be free (which is how it should be).

[wrathchild]

Ha ha ha ha ha. PS3 players will have to pay for live now. Ha ha ha ha ha.:D

[MadonnaProject]

If I need to pay to access online playability on the ps3, I will simply go back to pc gaming. Never thought I would actually be driven back to pc gaming, but I DO NOT think there will ever be a need to pay for online access. Xbox live took away a lot of our freedoms and ruined a lot of things for people while it built a lot of things as well.

[Hanzaisha]

Wow, so many people on Maxconsole need to learn how to properly comprehend. The subscription model is going to be an ADDITIONAL service to the current free model. Meaning everything we have now is going to stay the same, but they will add ADDITIONAL features for the people who subscribe to the monthly paid service.

So yes, you can continue to play your games online without paying a monthly fee.

[panyan1991]

Ha ha ha ha ha. PS3 players will have to pay for live now. Ha ha ha ha ha.:D

no, we will have to pay a subscription to get more features, you still have to pay for live though ;)

[0kensai0]

thank god the last 2 posts (just above this one) started to hammer home the actual facts stated by the article which is the basic services we have are still free.

In fact as long as they maintain the free service available now as the "basic" baseline and put additional content as premiums (not sure what exactly they mean by additional though), this should be a great thing for the PS3.

It means we get everything we NEED (i.e. multiplayer etc) free, and can get even MORE stuff for a price


on a side note, maybe this could something they'll implement into PS HOME or wateva that 3d avatar service is called and make it more relevant

[danight]

live has free silver... but gold is pay
basically stuff that should be free they bundle to sway you into paying...

expect ps3 to do this as well. if they didnt then no one would ever pay.

But lets be honest here.... sony sees microsoft making a killing off gold fees. Sony is hurting for cash badly. Sony fans need to understand you cant have your cake and eat it to. If sony makes the kinda money live makes it would greatly help them advance ps3 and add faith to investors.
As it is, the ps3 is a money pit and sony as a company has been crappy.

I know ps3 fans may disagree.... but truth is it would greatly help sony. Stop looking at the small picture... there will still be a choice probably in either case. But to keep ps3 alive they need to do something in the next 2 years. Also what ps3 does may have a effect on what investors think of ps4.

Sony could still keep it cheaper than live and still make good money on it, while offering stuff like dedicated servers, faster dl`s, faster updates, no ads etc etc etc

This is a business and sony doesn't care what any of us think here. Everyone knew it was free from the start because it sucked compared to live. Now psn is getting better and at some point they need to cash in on it. Coding isnt free nor is the servers or bandwidth used to push demos and stuff.

[grapeape]

Wow, so many people on Maxconsole need to learn how to properly comprehend. The subscription model is going to be an ADDITIONAL service to the current free model. Meaning everything we have now is going to stay the same, but they will add ADDITIONAL features for the people who subscribe to the monthly paid service.

So yes, you can continue to play your games online without paying a monthly fee.

Even taken at full face value...it means what is there now and not considered "beta" will still be free...whats to stop sony from making certain new releases "premium" titles? I could easily imagine things like MAG being considered "premium" content. What can they really add as additional content that would make anyone rabidly opposed to a lousy $4 a month on live willing to shell out money to Sony?

[maxRus]

Never fails, microsoft starts banning people, giving Sony the best Opportunity to Strike and take over, And Sony once again Fucks it up! thats the only thing the Ps3 had over the xbox360. Free online(well Blu-ray too I guess). You got to remember though its not really about the fans that support the companies, its all about the Corporate Money that can be made off of us.

[msanchez]

I would personally not pay for online gaming, I don't really do it enough. If they want to take away my online access then that's up to them... guess I would be saving myself all that $$$$ I've spent on downloadable games so far.

Still I think that sony is aware that the free online play is a big plus for them... one that they marketed heavily; now the question is do they wanna pull another stunt like the backwards compatibility one? If sony want to charge for the psn then I would suggest they wait until the ps4 arrives.

All that said, I also think that online play, and psn access will still be free. It would really help if there was a link where we could read more on this, so that we could clear our doubts.

[grapeape]

I would personally not pay for online gaming, I don't really do it enough. If they want to take away my online access then that's up to them... guess I would be saving myself all that $$$$ I've spent on downloadable games so far.

Still I think that sony is aware that the free online play is a big plus for them... one that they marketed heavily; now the question is do they wanna pull another stunt like the backwards compatibility one? If sony want to charge for the psn then I would suggest they wait until the ps4 arrives.

All that said, I also think that online play, and psn access will still be free. It would really help if there was a link where we could read more on this, so that we could clear our doubts.

Thats the problem though, they have already reneged on earlier features and promises...

