Premium PSN Services Could be a Good Thing
Following the recent announcement of Sony’s plans to offer a premium platform for PlayStation Network users, the gaming community has mixed opinions. Many have cried foul, claiming that Sony is heading towards the Xbox Live model in which free access severely limits your options. On the other hand, others have articulated this is a great opportunity for Sony to open new doors and expand the PSN to new horizons, rich with a multitude of features.
A complete network infrastructure for millions of users cost a pretty penny to maintain. PlayStation 3 staples such as Resistance 2, Killzone 2, MAG (Beta) and Warhawk players generally enjoy lag-free, dedicated servers. While this is an excellent benefit for everyone, it ultimately puts Sony in a difficult spot. Adding a revenue source would free them up to maintain parity with the competition and put them in a position to excel in the Network gaming space. To focus primarily on one of these aspects could lead to disappointment on either side of the spectrum. Equality is important to Sony, and the extra cash would give them the ability to improve the PlayStation Network tenfold. Xbox Live has improved over time and many point to the fact that they charge a premium as the recipe for its success. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and the analogy applies to what Sony is doing with the PlayStation Network.
“SCE will further increase sales by offering users new entertainment through the combination of hardware, software, peripheral and PlayStation Network, 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.”
- Kaz Hirai, CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment [Source]
Quality should never take a step backwards and diminish the great things Sony’s network is already known for. In order to implement these advancements without sacrificing what made the PSN great, it’s only natural to charge consumers seeking options and new experiences. While details on the premium services are scant, according to Kaz Hirai they will be in addition to the current free services.
The PlayStation Network has matured by leaps and bounds since its infancy. Sporting countless free services like online gameplay right out of the box; PlayStation Home, up to date global news feeds via Life with PlayStation, as well as the PlayStation Store which offers a variety of free content (demos, wallpapers, themes and videos). Firmware updates have also advanced the platform and the network alike. PlayStation 3 owners have little to complain about in terms of the value proposition of the PSN.
It is likely that most of the core enthusiasts will jump at premium services. While the Xbox Live Gold membership fees spark the ire of core PlayStation fans, Microsoft has proven time and time again that people will pay. Xbox Live Gold costs each Xbox gamer $50 annually and results in more revenues that can be used to fund new projects for the network. It would have been audacious for Sony to ask for subscriptions for the initial PSN offering, as at the time it was very much sub the Xbox Live standard.
In the beginning Sony faced harsh criticism that plagued them throughout 2007 and much of 2008. Even now, forum threads are filled with numerous complaints about each firmware update and network hiccup. Regardless of the fact that Xbox Live hasn’t been a flawless experience. Updates require a lot of resources and hard work to implement. Of course, the Xbox Live subscription model provides MS the means to keep on top of their game in delivering their community what they want. Sony has been putting in just as much effort at no cost to their end users. There is no logical reason to think Sony would not do similar or even greater things, considering the scale of Sony as a whole entity.
Sony has achieved near parity with Xbox Live without charging anyone a dime. Free online gaming is not going anywhere and offering additional but premium services can only spell good things overall. It will all boil down to exactly what kind of content they will offer. Will they use overwhelmingly requested features such as in-game party chat and soundtracks to merit a price tag, or will Sony have something new and exciting in store for us? For now the spotlight is on them, and the community is patiently waiting.
27 Responses to “Premium PSN Services Could be a Good Thing”
Paying for the PSN? I would be ok with it as long as they had two types of PSN, the one at the moment and a second one with a fee with a 10% discount to the PS Home/Store, cross game chat, prehaps music implemented into the games and getting demos, games, add-on’s and extra stuff before everyone else.
This would be good as the people who like things the way they are get what they want and the people who want new stuff get what they want. Everyone’s happy that way.
I certainly couldn’t blame Sony for introducing some kind of fee. As the article says, the PSN must cost them a fortune to maintain, and if we want ‘the best gaming network’, we must be willing to support it financially. Contrary to what some people seem to think, the fact that you paid ‘a premium price’ for the PS3 does /not/ entitle you to ‘free everything’ for the rest of the console’s shelf life.
At the moment, everything you pay for on PSN is entirely optional, and so while it obviously provides /some/ income for Sony, it is by no means a /guaranteed/ income. I’ve no doubt that the amount they make from sales on the store, Home, VidZone purchases and movies fluctuates quite wildly from month to month; they have no steady, reliable income from anything on PSN.
Having said that, I genuinely don’t think that we’re heading towards an XBL style subscription service, where you have to pay to do anything remotely useful. I think that the PSN as we know it now will remain, with perhaps some very good value-added services tempting you to upgrade.
