Sony Charging Publishers for Free Downloads

Find out where your Xbox Live Gold subscription money goes.

showUSloc=(checkLocale('uk')||checkLocale('au'));document.writeln(showUSloc ? 'US, ' : ''); March 20, 2009 - You know those free demos and the downloadable content that you nab so care-free to try out new games and extend your current titles? It's costing publishers a decent bit of cash every time someone downloads this stuff on the PlayStation Network.

MTV Multiplayer has learned that Sony implemented a per-gigabyte download charge to publishers on October 1st of last year for free content. It now costs publishers $0.16 per downloaded gigabyte, which while seemingly small, adds up to big numbers in the long run. As demos often hover around the 1GB mark these days, that means that for every one million downloads of a demo of that size, the publisher has to fork over $160,000 in fees. This charge is only in effect for the first 60 days of a piece of content's availability, but that's obviously when most of the downloads happen anyway. Paid content is not affected by this fee.

Microsoft and Nintendo do not charge download fees, which could be part of the reason that many demos hit Xbox Live a week before the PlayStation Network - cross-platform gamers would have already downloaded it on Xbox Live, and therefore wouldn't need to nab it again on the PlayStation Network, saving the publisher some cash.

= exclusive DLC for 360

This only started on October 1st 2008. Plus it's not all that surprising, as MS charge $50 yearly for Live, something like this is not going to be needed. PSN is free, and costs Sony to run, therefore an idea like this, in the current economy, is expected.

Plus there have already been threads on this.

Sony is killing the gaming industry folks.

Heard about this yesterday, but luckly it won't effect me.

This only started on October 1st 2008. Plus it's not all that surprising, as MS charge $50 yearly for Live, something like this is not going to be needed. PSN is free, and costs Sony to run, therefore an idea like this, in the current economy, is expected.

Plus there have already been threads on this.

lundy86_4

still none of that explains why they would charge for developers to put DLC on PSN, maybe im missing something

[QUOTE="lundy86_4"]

This only started on October 1st 2008. Plus it's not all that surprising, as MS charge $50 yearly for Live, something like this is not going to be needed. PSN is free, and costs Sony to run, therefore an idea like this, in the current economy, is expected.

Plus there have already been threads on this.

johnnyblazed88

still none of that explains why they would charge for developers to put DLC on PSN, maybe im missing something

Well Microsoft can get away with not charging as they earn plenty of money from Live. Sony earns nothing, and implementing this will bring in revenue, without a cost to consumers. Both have advantages and disadvantages. Developers will be tempted not to host products on PSN and therefore go to Live, effecting consumers, whereas Microsoft charges for Live which is a disadvantage (however much less of one, as $50 isn't a lot).

cool that means if i dont like a developer i can download his game demos for 60 days :D

Wait does this include trailers? cause if it does that would just be eivil on sony's part. I remember them metioning somthing about making a killing off the PS store so why would they need too do this?theMarshell

They're putting the cost on the developer rather than the consumer, clever business practice for us, just not so much for the developers.

A normal business arrangement, nothing new, move on.

This has been going on for almost 6 months with nothing bad at all or negative consequences happening.

Now that the news is out watch all the fanboys who think they know how economics and business works come out of the woodwork and make asinine predictions about doom and gloom.

It's official, "Sony is killing gaming"Master-Thief-09

Is Microsoft killing gaming by charging the consumer rather than the developer? Nope. This is a business practice that has had little effect on consumers.

= exclusive DLC for 360

johnnyblazed88

[QUOTE="Master-Thief-09"]It's official, "Sony is killing gaming"lundy86_4

Is Microsoft killing gaming by charging the consumer rather than the developer? Nope. This is a business practice that has had little effect on consumers.

Actually it does affect consumers also it means less content and Demos on the PS3.

[QUOTE="lundy86_4"]

[QUOTE="Master-Thief-09"]It's official, "Sony is killing gaming"NinjaOmega8900

Is Microsoft killing gaming by charging the consumer rather than the developer? Nope. This is a business practice that has had little effect on consumers.

Actually it does affect consumers also it means less content and Demos on the PS3.

ahhh well if you had read the posts in this thread, you would see I had already stated that. You know isntead of just posting "X is killing Y"

Not a smart move, this might turn off some publishers from putting DLC content on the PS3 and cause the 360 to have exclusive content.

Exclusive 3rd-party stuff = stupid IMO. Only 1st and 2nd party stuff should be exclusive if you want my opinion.

= exclusive DLC for 360

johnnyblazed88

What is this, the Fifth topic on this?

Wayto bite the hand that feeds you, Sony. :lol:

Some people seem to overlook:

This was implemented October 1st, and yet there was no slowdown in free downloads such as demos and game addons. Just look at Epic, they are releasing that huge free download for UT3. When this was implemented people didnt notice any decrease in free downloads, meaning it is not a big enough factor to sway devs away from releasing content.

Now that we see that it hasnt affected the ammount of downloadable releases, I think gamers should be happy that Sony doesnt charges them for these download fee's unlike Microsoft who gets the consumers to pay, instead of the devs.

[QUOTE="johnnyblazed88"]

= exclusive DLC for 360

HarlockJC

wasnt most of that stuff already on the 360 version out of the box?

Some people seem to overlook:

This was implemented October 1st, and yet there was no slowdown in free downloads such as demos and game addons. Just look at Epic, they are releasing that huge free download for UT3. When this was implemented people didnt notice any decrease in free downloads, meaning it is not a big enough factor to sway devs away from releasing content.

Now that we see that it hasnt affected the ammount of downloadable releases, I think gamers should be happy that Sony doesnt charges them for these download fee's unlike Microsoft who gets the consumers to pay, instead of the devs.