"PSone runs on the PlayStation 2 through emulation rather than actual hardware. PlayStation 3 will offer the same compatibility for PS2 software and the format will continue forever," -Ken Kutaragi

"Backwards compatibility, as you know from PlayStation One and PlayStation 2, is a core value of what we believe we should offer. And access to the library of content people have created, bought for themselves, and accumulated over the years is necessary to create a format. PlayStation is a format meaning that it transcends many devices -- PSOne, PS2, and now PS3." -Phil Harrison

If they think a pay system is going to make them more money, they wont think twice.

[nivalis]

Incredible, zeus posts blatent flame bait and the 360 boys pour in like moths to a flame.

Let me quote it here, nice and clear so even the blindest of fanboys can see.


"Especially in the online area, we are studying the possibility of introducing a subscription model, offering premium content and services, in addition to the current free services."

But hey, you xbots keep dreaming ;)

[msanchez]

Thats the problem though, they have already reneged on earlier features and promises...

"PSone runs on the PlayStation 2 through emulation rather than actual hardware. PlayStation 3 will offer the same compatibility for PS2 software and the format will continue forever," -Ken Kutaragi

"Backwards compatibility, as you know from PlayStation One and PlayStation 2, is a core value of what we believe we should offer. And access to the library of content people have created, bought for themselves, and accumulated over the years is necessary to create a format. PlayStation is a format meaning that it transcends many devices -- PSOne, PS2, and now PS3." -Phil Harrison

If they think a pay system is going to make them more money, they wont think twice.

That would be the $1,000,000 question... will it make them money, or will it just piss off a lot of ps3 owners? I will tell you right now, I wouldn't get too agitated about it, but I rather have a burning hot spike jammed into my eye socket over paying for online services on a gaming console. Maybe in the not so immediate future that will change, but not now, and I doubt any time soon; however, I'm not big on online play, so it's not me or people like that they need to worry about, but the ones that do play online.

[Kr155]

I love to see how many people ignore the article, and stick to the title for all thier info. Just to clarify Kaz issued a response to these rumors, that wont get posted on this site, stating that online gaming on psn will always be free. Put away ur pitch forks folks. he could be talking about a movie service, or enhaced functions like party chat.

[msanchez]

I love to see how many people ignore the article, and stick to the title for all thier info. Just to clarify Kaz issued a response to these rumors, that wont get posted on this site, stating that online gaming on psn will always be free. Put away ur pitch forks folks. he could be talking about a movie service, or enhaced functions like party chat.

AAWWW, but angry mobs are so fun... just ask Frankenstein.

[grapeape]

That would be the $1,000,000 question... will it make them money, or will it just piss off a lot of ps3 owners? I will tell you right now, I wouldn't get too agitated about it, but I rather have a burning hot spike jammed into my eye socket over paying for online services on a gaming console. Maybe in the not so immediate future that will change, but not now, and I doubt any time soon; however, I'm not big on online play, so it's not me or people like that they need to worry about, but the ones that do play online.

I agree with you, i'm just saying I wouldn't put it past them. As if I was betting on it I would think most titles would be free but there would likely be a premium level for more mmo type games, thats why I mentioned MAG. I wouldnt be surprised at all to see things like DC Universe, MAG and others that people have just assumed are free coming with strings attached.

When it comes down to it if it meant a better online experience and insurance that Sony would stay healthy I would rather pay them a little than see the PS3 as the console that signaled the beginning of the end. Who knows maybe they have an angle no one here has thought of, hopefully less obtrusive than constant ads in my face, but otherwise they have to figure out a way to actually make some money, I dont think party chat and avatar tshirt sales are really going to cut it.

[richbambam360]

paying full price for a game & having to pay to play it online is a big no no for me,OK I used to subscribe to xboxlive yearly but that has now stopped as my xbox360 is now banned,only reason I subscribed to live was because I wasnt purchasing games just downloading them so the yearly fee didnt bother me,but since the ban Ive picked up some PS3 games & now play these online & play online on PC too with PC games I buy,
A one month subscription fee could work for sony depending on what it actually gave you if it gave you discounts in the playstiion store then it may be worth looking into but if they set a fee to play games online this could alienate to many players,no doubt a lot would be willing to pay a fee to play online but a lot will not & dont forget I would say a high percentage of PS3 owners do actually already own a xbox360 too I dont think a lot of these would pay for 2 subscriptions to play online,but I suppose in time a fee will come (hopefully in a few more years yet),I reckon there just building up thier PSN service & when they got everyone hooked & loving PSN then wam along comes a fee,my guess is a fee may come along with the service when they release the PS4 in years to come

[DunnyUK]

As it stands currently, I wouldn't be paying. Not a patch on Live.