But those services will have to be better than things like Qore, which US users can currently subscribe to. They will have to be things that provide a significant reason to subscribe. Perhaps something along the lines of providing dedicated servers for subscribers only.
It certainly points to some interesting developments, though, and I can’t wait for more info.
I think its a good move for sony. They could bring some exciting things to the PSN that people have been chattering about for years and quiet the crowds a little. Sony has the best network to play on and its free, so having an option to use more at a fee, I dont think will bother alot of people.
people need to get over music implementation.. its not like you need a payed service for that, its up to developers. Its a good idea but the benefits like speed for downloading connectivity etc better be substantial. the free service covers everything rather well (if you have a good connection) so upgrading better be worth it…cross game chat added to that (if) its offered would (not) be worth it to those who dont care for it.
@wtGp
That’s the beauty of the approach that Sony is taking to the matter. They’ll be able to please users of the PSN looking for a little extra icing on the cake while at the same time maintaining the enjoyment others have had with the PSN not wanting to spend a dime.
You can still spend that money on a game AND play online for free, and then some. Sony isn’t putting you in an awkward position between the two, unlike the competition. This ultimately gives Sony another notch on their belt when it comes to online gaming.
I’d pay…
If I can not toss in my games and play PSN for free, I will no longer be buying ANY games for my PS3 EXCEPT for RPGs. I will not buy any single player games, I will not buy multiplayer games, I will buy less PSN games and will start playing my PS3 like I used to play my PS2. With no online features.
I’ll send messages and chat with people, but I will not subscribe for online fees. If they charge for features like Cross Game chat and stuff like that, I won’t subscribe. Those features are not important enough for me. I have skype, I have a cellphone, I have multiple bluetooths and I don’t play online enough anyway.
People pay to play online on the 360? Well what do you expect? There’s a HUGE segment of people on the 360 community that complained the PS3 was too expensive for being 600 dollars after they got through spending 300-400 for a 20GB console, 200 for an HD DVD player that failed miserably, 100 dollars for wifi, and 30-50 a year to play online. They’re idiots. Not all of them but enough of them.
If they’re considering premium features for like 5-10 a year, I may just never impulse buy anything in Playstation Home ever again and just pay the sub fees. But if they’re going to put in a sub cost similar to the 360 experience, fuck that. Sony I appreciate what you’ve done, but I don’t have any real close friends to regularly play with, or the skills to game online without busting my ass. just to do mediocre.
I won’t have any reason to buy anything but JRPGs and most of my games will be sold because I will literally no longer have any use for them.
Bye bye Warhawk, Uncharted 2, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, Killzone 2, bye bye Brutal Legend, never buy a Rock Band game again, I will stop buying games and start gameflying them. Right now I enjoy casually laying a lot of my games online, but I won’t enjoy it if I have to pay fees. If you do this Home will shrivel up, Free Realms might as well be canned for the PS3, and well…. if a 360 didn’t have online fees, I would have bought a 360. Instead I put that money towards a decent gaming PC that can play any 360, PC multiplatform game with superior quality and free online with a lower retail cost.
Seriously, stop with the custom music. Its not a firmware thing. Its been in the firmware since last July. Developers have the choice of using it or not. And why would you pay for it across all games? Its really that important? That’s amazing.
Anyway. I can’t say whether I’m for or against this, because we dont know anything. I will say that I am content with free online play. But if they offered things like Skype for higher quality voice and video chat, stronger servers across the network, auto trophy sync, built in leaderbords in the GUI, maybe some cloud support to view stats across your games without booting up the disc, online game data backup so no more having to worry about swapping hard drives. All that would be worth a fee.
Pay for psn…. hmmm!
Its all going to xbox! i.e, Pay and u can have demos the day of release but dont and u’ll b waiting a week or 2! Ps3 is way more xpensiv than xbx so tht alone warrents a free service? Why are Sony now claiming poverty when they r climbing to the top? I for one would b really upset if i have to pay for a service tht was free! How can u b happy knowing theres a better service if u pay-up!? Free online etc was a major facter when buying a ps3!? Not sure where this is going but SONY NO!
I will be deff. buying this premium service
@Lemmy78
What?
How is the PS3 more expensive than xbox? This isn’t 2007 anymore. Anyways, If sony does come out with a premium subscription I’ll gladly support it. And also, I’m sick of seeing people complain about the firmware updates. They are FREE. We now have trophies, dynamic themes, updated friends lists and lots of other cool stuff.
What have xbox users been getting for their $60 per year?
