PSN will not be free anymore?

Joined Apr 2011
10 Posts | 0+
After the PSN hacking debacle. Do you think Sony will being charging people for regular PSN service?
 
It's all speculation right now. Rumors have been around even before PSN went down. I guess time will tell.
 
I can see Playstation Plus eventually including online gaming as well. I assume they introduced it as the first step in a roll-out of a new online business model intended to absorb more and more of it's current free functionality.

However, I think now would be the worst time they could ever choose to roll out the next phase.

I think right now Sony will be far more concerned with weathering the storm and retaining PSN users and regaining their trust, and you don't do that by charging money for a once-free service that has been totally compromised.
 
gamebacker said:
more safer and more funny means you will pay more.

Possibly, somewhere down the road, but I highly doubt that will be the case in the near future.

If they do start charging for PSN in the immediate to near future, they are going to really make it hard for any Sony customers to remain Sony customers, with the exception of the most diehard Sony fanboys. If that is the route they go, it may very well be the end of the Sony games' division.

Sony's PR totally bungled this whole incident from the beginning, and they are in no position to try and launch a campaign aimed at convincing people to pay more money to a company that lost all their private info.
 
I'm bumping this topic as well... It is still free "technically."

What do you think? Do you think they will continue offering their free service?

†B†V† :hat
 
Certainly. PSN is free and will stay free. No reason it shouldn't.

Not everyone is like Microsoft... some companies actually give you free services. (And now it's rumored MS will not allow used games to be played on Nextbox. O:)
 
Icyguy said:
Certainly. PSN is free and will stay free. No reason it shouldn't.

Not everyone is like Microsoft... some companies actually give you free services. (And now it's rumored MS will not allow used games to be played on Nextbox. O:)



That would single handedly kill blockbuster online (they're making a push against netflix by offering games and movies and now comparably priced) and gamefly, NOT TO MENTION gamestop.
 
I can't imagine a world where psn isn't free and gamestop no longer exists.
 
Free online is one of the major reasons people will buy a PS3 over a 360. I'm not saying that's the sole reason, or that that makes the PS3 better, but it is a big influence, and I think Sony realizes that. Without free online... Their next best thing (imo) is going to be exclusive games. And with MGS being in the 360 library, who knows how many more previously sony exclusives will be made for 360 as well?
 
yeah... I know a lot of people do not agree with me... but I think exclusives on systems is a good thing.

I hope PSN stays free... I know it's a big draw for me as well. Many people I know at work ..etc.. pass off the expense of live as no big deal. While I am a member of live anyway, I think free online play is the way to go.

†B†V† :hat
 
Bluevoodu said:
yeah... I know a lot of people do not agree with me... but I think exclusives on systems is a good thing.

†B†V† :hat


I definitely agree with you there. I hate the fact that exclusive are practically extinct. I was listening to ESPN radio this morning, and it sickens me when I hear radio anchors talk about how much fun they're having playing "insert motion game here", because I'm willing to bet anything that they barely touch whatever game it is they're talking about. The video game industry used to be driven by the ammo that was, at the time, exclusive games. But now that has been pushed to the rear by the industry, in some cheesy attempt to appeal to the casuals. I can't stand it.
 
Yea I have to agree with that. Exclusives are what made the PSX vs N64 era so much fun.
 
I don't see any rational reason to be in favor of exclusive games, unless you're in a position to gain financially somehow from it, or you're a die-hard free-market capitalist who thinks competition in business will somehow result in better games. If there are other reasons, aside from some sort of personal association with one brand over another (in which case, I would suggest finding other ways to self-identify), do tell.

I still think Sony would like to move more and more to a paid subscription for their online features, but with the way DLC is currently going, I think it's far more likely that the lines between what an offline and online game is, and what you're actually paying for when you buy a game, will become substantially more blurry (blurrier, even), until it becomes a moot point.

Sony may not "charge" for the PSN because they see it as the platform from which they can charge you for other goods and services. Microsoft may consider that itself a service worth charging for, but I'd be willing to bet that Sony will work towards taking that platform and intertwining it so much with the actual goods/services provided on it that you simply won't know the difference any more.
 
Exclusive games validate why I always go out and buy every new system, sadly this current generation has killed it. My ps3 has sat for years at a time w/o use, matter of fact the last time it was turned on it was so my daughter could watch a blu ray of smurfs while i had the other blu ray player tied up.

I pay for xbox live because I prefer it over PSN, if paying for psn made the service better I'd be down. On the other hand live just changed and I hate it.
 
targetrasp said:
Exclusive games validate why I always go out and buy every new system, sadly this current generation has killed it. My ps3 has sat for years at a time w/o use, matter of fact the last time it was turned on it was so my daughter could watch a blu ray of smurfs while i had the other blu ray player tied up.

I pay for xbox live because I prefer it over PSN, if paying for psn made the service better I'd be down. On the other hand live just changed and I hate it.

Bingo... it's relatively stupid that every system has the same game. It can be convenient... but what's the purpose of 3 different systems then? Absolutely nothing. Exclusives make or break a system... as well as the online interface and GUI of the system. It can create compition for games as well.

Bv :hat
 
Bluevoodu said:
but what's the purpose of 3 different systems then? Absolutely nothing.

Bv :hat
I don't know... When the Wii was the only system with prominent motion control, I think that sold more systems than exclusives did.
I think exclusives do play a big part (I bought my Wii for SSBB and my PS3 for MGS4) I wouldn't go as far to say it's the only thing that sells them, and it's not always the main selling point. imo

And even games that exist on multiplatforms can be fun in their own way. For example, I have Bad Company 2, Just Cause 2, and Resident Evil 5 on both PS3 and Steam. Sometimes I prefer to play with keyboard, sometimes I prefer a controller.
 
ThravRande said:
I don't know... When the Wii was the only system with prominent motion control, I think that sold more systems than exclusives did.
I think exclusives do play a big part (I bought my Wii for SSBB and my PS3 for MGS4) I wouldn't go as far to say it's the only thing that sells them, and it's not always the main selling point. imo

And even games that exist on multiplatforms can be fun in their own way. For example, I have Bad Company 2, Just Cause 2, and Resident Evil 5 on both PS3 and Steam. Sometimes I prefer to play with keyboard, sometimes I prefer a controller.

The console vs PC wasn't really in my discussion.... I too play games like that and buy doubles for console and PC. I do that exact same thing... sometimes I like to play on my PC and sometimes I like to play on my console.

And you are right... it's not the main selling point, but it is a big reason as to why one person buys a console over another... and a big reason as to why I own all 3 consoles.



BV :hat
 
Well, I was just using that as an example because I don't have a Wii or 360. But if there were a game I wanted for Wii and PS3, and I had a Wii and PS3, I might get it for both- One for playing with a controller, and one for playing with remote/nunchuck. Or if I had a 360, I might get it to use Kinect with.
 
targetrasp said:
Exclusive games validate why I always go out and buy every new system, sadly this current generation has killed it.

Why aren't you happy that you don't have to buy all 3 systems to play the games you want?