[DEDDOA]

I can't see this happening unless the PS3 takes second place by a comfortable ammount. At the mo it's one of the selling points, take that away and they will definetely hurt sales. If they do do this tho, the service had better be at least XBL standard and cheaper as doing it with the current PSN would only be an additional kick in the nuts.

[Kr155]

Well I know they will charge for some of their mmo's. But even live does that. It will really suprise me if dc universe doesn't have a monthly fee with all the lisensing and. Agency might be free because they said they were exploring micro transactions for the game. And we all know ffxv will be a sub service since ffxi was. MAG might be but I don't see that as a game that could survive long on that model. Shooter fans arnt used to pay to play and it has to compete with other shooters in a saturated market. Even if its totally awsome it will be difficult to convince people to pay a sub for it. It will probably be micro transaction like home and lbp.

[grapeape]

Well I know they will charge for some of their mmo's. But even live does that. It will really suprise me if dc universe doesn't have a monthly fee with all the lisensing and. Agency might be free because they said they were exploring micro transactions for the game. And we all know ffxv will be a sub service since ffxi was. MAG might be but I don't see that as a game that could survive long on that model. Shooter fans arnt used to pay to play and it has to compete with other shooters in a saturated market. Even if its totally awsome it will be difficult to convince people to pay a sub for it. It will probably be micro transaction like home and lbp.

How far do they really need to push it before Micro-transactions become the equivalent of a subscription? Ever play any of the micro-transaction based games out there, its "free" but your character sucks unless you buy this and that. Imagine if MAG were limited on micropayment all the paying customers have the "uber gun" while the free customers are stuck with a pea shooter...how long would free customers stick around? Most of the micro-transaction games work on a bait and switch principle...technically its free but in order to actually enjoy it you have to pay up, why would Sony's offerings be any different? I dont really see this as a bad thing, they have to make money somewhere but this delusional idea of many fanboys that Sony really cares about them and wants to give them everything free is not only naive but absurd.

[Kr155]

Honestly I don't think it will be much different. As long as we are talking about games with high overhead like MMOs then alternate revenue streams will be nessesary. A game like mag can't be done with cheap p2p clients and they can't offset costs by letting clans set up their own deticated servers like is done on pc. They may make enough on the cost of the disc especially since they won't have to dev a singleplayer game. The thing is that just slapping a sub on it, or gimping the basic game and charging 4 the good stuff isn't always the best way to handel a game because you turn people off and split your communty. That's why most MMOs fail. Lbp was a good example of how to handel micro transactions. Creators buy the packs and support the servers while the more casual players are able to hop on and reap the benefits. They could do something where if you buy an instance then you can bring your friends in and they can keep their loot. I'm honestly not confident in mag yet. Sticking a shooter in between mw2 and bfbc2 just doesn't seem like a great idea. Even if it is made by the original socom devs.

[msanchez]

I agree with you, i'm just saying I wouldn't put it past them. As if I was betting on it I would think most titles would be free but there would likely be a premium level for more mmo type games, thats why I mentioned MAG. I wouldnt be surprised at all to see things like DC Universe, MAG and others that people have just assumed are free coming with strings attached.

When it comes down to it if it meant a better online experience and insurance that Sony would stay healthy I would rather pay them a little than see the PS3 as the console that signaled the beginning of the end. Who knows maybe they have an angle no one here has thought of, hopefully less obtrusive than constant ads in my face, but otherwise they have to figure out a way to actually make some money, I dont think party chat and avatar tshirt sales are really going to cut it.

Well I agree about the mmos, they've never released any sort of #s as far as sales of home crap goes, but I imagine they are nothing particularly great. For a buck or two I might have bought something on home, but the service is just so totally unappealing to me that it'll probably not be able to hold my attention long enough for me to browse the stuff you can buy. My point with that is that they won't be able to make any decent money from micro-transactions, so some kind of subscription model should and most probably will be put into effect at some point, but I just don't see it being a good idea to do it in this gen.

From the mouth of the more neutral characters on this and I assume many other places it seems very clear that live is better than psn for whatever reason that may be, so I just don't see it as good PR for sony to charge for their apparently inferior service. They could charge less than live, but it's not really about how much it costs, it's just the fact that you are paying for it. Well that's what bother me at least, $50 - $60 a year is absolutely NOTHING, but despite that I just don't feel inclined to pay for online access on a gaming console.

[d33znutzEP]

People need to learn how to read.... ITS FOR ADDITIONAL PREMIUM SHlT!

online gaming additional... its staying free as it's the motto of psn in the first place. People keep making stuff up... read the facts and not your imaginary fantasies.