EVOLV3

Exactly. People seem to be overlooking these facts. It's kinda weird.

And Microsoft charges developers when they need to use more then one disc. KilIzone3

Sony should start charging people at least like $10 a year for PSN to cover this stuff. Biting the hand that feeds is never a good idea, especially when you've got the lowest install base, and are the most expensive console to develop for. Dont get me wrong, I love the PS3, but Sony - third parties shouldnt have to pay to put demos on your network.

This is old and ridiculous. I don't care though as long as I don't pay for it. Though this can't be the best in the long run. We shall see won't we?

everyone that keeps saying "better the devs than consumer"...if you think that it doesn't affect the consumer you're quite mistaken. The devs will just charge the consumer to recoup the dev costs, is that hard to understand? And it also makes devs think twice about putting their stuff on PSN as mentioned earlier..so..quit living in fantasy land thinking charging the devs doesn't affect consumers down the line :roll:hopesfall2own

jeez a demo is advertising and advertising costs money, there is nothing wrong with what sony are doing.delta3074

[QUOTE="KilIzone3"]And Microsoft charges developers when they need to use more then one disc. carljohnson3456

Sony should start charging people at least like $10 a year for PSN to cover this stuff. Biting the hand that feeds is never a good idea, especially when you've got the lowest install base, and are the most expensive console to develop for. Dont get me wrong, I love the PS3, but Sony - third parties shouldnt have to pay to put demos on your network.

[QUOTE="carljohnson3456"]

[QUOTE="KilIzone3"]And Microsoft charges developers when they need to use more then one disc. 1xcalibur1

Sony should start charging people at least like $10 a year for PSN to cover this stuff. Biting the hand that feeds is never a good idea, especially when you've got the lowest install base, and are the most expensive console to develop for. Dont get me wrong, I love the PS3, but Sony - third parties shouldnt have to pay to put demos on your network.

The PSN account numbers include Sony's recent merging of PS Underground accounts into PSN accounts... that you can register on Playstation.com with or without a PS3 or PSP.

16 cents per gigabyte? Thats nothing.

16 cents per gigabyte? Thats nothing.

hakanakumono

No, they havent. PSN accounts might have surpassed Live users, but not actually PSN users.

The PSN account numbers include Sony's recent merging of PS Underground accounts into PSN accounts... that you can register on Playstation.com with or without a PS3 or PSP.carljohnson3456

I think I can make a gamertag if I want without having a 360, and im pretty sure LIVE silver users are counted in.

[QUOTE="carljohnson3456"]No, they havent. PSN accounts might have surpassed Live users, but not actually PSN users.

The PSN account numbers include Sony's recent merging of PS Underground accounts into PSN accounts... that you can register on Playstation.com with or without a PS3 or PSP.blitzcloud

I think I can make a gamertag if I want without having a 360, and im pretty sure LIVE silver users are counted in.

[QUOTE="blitzcloud"]

[QUOTE="carljohnson3456"]No, they havent. PSN accounts might have surpassed Live users, but not actually PSN users.

The PSN account numbers include Sony's recent merging of PS Underground accounts into PSN accounts... that you can register on Playstation.com with or without a PS3 or PSP.carljohnson3456

I think I can make a gamertag if I want without having a 360, and im pretty sure LIVE silver users are counted in.

No need to think about it, Silver is most definately counted by M$. They count all registered Live accounts.

Many make multiple accounts on their 360's since they are free, because Silver comes with a one Month Trial of Gold. So instead of going to the store to buy an $8 Live Gold card for 30 days, you can make a new account on your 360 and get a free 30 days.

Also, I have been a PSUnderground member since PSOne, and I didn't get merged with a new PSN account. I did however, create my PSN name when I got my PS3 at laucnh 2006.

[QUOTE="carljohnson3456"][QUOTE="blitzcloud"]

I think I can make a gamertag if I want without having a 360, and im pretty sure LIVE silver users are counted in.

SolidTy

No need to think about it, Silver is most definately counted by M$. They count all registered Live accounts.

Many make multiple accounts on their 360's since they are free, because Silver comes with a one Month Trial of Gold. So instead of going to the store to buy an $8 Live Gold card for 30 days, you can make a new account on your 360 and get a free 30 days.

Also, I have been a PSUnderground member since PSOne, and I didn't get merged with a new PSN account. I did however, create my PSN name when I got my PS3 at laucnh 2006.

[QUOTE="SolidTy"]

[QUOTE="carljohnson3456"] I'm not sure you can... but I could be wrong. And I think Silver is counted too. Nice sig, btw, lol.carljohnson3456

No need to think about it, Silver is most definately counted by M$. They count all registered Live accounts.

Many make multiple accounts on their 360's since they are free, because Silver comes with a one Month Trial of Gold. So instead of going to the store to buy an $8 Live Gold card for 30 days, you can make a new account on your 360 and get a free 30 days.

Also, I have been a PSUnderground member since PSOne, and I didn't get merged with a new PSN account. I did however, create my PSN name when I got my PS3 at laucnh 2006.

No, I don't think so either, nor am I saying that's the case, I am just letting you know about how easy it is to create an Xbox Live account (Just as easy as a PS3 User), as well as the reason why anyone would bother making an extra LIVE account (Free One Month GOLD!).

It would be nice if both companies would give it to us straight, but whatever.

No, I don't think so either, nor am I saying that's the case, I am just letting you know about how easy it is to create an Xbox Live account (Just as easy as a PS3 User), as well as the reason why anyone would bother making an extra LIVE account (Free One Month GOLD!).

It would be nice if both companies would give it to us straight, but whatever.SolidTy