Sony Brings Up Monthly Fees Again

During an interview with Nikkei Japan, Sony's CTO Masayuki Chatani touches on the growing number of ways the PlayStation 3 has to accept payment, including the dreaded "monthly fees."

[Sangria]

"In addition to single-payment packaged software, there are also schemes like monthly fees or per-item charges."

I actually tend to believe he is talking about MMO fees and not Xbox Live-like fee, which would not be new. There are some MMOs in development on PS3 and it wont be surprising if Final Fantasy XIV had, like FFXI, had a monthly fee, while it can be interesting if DC Universe Online or The Agency would have premium items to sell (this is how MapleStory works. The MMO is free but premium stuff has a cost and MapleStory is still one of the most active free MMO since 5 years).

We have the proof Sony wants to release premium avatars since 3.00 update, and I think those ugly gray boxes will be customizable, with video game related skins for a buck or two.

[happyface]

sony wont charge for PSN, no one would pay for it in its current state :)

I expect them to charge for it with ps4 though so they can stop losing money and maybe make some profits

[vhero]

obviously they are not talking about charging for PSN they are talking about premium services and the new MMO's from Sony being released later next year. Of course Kotaku have turned into a 360 fanboy site and have totally took this the wrong way and twisted it on purpose to get the fanboys to rally.

[StanLee]

Sony can't and won't charge for PSN. To beginning charging users for service they already enjoy for free is a backward step that would bring a mountain of criticism.

[Pillage05]

I would feel so shafted if they started charging for online play. I doubt they will since they know that it was a major factor in consumers choosing their system over the competition. I have 2 ps3s in my house and I love it cause any of my friends can come over and start up their own psn account and keep their own stats when we play online and what not.

I'm curious how many people would pack up and head back to xbox if they did charge for online. I doubt I would... I would probably just stop playing online for a while.

[Menech]

@vhero

They seem to be doing a fairly good job to considering it got you annoyed enough to write all that. And it wouldn't just be MMO's there will have to be a premium layout. Phantasy Star Universe still charges monthly fee's on top of the xbox live subscription.

I hardly think they will follow the same path as the 360 and if the decide to use monthly fee's at all remains to be seen. But remember shareholders in Sony want to see nothing but profit and you can't try and say xbox live ain't a profit power house.

[Megaton]

Maybe it's because I've been an on-and-off PC gamer since before there even was internet, but I won't support anyone who charges fees for online play, period. It's fundamentally wrong.

If they're talking about the numerous MMO's they have coming out, I think they're gonna crash and burn unless they go the MapleStory route. The only way they could possibly succeed on consoles, is if they played in the same universe as PC gamers, creating a much larger hybrid PS3/PC user base for the games.

[lowcarb]

In the past Phil Harrison spoke about (sorry no links) charging as well as Kaz. It would suck for the average online fanboy but the real gamers that would want to take online more serious it would be good for. It's going to eventually come and I bet people will say there not for it but be the 1st ones getting it. Many things start off free and you can bet Sony will try to make more money. With all of those users on PSN you can't tell me that more than half would pay a fee of 30 a year.

edit: Disagree all you want folks it's coming!

[Menech]

@Xiphos

World of Warcraft says HI the biggest and most profitable MMO in the world and guess what it uses monthly fee's. Any real MMO player knows Monthly fee MMO's are much better the premium store MMO's.

Simply because you can't have some uber nerd spend 400 dollars a week on premium items and own everyone online. Everyone's on a level playing field with monthly fee's.

Not the mention the whole PC/PS3 server hybrid thing is complete nonsense. Every mainstream MMO splits there servers up into small groups anyway. PS3/PC only servers would be much easier to manage. And it there wasn't enough payer base to support atleast 4 or 5 PS3 only servers it wouldn't be profitable to develop for the PS3 to being with.

If your going to speak for the MMO industry atleast understand it first. Using a lame piece of software like maple story as your example speaks for its self.

[Megaton]

@lowcarb - "It would suck for the average online fanboy but the real gamers that would want to take online more serious it would be good for."

Yeah, cause paying fees for the same online service that used to be free totally means you're a real gamer who wants to take gaming seriously. Only real gamers pay unnecessary fees.

