360°

Sony's Patrick Seybold Makes Dig Against Live Price Increase, Outlines PSN Free Services

Earlier today, Microsoft announced they would be increasing the price of Xbox Live on November 1st and reactions have been mixed over the announcement. In a release from Microsoft, they made mention of some new features Live would introduce later this year to make Live worthwhile and show they are expanding the service with these new features. Sony's Patrick Seybold is now making a slight dig at Xbox Live.

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Hallmark Moment5021d ago

LOL Sony is worried, they should know better after charging for PSN because the service can not evolve without money.

Motorola5021d ago

Keep defending it. It wont be long before they pull a stunt that you cant defend. And its not a pun, he cant speak for all of Sony. So fix the title or gtfo

ChineseDemocracy5021d ago (Edited 5021d ago )

Halo Reach release in less than 2 weeks, from a business standpoint this is genius.

Unless they're adding some new features this makes no sense whatsoever, screwing over their customers again. Try and hold on to your exclusives next time Microsoft.

OSU_Gamer5021d ago

Although it sucks that MS is raising prices, they have quite an understandable reason for doing so:

Supply and Demand

People are willing to pay for it and demand the service so MS will keep raising the price.

Like I said, I completely hate the fact that MS is doing it because it costs me more money, but truth is....I will probabaly keep buying it.

Chubear5021d ago (Edited 5021d ago )

You guys will defend ANYTHING from MS to the death uh? WOW!

THIS is a good move? and great thing for 360gamers? REALLY?!?!? wow, just wow.

NYPunkster5021d ago

Oh snap Patrick just clowned Live users. muahahaha

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 5021d ago
Philoctetes5021d ago

Yes, I'm sure Sony is terrified that its competitor raised the price it charges for a feature that Sony offers for free.

darthv725021d ago

While they can make a dig at this situation, it also gives them ideas that raising costs of the membership is not totally out of the picture. They could raise their membership price to match and in doing that, make it seem more worthwhile in the process by making the free side a bit more restricted.

The more you take away from the free side and make it seem more like perks for the members, the more it makes the free side not as attractive. It isnt sony that is worried but the free members and current paid members are the ones that are worried.

Both companies are after the same $$$ and will make their paid services look as appealing as they can to justify the prices. MS just happens to be a bit more direct about it.

SpitFireAce855021d ago

Prime example why Microsoft will increase XBlive
pricing.And why devs put out DLC that should have
been on the disc in the first place or how they
sell you rehashed maps that you played a year ago...

Hey Hallmark some of us have more important things
to pay for like Medicare,electric bill,mortgage etc

bustamove5021d ago (Edited 5021d ago )

Brb...lol'ing at your comment now. Yeah, Sony's worried alright. They have to worry about a tiger, some creepy kid named Milo and some weird tech that doesn't even work correctly. Oh yeah, and XBL.

Sure. Cool story bro.

pippoppow5021d ago

Those in charge love the Hallmarkmomemnts of the world. Just keep on taking it. Maybe XBL next gen will be $100. I'm sure you'll love it.

moparful995021d ago

Dude get your facts straight. Psn is still 100% free, they have a complimentary service called ps+ (playstation plus) that is optional and has a ton of additional content that you can subscribe to.. Psn's core online experience has always and will always be free... It just burns you up inside that sony is growing and perfecting psn and finding ways to do so without charging their customers while microsoft cannot continue to grow xbl without raising memebership fees.. LOl fail..

JD_Shadow5020d ago

Wait...so Sony is FORCING us to pay for PS Plus?

And increasing Live's price ISN'T "desperation"?

I would LOVE to know your logic!

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 5020d ago
Omega45021d ago

Don't see why Sony is mocking MS, MS makes a killing from Live and will continue to do so even with the hike.

Its amazing Sony still keeps PSN free but you know if Sony charged $60 for PSN no one would buy it, unlike Live and that says a lot about the quality of the two services.

Philoctetes5021d ago

Besides the party system and cross-game chat, how are XBL and PSN different?

8-bit5021d ago

We all know Sony is working on x game chat and when it is released XBL subscriptions will be a complete joke

OSU_Gamer5021d ago (Edited 5021d ago )

the community

The majority of people are playing multiplat online games such as MW2 on XBL.

It doesn't justify the price increase, but that makes XBL a better choice for a lot of people.

Add in Halo:Reach online community and I think that gives a lot of gamers reason to keep XBL around.

skrug5021d ago

dedicated servers... on PSN

wtf!?!

SpitFireAce855021d ago

Well 8.3 mill copies of MW2 sold on the PS3
disagree with you... and an average of 250-300k
players online 24/7/365

PS.You just keep paying that live sub and before
you know it you'll be paying $20 a month on top
of your DSL/Cable bill... it used to be its only
$3-4 a month what now? its only twice that.

