I think it will be, it would kind of feel like a stab in the back in they suddently started charging for basic membership. My guess is they will have the same setup they have now with PSN plus but just add more features and content to it to attract more people.

If next gen consoles are able to do close to what a high end PC can do right now I will be content. I dont think the jump between this gen and next gen will be as big as ps2 to ps3 etc though, and its not really needed. As long as we can get the resolution at 1080p, and increase anti aliasing and particle effects on consoles that will be enough for me.