@Menech

How many dozens of P2P MMO's have risen and fallen in the 5 years MapleStory has continued to thrive? Just about all of them. WoW is the one and only P2P MMO that flourishes through it all.

Besides that, cool rant, bro.

[IdleLeeSiuLung]

MS has repeatedly shown that they sell a service and that is were the future is. IBM did this with great success and got out of the PC business as well.

I'm looking forward to see what Sony is bringing to the table.

[zeeshan]

Some idiots STILL keep saying that "I won't pay for PSN" while Sony has OFFICIALLY confirmed that they WON'T charge you a penny to play online games. They are planning a premium service. That's it. They might offer free movie downloads, free game downloads from PSN or perhaps free DLC of Sony's first party games and all of this is coming from my imagination as in free movies, games, DLC etc. It might be something completely different but I KNOW for a fact that they won't be charging me for playing my multiplayer games online on PSN.

Sony has already confirmed that when/if they bring up a new premium serivce, it's a completely different option, one that is NOT mendatory to play your games online.

[Alcon Caper]

so what would happen if they DID start charging? Essentially, PS3 owners wouldn't have a choice given their investment into their system, their library of games, and their hatred of MS.

Sony would be in a perfect position to start charging more money because the attach rate for whatever system you use is so high.

Besides, Kaz, himself, said that the profits for the consoles come primarily from software and peripherals. This would be a major profit maker for Sony. And they know that it's an opportunity they could take hold of...

[darthv72]

I can see sony creating a psn that would be subscription based in the sense that it would not only have the features of existing psn but also unrestricted online access to upcoming betas or discounts on games/media.

Not exactly the same but similar to how gamestop has their edge system. Yes you can go in and buy whatever over the counter, or if you pay the fee and become a member you get discounts on used stuff and special promos that non members dont get.

If they were to somehow create a restriction to online play in the sense of game size (number of players) on the free psn and then make it so you are able to play at maximum players on the subscription side of psn. It would be the same as what lots of pc gamers have a choice of. Free online but to a more limited size of the game or you become a member and can play on any game size or server.

I would sign up if it meant getting games in the store for 10-15% off. They have to create incentive to sign up. Only those really interested in what the paid service offers sign up and pay. Others who are satisfied with the free can remain free.

In either case, online would still be available which is more than what can be said about live.

[Noctis Aftermath]

I hope they don't go the monthly fee route, i'd rather pay $40-$60 for a 12 month subscription.

[sikbeta]

WOW, you are really annoying kid

current state? WTH is that suppose to mean?

"-but...but It doesn't have teh Crozz Gamez Chatz"

lol, you play games on Live or just trying to find someone with enough strength to bear with you more than 5 minutes

Then, xboyz say Live is not ruled by Whiny Kids lol

On-Topic

Sony will not charge for PSN, I'm sure there is going to be Premium Service

[cyberwaffles]

this premium service is kind of confusing me. i mean there is already the qore subscriptions so why would there be another premium service unless sony got rid of it? i don't see the point of having Qore and this new service existing at the same time.

[badz149]

and most of the time, only NA and Japan got the best features, just like LIVE! so, I won't pay a dime for online play, period!

[Capdastaro]

Business is business I guess.

[divideby0]

I dont even go to Kotaku...which should be renamed Kotaku-360....
over the past 6 months the site has gone downhill do to its bias, if I wanted to read BS like that I would go to Teamxbox, the worst fan site on the net..

[happyface]

reporting on sony's failures isn't bias, its called reporting the news

Sony is just good at making this kind of news lately :D

[table]

It is bias though when they twist something that could easily be reported as being positive into something that is negative. I'm not pointing fingers but there are definately some sites out there with an anti-ps3 agenda. Take the ps3 sales for example; some of the media perception is that it has sold slowly compared to the 360 when in reality it has sold faster and is the 3rd fastest selling console in history. The point is that the media can choose whether or not to make it positive/negative or fail/success article.