OSU_Gamer5021d ago (Edited 5021d ago )

OK great I'm wrong. But when a lot of people amke the decision to pick XBL or PSN if they know that a lot of friends play on XBL they will pick XBL.

all but one of my friends use XBL. I choose XBL. I also choose PSN..but I wouldn't if it wasn't free. I think PSN is great and rivals XBL feature wise, but if it wasn't free a lot of those features don't matter because in the end I wouldn't pay to game with one friend.

Not to mention you didn't respond to Halo Reach. Halo Reach will likely compete with the online numbers of MW2.

moparful995020d ago

Lol YOu got owned with your modern warfare 2 statment and then you turn around and use the friend excuse.. First of all sony doesn't advertise the soul out of a game and they still manage to sell 2,3, even 4 million copies of their biggest titles... Modern warfare 2 had so much hype and advertising. Ohh as far as friends go Most of my friends have 360's but I bought my ps3 because it was the best choice for me not because everyone did it.. That kind of mentality is why people make bad decisions.. I find it funny too because most of the people that only have 360's they bash ps3's despite never really playing one. They automatically dismiss them regardless of how good it is.. I dont know what it is about you 360 owners but you have this aire about you like you're better then everyone else just because you own a 360.. You never admit when microsoft makes a mistake and you pounce on everything sony related that can be miscontrued in a negative manner... I'm glad I dont own a 360, people like you make me sick..

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Optical_Matrix5021d ago

Lol people would pay for it. Because that would mean, just like with XBL, they are FORCED to pay to play online. However bad that is. But what makes XBL so much better. To this day no one has answered. Cross Game chat and party chat? wtf

OSU_Gamer5021d ago (Edited 5021d ago )

people answer, you guys just ignore them

ThanatosDMC5021d ago

And that would be? cross game chat?

OSU_Gamer5021d ago (Edited 5021d ago )

I use both PSN and XBL so It's not like I pledge my allegiance to only one online service.

But XBL is still worth it to me.

XBLA Arcade titles
X-Game Chat
Still a lot better user interface for invites and messages.
Voice messages
99% My friends play on XBL
Halo, Gears

I'm not arguing that PSN is better than XBL. Because I don't think its the case. But it is definitely worth it for me to have both.

I love the PSN titles.
I love browser.
I love that its free.
UC2, KZ3...

You cannot sit here and tell people that they are wrong for choosing XBL.
Each service may have benefits for each individual more so than the other service.

If you have more friends on PSN...then go with PSN.

I spend a TON of time playing games online with friends on XBL. I think that makes it worth the same amount as one grande Starbucks coffee a month.

Edit:

I would also (like anyone) rather pay $0 for XBL...but that doesn't make it not worth the amound I am currently paying.

ZombieNinjaPanda5021d ago

@Omega

It says nothing of the quality of the service. I guarantee you that if Microsoft offered silver for free, they would lose half or more of their subscribers.

It's simple, people want to play online on the 360, the only way to do that is to pay. I know many people that wish Live was free, some pay, others don't.

Baka-akaB5021d ago

If the service was any better , PC folks would have accepted live . They didnt because they know the servers aint better , their p2p hosting not better , and all of their services are free with the same and better quality .

Azazel5021d ago

Wow, are you serious? Noone would pay for the PSN if SONY charged for it? I bet people would pay, as it is the console with the most capabilities software and hardware wise. You are just a xbox fanboy thinking your opinion is correct. XD

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 5020d ago
PirateThom5021d ago

That isn't a pun.

But I'm glad to see the usuals are out defending wallet rape.

ActionBastard5021d ago

Indeed. Personally, I take my savings from not having to pay for Live and buy games, or hell, a PS+ subscription. At least I'm actually getting something.

jambabie695020d ago

take my usual 50 give plus a try instead of giving that 50 to ms. either way im out 50 bucks, but atleast i'll be giving plus a try and giving some revenue to sony so they can continue to update/enhance psn if they choose too.

with my 50-60 going to ms i know its going for nothing but online play. i do not use the other shit they have put on there. hell even if i did im ona pc right now, why the hell would i give them money for things i have right here if i want for free?

sure it's "only 10 more dollars a year" but it's the damn principal of it all. maybe i'm just going crazy but i just can't see anyone defending this-

if anything for competition sake ms should be doing the opposite! i dunno maybe i need to start drinking 24-7 just to understand some people on heres train of thought. some comments in here are just whoa and a wow!

i been bitching about it and i can renew mine next month for 50 so it wouldn't effect me til next year, but it's the principal behind all this to me. maybe i am missing something..........

peace

Raoh5021d ago

agreed

you should see the g4tv forums full of people actually happy its raised

Garrus_Vakarian5021d ago

Are you serious? They're HAPPY that the price went up? Wow...

