Sony is going to start charging for access to select demos and betas

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2008/06/03/introducing-qore-taking-you-behind-the-curtain-with-playstation/comment-page-1/#comment-63220

Today we are announcing that Qore: Presented by the PLAYSTATION Network, a highly interactive, monthly life****gaming program covering the world inside PLAYSTATION is on its way to PS3. Qore has been developed to give PS3 users early access to game related content at a level of quality, interactivity and depth. Everything is filmed in HD. Qore will feature exclusive news, developer interviews, in-depth game previews and behind-the-scenes looks at PlayStation games and special access to game demos, special beta invitations, game add-ons and other downloadable game-related content.

Our premier episode will be available on Thursday, June 5. The premier episode includes in-depth exclusive and never-before released content on upcoming PlayStation titles such as SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Secret Agent Clank, Soul Calibur 4 and Afro Samurai, as well as the latest Blu-ray Disc trailers, an exclusive SOCOM: Confrontation theme with an invitation to the SOCOM: Confrontation beta, art galleries and other surprises. We also know that many of you are big fans of Veronica Belmont, the widely-known host of numerous online video programs and podcasts and an avid gamer, so we've chosen her to be your host.

The introductory price for Qore is $2.99 for a single episode and $24.99 for an annual subscription of 13 episodes, using your PLAYSTATION Network wallet.

Qore seems like a resurrection of the Playstation Underground (a series of disk based mags which existed in the PS1 days which served a similar purpose to OPM, though it skipped reviews and made no pretense of being independent). I remember Sony eliminating PSU because they felt it was kind of silly to fund two magazines at once. *Shrugs* They've seen a lot of turnover so perhaps the guy that made that decision is gone.

Its cool that online play is still free, but its a shame one now has to pay extra to view/experience what is in effect advertising. I just hope the monthly Qore doesn't consume too much of what should be free (since no mention was made of it, I'm hoping the RE5 trailer, a work of art that should be seen by everyone, hits PSN outside of Qore).

I expect I will buy a subscription since the pricing is reasonable. I subscribe for a year to every videogame magazine that is released (if they suck, I don't renew my subscription) including official magazines. Still, Sony is sacrificing software sales for short term profit by showing off some games to only a subset of people with PSN accounts.

Hmm well it sounds like it could be a pretty cool show kind of thing and Veronica Belmont sounds like an appropriate host. Also how cool is that name, sounds like she's straight from a Castlevania game.

It'll be interesting to see how it turns out though. If it turns out to be something that is both very informative and entertaining instead of just an advertisement like show then it could be worth it. I'll keep my eye on it though.

first episode should have been smaller and free, to give people a feel for what it will be...danny_dm_moore

Yeah, its kind of odd they are not giving away the first episode for free.

first episode should have been smaller and free, to give people a feel for what it will be...danny_dm_moore

That would be great. A demo of the service would make sense.

I don't know, there's free video shows all over the net. And if they stop providing demos just to make you subscribe, that would be criminal, as PSN would lose it's one true advantage over XBL.

I don't know, there's free video shows all over the net. And if they stop providing demos just to make you subscribe, that would be criminal, as PSN would lose it's one true advantage over XBL.

nopalversion

IIRC all XBL silver members face is a one week delay for demos. Speaking of free video, I would be deeply shocked if Sony's video magazine didn't pop up on youtube within half an hour of being released.

Considering that a lot of gamers apparantly enjoy being ripped off, this is probably a sound business decision. Milk it, baby!

Considering that a lot of gamers apparantly enjoy being ripped off, this is probably a sound business decision. Milk it, baby!

UpInFlames

Considering that a lot of gamers apparantly enjoy being ripped off, this is probably a sound business decision. Milk it, baby!

UpInFlames

*sigh* the sad thing is most people will see this as a good thing.GodModeEnabled

I'm not going to defend it too hard until I've seen it for myself, but it doesn't sound any worse than subscribing to a magazine.

[QUOTE="GodModeEnabled"]*sigh* the sad thing is most people will see this as a good thing.rragnaar

I'm not going to defend it too hard until I've seen it for myself, but it doesn't sound any worse than subscribing to a magazine.

OMG you changed avatar again.

Nice sig, though.

[QUOTE="rragnaar"]

[QUOTE="GodModeEnabled"]*sigh* the sad thing is most people will see this as a good thing.SteelAttack

I'm not going to defend it too hard until I've seen it for myself, but it doesn't sound any worse than subscribing to a magazine.

OMG you changed avatar again.

Nice sig, though.

It sounds like Future will be providing the editorial content, so my assumption that Qore will be PSU reborn was incorrect. I am not a big fan of OPM (terrible reviews), so I am hoping against hope there won't be much overlap in terms of staffing.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/qore--presented-by-the-playstation-network-future-us-produced-monthly-show-to-begin-airing-this-thursday

Future US, Inc, the leading publisher of cutting-edge special interest magazines and websites, announced today that it has an exclusive development agreement to produce a monthly digital program to be delivered across Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA)'s PLAYSTATION® Network. Future US holds the exclusive right to sell advertising on the program, which will debut on PLAYSTATION® Network on June 5, 2008.

I'm definitely skeptical, but I'll check out the first one to see what it is all about and to get into the SOCOM beta. Subscribing to something that gets me into betas makes more sense than subscribing to a magazine, so if it is a quality production, I'll probably bite.rragnaar

Listen, noob...

...wait a second...

...oh noes, rragnaar morphed yet again! Teh insanity!

Get into the SOCOM Beta for $3, hell yeah!dvader654

The point is, it's a ****ing beta. You're paying money for what other people are payed to do - be game testers. You're paying money so that developers can iron out bugs. I can't deal with that. It's worse than paying for demos, if that's at all possible.

EDIT: I mean, I totally get you - you get to play the game early and that's great for you. But the underlying issue I have is that you're paying money so they can use your services.

I probably misunderstood, but isn't the full subscription necessary to be able to enter those selected demos and betas? Or are they more like standalone items that can be purchased, subscription or not?

And just to play devil's advocate here, aren't betas supposed to be some sort of stress test for an unfinished game? Meaning, something that will benefit the developer of a game? Why would someone want to charge for that?

Edit: Oh, Flames already made that point. He knows way more about betas than I do.

If the beta is just going to be in the play and pray format, where they let people play and pray someone reports decent bugs, then I say let them charge for that, most of the people that play will be doing just that, playing, not testing. There are companies out there that treat beta testing like a job though. Where the company sets goals and quotas that must be met or filled in order to remain a part of the beta. These types should always be free/paid betas, but I think they also get the most done and are the most efficient.KillOBKilled

[QUOTE="rragnaar"]I'm definitely skeptical, but I'll check out the first one to see what it is all about and to get into the SOCOM beta. Subscribing to something that gets me into betas makes more sense than subscribing to a magazine, so if it is a quality production, I'll probably bite.UpInFlames

Listen, noob...

...wait a second...

...oh noes, rragnaar morphed yetagain! Teh insanity!