[sikbeta]

"its called reporting the news "

Yeah...right

Like the article from Sept/Oct of M$ doing BAD in Japan that get a "failed approval" status on this site

Reporting news when is convenientent for you guy, that's why we had a sh*tload of "PS3 doomz" articles everywhere and the FUNNY thing is that those "articles" weren't even real news, just Biased and Haters OPINIONS

[happy_gilmore]

that site is full of xbot writers and readers..

dreaded "monthly fees." have gytako descirbed XBL's subrcription like that?

[CARRIERHASARRIVED]

Why don't they just give people ads and keep it free?

[Elven6]

They do have ads to a certain extent, items that are highlighted on the market place are most probably because the publishers paid for it. Home has ads in it as well, I guess to a certain extent we can see Qore as an ad.

[CARRIERHASARRIVED]

Why not just create tons of clothing for avatars that are say, Nike-branded, y'know? Give Nike a cut, gives them advertising for free, and Sony takes a cut from it. Things like that, real-life licensed products. They could make up the money from those and avoid a sub fee model entirely if they went 100% with that idea..

[hoo_mook]

I don't think Kotaku twisted the story. Sony is trying to find ways to improve their bottomline through a subscription service.

They'd be insane to charge for multiplayer now but MMO fees wouldn't be out of the question.

[n4gno]

Happy donkey is probably a regular kotaju's reader :)

Stop believing all the bullcraps, sony failure is only in your poor head (GOTY, twice on ps3, best hardware, best games, bluray victory, free online play, etc = epic fail for ms)

"sony wont charge for PSN, no one would pay for it in its current state :)"

You are right, ps3 players don't want to pay for the kind of thing happy sheeps like you are paying (psn is the same thing than xbl)
:)

[bacon13]

above = fanboy

[raztad]

OK bacon, way to "counter" the post saying absolutely nothing. Pretty typical.

If you are looking for fanboys, I can point out some trying to convince PS3 owners Kotaku is a reliable source and Sony has a dark agenda of charging for PSN.

[bacon13]

@raztad

wow, good going on being way too serious. It's a video game forum. Lighten up.

[raztad]

Yeah you may be right. I said something similar to someone no too long ago. Going back to work. Have fun.

[Elven6]

I could see this happening in MMO's, although it has been a while since I've played a Sony MMO, don't they have something called Galaxy Pass where you pay a monthly fee of $24.99 or something to that extent and have access to all Sony MMO's?

Sony is attempting to port some of their first party MMO's to the PS3, I could see such a service making its way to the PSN if need be.

[Menech]

Wrong place, Sorry people.

[Bodyboarder_VGamer]

I don't know, as long as I can chat and play with my friends while playing online, that's all I need. I prefer a free crappy online(PSN) than a better one but paying(XBL).

$50 a year is not that much but when you're poor every penny has much value. I know that there are people that buy like 50 games per year but I can only buy one per month or maybe less. So from the 9to10 games I get every year I'll need to subtract one(8-9) to pay for the online.

[NYC_Gamer]

i wouldnt mind paying 50 bucks long as they give us alot of extras...and not like on xbl where u pay and get nothing accept p2p online play..

[massapeal]

if they are going to do this its not going to work well with the fan they should have it in the begging not now it make them look real bad and they are saying Monthly Fees 360 has it for 3 moths 20$ and a 1 year for 50$ come on sony just give it up just keep the games coming stop trying to be like Microsoft u don't see the Nintendo doing this so just stop....

[gotgame1985]

dam now i see this truly is a Sony fanboy site a Sony co says something about a monthly fee and there are hardly any comments a hour after it is post but let m patcher say something about live pricing and every son fan will be on it like they just received that info from bill gates him self. now been someone who own every console can someone please give me legetiment reason while u should favor one console over the other, I mean serially for the like of me i don't see how if you can afford it and miss out on gears, splinter cell,
and halo on the one hand. and god of war, and uncharted on the other hand.

[Budg3tG4m3r]

Sounds like Live, not that thats a bad thing. Some people don't tend to forget Sony is sinking alot of money into PSN, their going to want some of that back. After all Sony is a buisness and Sony is in this to make money.

[kneon]

They make money off of every bit of DLC, media, theme etc that you buy on PSN. Whether it's running at a profit I'm sure we'll never know. But like every other business they always need to see where they can increase revenue. If a premium PSN offered compelling features, services and content then I'd be willing to pay a reasonable fee. I'd be willing to pay if they just put in network based backup of my game saves such that I can log in from any PS3 and continue from where I left off. That alone is worth $10-20/year.