They got a ripped off version of sonys XMB (only up/down selects category, and left/right selects options in that category…they just reversed it)
And they got a ripped off version of Wii’s avatars. How creative. Whats next? Finally getting around to adding an internet browser that Nintendo and Sony had since launch?
I feel like some of you aren’t even reading these articles or at least not comprehending them…Sony has already said that any fees they would charge would only be for features that are ADDITIONAL TO what we are already receiving now. Quite honestly I don’t care if they start charging for a premium service or not, I don’t need anything other than what we are getting for free now so I won’t be paying regardless. But please people understand what Sony is saying they would be “offering premium content and services, in addition to the current free services.” That means that EVERYTHING WE ARE GETTING NOW WOULD STILL BE FREE!!!!! They would ONLY charge for PREMIUM, ADDITIONAL services….I swear, people really need to start getting smarter and working on their reading comprehension.
I think if most of us are honest, we always had an inkling that at some point Sony might charge for access to some things other than games/video store content and perhaps services. In realist we can’t expect them to keep evolving the PSN and keep it all 100% free.
Keeping online gaming and what we can currently do as a free service will be a massive part of PSN’s future success and I await with bated breath to see what kind of premium services/content are put on offer. Sony always deliver with games, lets hope they can do the same thing with the future of the PSN.
Depending on what the perks are, i may pay for a premium service! If its not worth the upgrade, i’ll stay on the run of the mill PSN.
@giese095
i agree, people aren’t reading the article properly! You can please some of the people sometimes, but you cant please all the people all the time eh?
@ barkiemailman
WHAT R U ON?
PS3 £249.99
XBOX ELITE (with games etc) £199.99
Now i may b slow but im sure that xbox is still cheaper!?! and in 2009!?!
anyway…
How can xbox rip off sonys XMB? xbox was out first lol!?! and the reason xbox live wins is its sheer numbers! and solid server fun!
Anyway i just hope to god psn stays free as of what we have now!!!!!! Im just wondering what could be xtra and worth payin for? BETAs? Free psn game Downloads?
Will you guys give it a rest with the gayboy debate nobody care which service you think is better. The point is that what PSN owner have right now will continue to be free and the Premium PSN Package is gonna be for alot of additional content and probably features that we don’t presently have. All I know is that I got my Netflix and my online multiplayer so whatever. My boy has an Xbox360 and he wants me to get on so we can play Left4Dead2 which is reasonable but I’m just not feelin Xbox the brand, not so much the games or the graphics. Never played with one online so I can’t judge the gold service. . . . .Hold up the Xbox ELITE is 199.99 over there? Both systems are the same price in the US 299.99. And they both are bundle with games at the price just depends on the shop.
as long as the price of the subscription is lower than Xbox Live’s subscription, i dont care. lets say, 40 bucks. that would make MS shit themselves probably.
I’d pay anything
I was a first day Qore subscriber and with the Second release, I was also a first day subscriber. Hopefully, they add in big perks haha. Like getting rid of that 99cents thingy and not having even prices. ): I hate having 2 cents left in the wallet. I wouldn’t mind if they discount the 99cents away 
Xbox… Ewww
@ Natiej85
let them argue.. its rather enjoyable .. if anything feel free to skip there debate.
@lemmy
your servers arent “solid” stop smoking crack.. you also forgot to add the rest of the NEEDED addons for the 360 vs a complete system.. theres no escaping the truth its far more expensive in the long run…. that 199 is a barebone system
@ Shadowjin
Crack is it LOL i call it FACTS M8!
i dont own a xbx and never will! Its just a fact that xbx live has HUGE numbers and is solid compared to psn! iv had my 60gb ps3 since release and HAVE had a ton a problems and upsets so the thought of paying for more content that i’ll not get if i dont pay is anoying.. And my only point was what could be extra that is worth payin a subscription for!? barebone ‘shadowjin’? bareback more like………. What add-ons do you HAVE to have? errrr NONE m8! and i agree with ‘David562′ Stop filling our wallets with change!!! round off ya prices LOL
meh sony can do whatever the hell they want since i traded in my ps3 today.
im sick and tired of getting the finger from them because of where i live.
shame too i was really looking forward to playing around with play TV.
they dont want to release the games here, than why should i give them my money?
Hmm, my 1st reaction was; “uh-oh”. But if the content is supposed to be an added value to what is already available, I’m totally for it. And if this added content seems interesting enough, and for a nice price, I’m in. Time will tell.
…Always lovely how people always read everything so well. Same with the Trophy sync problems currently going around in the EU (error 80022A07). This is a server side problem, at the moment they don’t have the capacity to handle all the sync requests, but they are working on it. Try syncing at the off-hours (very early/late). Thought I might as well put it here, just as much chance of someone reading it here than in an actual topic that is about the problem.
