PSN to offer "Premium Level" Subscription Fee in 2010.

Taken straight from our beloved Gamespot.

"One the biggest selling points of the PlayStation 3 is that gamers can use the console to play online at no additional charge. However, evidence has surfaced that the company is planning a two-tiered subscription model for the PlayStation Network similar to--but also fundamentally different from--Xbox Live.

Slides accompanying a Thursday presentation by Sony show that the company is planning a "new revenue stream from subscription" on PSN in 2010. [UPDATE] During the presentation, which emphasized Sony's plans to make its game business profitable in the next fiscal year, Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Kaz Hirai confirmed the plans. "We will be building upon our current free [PSN] service offering with premium content and services to start the subscription model," he told attendees."

Follow the link to see the whole article.

I personally can understand Sony needing to go this route. I have a feeling we'll be seeing something Similiar from Microsoft too.

Thoughts?

All I have ever needed is free online play, so this is all irrelevant to me.

As long as they don't get rid of the ability to play online for lower-tier uses, I'll live.

which is how it should be done. playing games should be free charging for 'premium' crap is ok since you dont have to opt in just to play games.

similar to but fundamentally different? gee thx guys that really cleared it up

I'm sure it was hard for SONY to ignore the millions upon millions the competition was raking in from their service in rough economic waters.

isnt this about the qore service?

Wont be long till they start taking away free stuff and adding it to the premium (ala MS).

I'm sure it was hard for SONY to ignore the millions upon millions the competition was raking in from their service in rough economic waters.

SolidTy

[QUOTE="SolidTy"]

I'm sure it was hard for SONY to ignore the millions upon millions the competition was raking in from their service in rough economic waters.

Salt_The_Fries

[QUOTE="Salt_The_Fries"][QUOTE="SolidTy"]

I'm sure it was hard for SONY to ignore the millions upon millions the competition was raking in from their service in rough economic waters.

Ragnarok1051

Not paying any higher than $20 bucks.

Sony fans pwned

I am concerned. The idea doesn't sit well with me because it's a slippery slope. It wouldn't be hard to imagine that PSN could soon end up like Live in that you need to pay in some way in order to play effectively or efficiently online. Maybe not a monthly fee but you may have to pay for this or that.

And then there is the concern that content will be held back and I assure you it will be. Content will be created specifically for this advanced subscription or held back for it otherwise there wouldn't be any incentive for people to join it. You can bet your buttox that Sony wants people to sign up and throw them money and there's really only one way to do that if not the paying to play; it's content. "exclusive content" that probably should've been in the real game in the first place.

Or maybe not. Only time will tell. All we know right now is that they probably will implement something and that they are thinking about it. Sony is still a business and PSN perhaps does make money but perhaps not nearly enough. And, come on, Sony isn't dumb. They've seen Live Prosper and its success; they, like anyone else, would like a piece of that pie.

AncientDozer

As long as they don't get rid of the ability to play online for lower-tier uses, I'll live.

Optusnet

:lol:

Dude, where have you been? I've missed your sig. Gave me alot of good lulz way back.

[QUOTE="Ragnarok1051"][QUOTE="Salt_The_Fries"] They will still be treated like Messiahs even if they'd ditch free-of-charge playing on PSN and made it from premium accounts only.vaderhater

They both do that, over the course of all these many years.

Here's the thing, Consumers are saying, "Charge us Please", and if folks keep paying, then that's that. We can't blame Xbox or Playstation for the users giving up their money freely, we ultimately need to look to ourselves.We asked for this.

Sony fans pwned

RJay123

I'm surprised Sony decided to do this so late in the game, actually.Stevo_the_gamer

yea considering how successful LIVE has been, even on the original xbox, thats what made the xbox and the 360 so popular

-sigh- i just know sony's going to gradually put more and more things on the premium side. who knows maybe even the ability to play games online :shock: with both sony and ms charging for online gaming would consumers really have a choice if they want to play games online? yes, and we canchoose not tobut in reality i'm sure the majority of people would be willing to pay sony to be able to play games online.

similar to but fundamentally different? gee thx guys that really cleared it up

MondeEdlu

Wont be long till they start taking away free stuff and adding it to the premium (ala MS).

shutdown_202

Its just going to be Qore and netfix membership or something. its got nothing to do with online play

as long as they don't take away any current functionality (ie psn store, online playing, messaging etc) then im fine with it. i won't be getting it, but i don't have a problem with them making a subscription service (like qore) that adds more stuff. if they can make it worth my while then i might actually get it, but they'd have to add a lot of awesome stuff (it'd have to blow live out of the water as i don't feel that service is worth what is charged)

I'm surprised Sony decided to do this so late in the game, actually.Stevo_the_gamer