[Budg3tG4m3r]

A premium service PSN is a good thing IMO it would even help Xbox owners. What ever Sony offers would cause MS to up their game and maybe lower the price. I know fanboys hate this kind of news because it forces them to support the very thing they bashed for years. I like PSN but I think it could be more.

[Knightofelemia]

I wouldn't pay monthly I can see a fee the PSN store charges but if it is the premium package thats been rumored I would pay yearly. If Sony does go that route i hope they do what Microsoft does and hand out yearly cards I won't be giving out my credit card number to anyone. If they start charging for online play then no I won't pay they claimed it was free from day one of the release of the console.

[tudors]

I cannot believe some of you would not pay a little per year to get a service like Xbox-live, you want Sony to be the best but you are not prepared to pay so that they can achieve it.

[SpinalRemains138]

Theres no dedicated servers and they force ads on you anyway. It goes against all common sense. Unless your judgement is clouded by Halo.

Ok Im kidding. Seriously though I think charging for online play is completely out of line. Just because corporations can make money off an idea doesn't instantly make it a good idea. SONY has a large fan base that has stayed with it because they understand this.

[etownone]

MS sells the 360 for a profit, while Sony still sells PS3 at a loss

MS charges $50 a year for LIVE, Sony's PSN is free

MS charges too much for accesories like HDD and wi-fi, and Sony includes both in the PS3

MS charges for themes and avatar clothing, Sony does not.

MS has a much higher attach rate of games per console compared to Sony.

Its known this site is overrun by rabbid Sony fans, but you kids gotta admit that from a business standpoint, MS is doing great this gen compared to Sony. FACT.

[rezenu]

You're both bad. Your rant is anything but intelligent.

[Budg3tG4m3r]

rezenu he does make a few good points. If you put your pride away you could see that.

[Alcon Caper]

i just don't understand why Sony didn't look into the future and see that they would need a steady cash flow to maintain and improve their network.

servers cost MONEY:

"Servers and the like have running costs, and we would face difficulties if our business depended solely on the sell-and-forget model."

They're just NOW doing something about this?

[rezenu]

I'm sorry but *my* pride? Really? It just seems to me that Kotaku is twisting things to their own liking. But whatever, believe what you wish to believe.

There seems to be a lot of misinterpretation that's going on around here. Perhaps people should wait and see what Sony does instead of jumping to conclusions?

You know, that would be a good idea.

[etownone]

Please enlighten us what Sony plans to do since you obviously know something the rest of us don't.

And also how can you disagree with the facts I pointed out? I would love to hear your "intelligent" comeback.

[Dorwrath]

I though in HOME if you wanted different clothes to whats provided you had to pay? I haven't got many clothes to choose from, but presumed you had to pay to get more?

[NotSoSilentBob]

MS making a Profit on every 360 sold? That is a Lie Flat out and I will call you on that. MS knows Sonys model of Loose on the Console Gain on the Games/Accessories. There is no way MS is getting any profit from 360s sold.

[rezenu]

I know what I read.

Sony is offering premium services for people who want to use the services. Free services are still available. I've been hearing that for some time now, even before I joined here.

You seem to hate the PS3 with a passion. I wonder what a piece of plastic ever did to you.

[etownone]

LOL!!
" piece of plastic"

anyways, if anything I was pointing out how GREAT a value the ps3 is compared to the 360!

But from a business perspective....MS is really doing GREAT compared to Sony.

[TheTruth2009]

All we've heard all generation is:
"PS3 FTW!"
"Sony CARES about gamers in general!"
"Sony PS3 is the best platform to game on!"
"PS3 is the greatest console on Earth!"

Okay. Let's say that you TRULY believe that.

Why wouldn't YOU as a Sony PS3 supporter pay a small fee to support the company that has graced you with some of the best gaming of your lifetime?

Why wouldn't you help them recoup some of the $4.7 Billion dollars lost from releasing the PS3?