XxZxX5021d ago

what???!!!! happy to pay..... there is no recession

Raoh5021d ago

here are a few of the comments onm g4tv, probably the same as on here and probably by the same people

theantigzus
its understandable i mean cost of living, taxes everyhthing goes up in time so im not shocked, besides they did a great job getting people hooked on their online service, so me personally i wouldnt start using my PS3 more just because of an extra $10

Boogie1188
I'd rather pay $$ to experience all that XBL has to offer than play the PSN for free.

Sukimaki
everything goes up after a while and i look at it from a monthly thing when i buy year 60 bucks thats 5 bucks a month so i am not really bummed

drane10
While its not enough to make me stop using Xbox Live, it is slightly annoying that I'll be paying for services that I will rarely use (i.e. Kinect, Netflix, Last.fm). The only thing I use Gold for is multiplayer and the occasional facebook post...

nix5021d ago

wow... are ppl really that daft????

P_Bomb5021d ago (Edited 5021d ago )

They're all singing the same song 'bout how everything goes up. Someone tell them we're talking about videogames, where the price on hardware and software etc tends to go DOWN over time, not up. Heck, XBox360 just had a price cut.

We paid $59.99 and 69.99 for new NES games like Metroid and Kid Icarus back in 1987. In 23 years it hasn't even gone up.

Redempteur5020d ago

it's a new low then ..

i'm paying more for the same thing ...let's rejoice !!!

/s

jambabie695020d ago (Edited 5020d ago )

in the real world their is alcoholics, drug addicts, crack heads, i guess their also should be xbox live addicts added to the mix.

i was once addicted to online gaming, when i first got live in jan of 05 i was like damn! but in the last while i just weined myself off. started playing my ps3 more, and i use psn some, but more times than none i play single player more these days. just by choice, i still throw in mag from time to time and resistance 2. btw i need to update mag.....(been playing red dead, and i just finished heavy rain a couple weeks ago)

i think i need to open a "xbox live rehab facility" for some of these in the world. thing is ms would try to shut me down for taking away some of their business lol.

edit- to bustamove- no shit! i don't get it either.

edit 2- to redempteur- EXACTLY some in here finally get it, god damn i thought i was going crazy! thanks dude! have a bubble :) for reassuring me im not going insane!

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 5020d ago
bustamove5021d ago

...People are happy that it's being raised? WTH, did I just step into bizarro land?

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150°

Sony CEO says although AI "has been used for creation," it's "not a substitute for human creativity"

"AI is not a substitute for human creativity. We position it as a technology that supports creativity. Creativity resides in people. We will continue to contribute to people's creativity through technology," the CEO said.

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gamesradar.com
1nsomniac5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

...not yet but 100% within the next 10 years!

..Then Sony will use it like the drop of a hat. They're no different to the others.

isarai5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

They used to be 😞 sure it was always a business, and money's always the priority, but they used to have a very strong stance on supporting artists and creativity. "Dont f#@k with the artist" was a phrase they touted a few times back in the ps1-ps3 era, a philosophy carried over from their music branch PlayStation was created from. It's not COMPLETELY gone, but it's barely there compared to what it was back then, i just want them to return to that.

Eonjay4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

I am highly encouraged by their statement about human creativity. "Dont f#@k with the artist" is exactly what they are saying. But at the same time, I don't think people understand that Sony is a corporation. If they don't realize growth, they don't get to exist. When you say 'Sony', you are talking about a bunch of investors. To speak about them any other way is a illogical and incorrect. They haven't changed. They have been a group of investors since they became a public business.

isarai5d ago

Ugh, i really wish people would stop gambling people's livelihoods by turning a project/game into their political soapbox. Im all for statements and having your own opinion, but there's more people working on this than just druckman, ham fisting your political beliefs onto just seems inconsiderate for everyone elses job security when it can result in a failure due to people avoiding it for that reason.

I play games for escape, im so tired of nearly every AAA game blatantly dragging real world issues to shove in my face when I'm trying to take a break from it all. They don't even bother to be subtle about it, quite the opposite, it's blasted and force fed to you and it's just getting exhausting

Einhander19725d ago

People are taking a whole interview and cutting it down to clips that make him look bad and take what he actually was saying out of context. For example he also said things like this AI has "ethical issues we need to address"

-Foxtrot5d ago

@Einhander

Why defend him at this point?

It’s not taking things out of context, he said what he said.

Old ND would never talk about soulless AI taking over so many creative things they are well known for. The whole “ethical issues” is just a good PR spin people who push this crap fall back on to make their statements not seem as bad. So many AI lovers do this.

AI has no place is so many creative based things.

Einhander19725d ago

Well yeah, because everyone else is using it so they need to stay competitive. It's the same as paid online, they didn't want to go that route but their competition was making so much money they needed to add paid online just to keep up.

