Paid subscription a possibility for the future of PlayStation Network

[BrewCityUpstart]

Paying for a subscription would certainly seem to be a possibility, especially as the long-rumored feature upgrades come filing into the PlayStation Network. When speaking with Geoff Keighley on the latest edition of Gametrailers' Bonus Round, Eric Lempel spoke about the PlayStation Network's current free service and that, "in time, anything can change." Comparing the PlayStation Network to Microsoft's Xbox Live service, Lempel, Sony's director of Network Operations reconfirmed "we're working on an achievements system," describing its inclusion as "an important feature." Voice-chat across all games is also something (thankfully) that Mr. Lempel touched base on, saying "talking across games ... definitely builds momentum for games and actually migrate(s) users to other games and keeps you in touch with your gaming community." We couldn't agree more.

Exactly when these implementations will make it to a PS3 near you, via firmware upgrade, is uncertain. "It's not in the next firmware update but it's something we're working on," says Mr. Lempel. We certainly hope so, though we are catching wind of the potential trade-off here. What do you think? Would you pay a subscription fee (similar to Xbox Live) for a plan that allows cross-game invites, built-in voice chat for all multiplayer games and a similar achievement points implementation? Or would you rather say the heck with all that, and voice to keep the PlayStation Network free for all, setting it apart from Microsoft's Xbox Live service? link

[Woundup]

I am very happy with Xbox's live service and therefore have no desire or need to pay for another service.

[Peench]

I hate to say it, but I wonder what the die hard Sony gaming masses are thinking about this? I read pages upon pages in the GAP forums of people bashing MS for charging for their Live service and how Sony cares for gamers more because they offered it for free. If Sony starts charging, they're going to have to eat some serious crow. Wow.

Frankly there's no way it will remain free forever. They need to support their infrastructure and the future upgrades financially somehow. Maybe they'll lower the price of the console and charge for the PSN to offset the loss on the console or something.

What is good about all this is that Sony is really looking at what gamers love about XBL and trying to drop in those cool features. I hope they can do it.

[grife]

free vs. Ad supported is another, less taken route. I agree that sony would have to change it at some point system maintenance is not the cheapest thing in the world. There are other options than direct subscription, its just the most effective.

Good luck to sony, inclusion of an achievement system would upgrade PSN in my estimation.