I know why. Because it would take one of the "weapons" out of your arsenal when trying to convince Joe Public that the PS3 matters. That's ALL this is. Hypocrisy at its finest.

They gave you Wifi. For free.
Home. For free.
A Web Browser. For free.
BluRay. For free.
Online Gaming. For free.

And now they potentially may be asking for a small fee from you to support the cause. And you say "No". Even though they are BLEEDING money right now.

Sony is in trouble.
Their fanbase won't buy their games.
They won't support the system.
And they won't pay fees.

But they'll yell that "PS3 is the best".

If there was a way to monetize and quantify PS3 Fan hypocrisy and B.S., Sony would be rich beyond their wildest dreams.

Hypocrites.

[lh_swe]

Maybe you should turn those astute analytical capabilities on yourself for once.

[djfullshred]

I don't play online hardly ever, so I wouldn't pay monthly fees for PSN so I could download games or a movie that I want to purchase. That would be like paying a cover charge to be able to shop at a store, which of course makes no business sense.

[Dorwrath]

I'm curious guys and please don't get all mad.

What if Sony decided to charge say $5 a month for PSN? Would you pay it?

I'm just curious guys, not trying to piss people off. I own all three consoles and I wouldn't like paying for PSN. Mainly because most 99% of my friends are on live and it would force me to make a choice as right now I can have the best of both worlds.

Not saying this is gonna happen, just what if.

[beavis4play]

i bought the hardware and i'll buy games......but that's it.

[Darkshader]

@Dorwrath

If SONY will require PS3 owner to pay ... it will still free and not mandatory just to play games.

Now my question to you, what if MS ask you to pay more than $5/month ... let say $7/month. Would you still pay for it or dedicate all your money and resources to PS3 now?

[NotSoSilentBob]

It has been stated by Kaz that all current PSN service/Features will remain free. I have a feeling that Cross game chat will be a Premium service. It sucks to say/type that but it is something that quite a few people want.

[rawd]

Oh Kunt-taco

[jalen247]

I am interested in seeing what these additional services entail. I don't mind paying a small fee for access to premium content like an all you can eat style model where you can rent movies and games as you want.
But, I will absolutely not pay for what I currently get for free!

[Darkshader]

PSN free?
Yup i still believe that PSN will be free to play online or against other players.

If SONY will charge lets say $1-$5/month that will be:
- Cross Chat
- Beta Testers
- Exclusive DL Content
- Avatars
- Exclusive clothing, furniture, trophy room, apartment for HOME
- Discounts prices for downlable Movies and maybe PSN games or PS3 games
- Dedicated servers for Multiplayer games
- Watch Anime, TV series and Sports
- Free shipping if you buy PS3 games from SONY

something like that ... =)

[kewlkat007]

change/tweak their business model.

Ms came out and charge for services they provide and it has been successful. Sony can only look over and be pissed.

Imagine if Sony came out with $20 month fee for PSN, its not like every PS3 gamer would jump on the PC or something. Though the choice is there. They wouldn't have to back peddle, if that's what its looking like in the future.

This is a FN business and a network need to be maintained. Ads/Marketing can only get you so far. This is not the Internet/Google where you get to market to every demographics unlike on a gaming console limited to just gamers.

[Shendow]

In stand of talking bad about the PS3 now, they talk about how PSN is going to cost. Yeah if they make it cost, then they be shooting themselfs in the foot.

But if they did something of the line of pay to get more out of your online or just play for free online, that I could see happening.

[Bigpappy]

Unless you are loaded. But these Sony fans thing they are entitled to free online service at Sony's expense. May be they should make UC2 free also, then some of you may buy it.

[Shendow]

Last I check, Sony doesn't pay for the online but developers that want to be apart of the PSN paid for it. And if that is how it works, then who cares then, don't be mad that you have to pay for things.

Because I don't have to pay to play online, I can buy the 399 dollars of games I want for Feb, an every other month.

[CARRIERHASARRIVED]

It'd be cool if they were to charge for MMO's, and created a separate service for them all. Like pay a sub fee, play any MMO's they host that you want as much as you want.

[kagon01]

http://www.vg247.com/2009/1...

They just make an incomplete report just to spread fear between gamers. pffft...