RaiderNation4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

AI will never replace humans in game development in terms of conceptualizing new games. Humans still need to come up with the ideas and what they want to implement. However much of the day to day menial coding could be AI driven to reduce production time and team size. I could also see AI being used for bug testing/optimization that could lead to better quality games at launch. I'm actually very optimistic about how AI can positively impact game development.

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XiNatsuDragnel5d ago

Good statement but hopefully this holds up

NotoriousWhiz5d ago

People that aren't software developers just don't understand the benefits of AI. People who's only exposure to A.I is the Terminator movie and other related sci fi films won't understand the benefits it provides.

It's not about replacing human labor. It's about making human labor easier.

Many years ago, I had laser eye surgery done. It was performed by a robot. The doctor took my measurements and calibrated the machine to make sure it would do what needed be done. And then the robot corrected my vision in 10 seconds.

15 years later and I still have 20/20 vision.

Eonjay5d ago

AI in and of itself is not a 'bad'. Money is bad. Money is evil, and corporations will do whatever they can to get more of it. They will find ways to implement AI to replace as may jobs as possible. This isn't even up for debate. It is the charge of the corporation to maximize returns for the investors. They have no choice. I'm a developer and I know that my job will absolutely be replaced. Therefore, I have decided to become an AI dev. AI has a lot of potential to help us solve problem on a scale most can't even imagine. The issue, as ever is that our monetary system only ever allows us to focus on greed and fiscal growth.

But I am a pragmatist. Perhaps an AI model can be built to help protect us from our most dangerous instincts and habits. And perhaps Congress can pass laws to protect us from people who would use AI to manipulate and control us (spoiler: they wont).

RaiderNation4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

Progress is inevitable. Nobody driving cars today is complaining that the horse and buggy is no longer around. Yes, some jobs will be lost but guess what? With innovation comes new job opportunities. It's how the cycle of the job market works.

150°

Sony Patents To Prevent You From In-Game Harassment By Reading Your Emotions

A new patent recently published by Sony wants to gather biometric data of gamers to track whether one is being harassed using AI tools.

Profchaos34d ago (Edited 34d ago )

I hope this is one of those patents that never comes to fruition.

I already dislike the fact you can pay a significant amount for a online service buy associated games and content on said service and get banned from that service over potentially a misunderstanding the bans are already handed out for flimsy reasons

I'd rather see money invested in a ban that simply removes the offensive players ability to communicate with unknown players allow them to continue party chats with friends but not with Joe blow on cod.

exputers34d ago

Agreed. Blizzard recently banned a college Overwatch 2 player who's dependent for saying "shit." Pretty harsh.

Profchaos33d ago (Edited 33d ago )

How rediculas really. You can't say a word that's allowed in most PG films and prime time TV but the game is based around killing the enemy team using guns, explosives etc.

It's just backwards.

just_looken33d ago

What your talking about is called block list

In 2006 a spaceship dropped of the playstation 3/xbox 360 i say that that generation was the last great gen with game functions/tech that has yet to comeback

Anyhow the playstation 3 if you block listed a id they could not talk to you in chatroom with either text or voice. But that was pre mind fucked 2018 when people were more human than sheep.

But hey gta 6 is coming out billion dollar budget without a single player custom character creator and without singeplayer coop off/online something saints row 1-3 had on the xbox 360.

z2g34d ago

Take my social security and bank account numbers too! Here’s a picture of my wife and our address.

phoenixwing33d ago

Cmon where's the pictures of your children. Don't hold out on them.

H933d ago

At this rate I feel Sony will eventually sell a room to play games in it where they can monitor your every breath

jambola33d ago

I genuinely get a bit worried sometimes when a friend says something that could be offensive In a party
Because I have no trouble believing some bans would happen when in a private party for saying something wrong

SegaSaturn66933d ago

I want them to censor erotic content by measuring my groin temperature so i dont get too distracted while playing black ops 2.

Popsicle33d ago

Terrible idea. Not only do I not consent to providing my biometric data, the potential for mishandling biometric data is almost a certainty. Positive stress and negative stress can produce similar changes in biometrics. Interpreting the precise emotion a person is feeling is not only invasive but could be easily misconstrued. I hope this never comes to fruition.

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130°

Sony Could Increase Your Game's Difficulty If It Sees You Complain About It

Sony has recently published a new patent that wants to dynamically handle the games' difficulty and gameplay based on the player's emotions.

jznrpg34d ago

This is something I might use. Sometimes I play some good games but they don’t have difficulty option and are a little too easy.

Profchaos34d ago

Souls games will be like that players struggling make it harder

PassNextquestion34d ago (Edited 34d ago )

I think if used correctly it could work well

jambola34d ago

cool idea
cool idea for horror games especially
the way it's explained here sounds like it could never be forced hopefully, so that's ok with me

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