As a former 360 user (well I still use it as a paper weight….6 RRoDs later) I hope they do not create something similar to Xbox live. It is a terrible service. My reasons?…
1.Demos and content only available to Gold members. I thought demos were to sell games like shareware not become some exclusive “na na you don’t get it” content.
2. Locking of download content. I remember buying SotN on Live and then when someone else in my house went to play it they couldn’t. They got a message they would have to pay for it as well even though I BOUGHT the game already and it was on the same system (yeah right digital distro is the future).
3. The inability to block harassing users (may have changed…don’t know since I don’t do live anymore). You need to receive a hostile message before a person can be blocked. I contacted MS about this and they couldn’t help at all….which leads to….
4. Poor support for a purchased product. I have contacted MS about achievements vanishing, DLC locks, harassing users, and account lockouts (Live accounts have to be synced to a MS e-mail and if that e-mail goes unused then your account gets screwed). They have solved zero problems and hardly any of them can speak english.
5. Having to purchased multiple accounts. If you have 3 users and they all want to play online then you need to buy 3 Live memberships. I actually spoke to Major Nelson about this (I got in contact with him when MS lost my 1st dead 360) and there are no plans to fix this or create a slightly more expensive Family Live card. Crazy imho and greedy.
6. Having to jump through hoops to get your credit card taken off their system (my friend couldn’t get them to he canceled his card instead). They also love to keep charging for Live to your CC when it expires.
So Sony if you want to create a pay service that is awesome then please do….just don’t do this ^ ok?
Oh and MartinDude thanks for the info. I’m in Canada and we are having Trophy sync issues as well.
To Everyone Freaking out about the Premium Services Sony is Talking About…
People please think about what they are talking about here. I have a feeling that what they are talking about is things that already require subscriptions coming to the PSN. Such as…
- Skype
- PS3 Music Store
- Subscriptions to PS3 Digital Comic Book Service
- Subscriptions to MMO Games i.e. DC Universe
- Subscriptions to E-books for Sony’s E-reader
- Subscriptions to Game Rental Services such as Gamefly
Right now Sony has Netflix for rentals & the PS3 Video Store for Rentals and Purchases, The PSN with Paid & Free Game DLC & finally Home with Paid & Free content for Purchase.
Sony obviously is looking for more ways to make money but I don’t think anything gaming related will ever be charged for. So when it comes to Cross Game Chat & Cross Game Invites if they ever come I don’t believe Sony will make that part of the Premium Service since it is up to developers to implement it & I don’t see Sony starting now of all times to stand up and make it mandatory in all their games. The same can be said when it comes with Auto Trophy Sync, Firmware Updates & other game related perks. Maybe dedicated servers & faster downloads could be offered but I think only the Hardest of Core will want to pay for that perk.
Finally to everyone hoping that the Premium Services would give you unlimited downloads to DLC & PSN Games that is completely Ridiculous. Although that would be something I would even pay $50 a year for we all know Sony makes more money by making you pay for it separately like you do now, so I don’t see that changing anytime in the future but like Timewarp mentioned having some form of % discount would probably help as those who purchase a lot of PSN content would benefit from paying the Premium fee.
Again these are my thoughts and too me seem a whole lot more plausible than what everyone else is speculating at the moment. For one I hope I am right because I know I would definitely breath a sigh of relief if I was.
So tell me guys now that I mention all this does it seem plausible or am I just being optimistic about all this?
Paying for online play? Hell never.
Paying for PSN content? That would be the way to go, but Sony has proved time and time again that they’re very mediocre at taking advantage of the gold opportunities they’re sitting on. PSN users have been complaining for years that many game soundtracks are not available on the PSN, but that doesn’t prevent Sony from selling the Uncharted OST… on iTunes. How DUMB is that? Where are the soundtracks for Flower, Heavenly Sword (Nitin Sawhney’s masterpiece), Killzone, Uncharted, God of War, etc, etc, etc? At least that would be a decent start.
Think about the existing venues before talking nonsense.
@wolf
totally optimistic,
We’ll have to pay for those things separately anyways, a subscription fee would be with other content that we wouldn’t be able to get elsewhere, i assume.
What that content is though…..
I really REALLY do not want this to come into fruition, it’s just opening the doors for possible baaaaaaaadddd news.
Money is good, sony is doing a great job with the firmware updates, and i can understand their mentality when they started this endeavor–
“well we can’t charge yet, but lets wait until we get up and running and got something good on our hands. THEN we’ll charge”
I hate picturing sony like that, so it’s upsetting to see them talking about breaking our balls for more dough.
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