What The PS4’s Paid Online PS Plus Service Really Means

"With E3 over, the dust has finally settled and it’s time for the triumphant return of Daily Reaction. Today, Seb and Dan discuss the most controversial announcement from Sony at the show - the fact that you’ll need to pay to play online on the PS4. We talk PS+ and what it means for you, for indie developers and the price point of future games as a whole." - PSLS

[Foolsjoker]

Honestly, I have no problem finally paying to play online with the PS4, the service will be worth it.

[MizTv]

I would rather deal with this then all that drm crap

[Belking]

You will sooner or later. In the end DRM won't be all up to sony. The industry is going digital whether we want to or not.

Just like they starting charging for online they will do the same with DRM. When dev/publishers get ripped off by gamestop this gen it will have a great effect on profits for both sony and the publishers.

[ltachiUchiha]

Belking

Wrong, dont blame the Industry for microsofts doing. The ps3/wii/pc are all free online now & has always been until microsoft came along & started adding things in themselves. Thanx to them for paving the way, now they have others doing the same. The industry only changes when blind gamers let big corporations change it & u support it. The xbox one is already guaranteed a last place finish. So aslong as nintendo or sony lead the way, dont expect anything to change. Enjoy your last place console. =]

[Sono421]

I'll admit it sucks that you have to pay for online now with the PS4, but for me it doesn't matter because ive already been a PS+ member for almost a year now and iv'e been loving it so i'm not personally complaining :) Just recently get little big planet karting actually :D they also gave away Uncharted 3 but i already have that :p not to mention the loads of other games ive gotten :D and now were getting Drive club at launch?! I'm pumped!!!

[Boody-Bandit]

Belking
If that's what it takes to help you sleep at night? Go right ahead and keep telling yourself that.

ItachiUchiha pretty much summed it up in a nutshell. MS is without question the one that paved the way with charging to play online and charging for DLC with Gears of War. Epic did NOT want to charge for the DLC with Gears. MS made them. <- Just a little refresher for those that forgot.

This nickel and diming in the gaming industry has been MS's brainchild.

PS+, unlike XBL, actually offers you value for the money we pay for it. I have been a PS+ member, as I am an XBL member, since the day it launched. But I did so for very different reasons. I can't game online without XBL but I purchased PS+ because of all the free content and discounts Sony offers. PS+ pays for itself within the first couple months. It's a great service.

Sony is offering Drive Club (PS4) day one to Plus members day one. DC in itself pays for the whole first year of the subscription. PS+ and XBL are just like the companies that provide the services. Sony has the consumers best interest in mind and MS just has their bank account in mind.

[doctorstrange]

You could buy a PS4 and some PS+ and be sorted games wise for the rest of the gen. That's crazy

[HammadTheBeast]

Or don't buy PS+ and still play Planetside 2, Warframe, Blacklight Retribution, DCUO and the rest.

[solar]

as someone who does not play console games online, or desire to pay for a service i believe should be free once you buy the manufacturers console no matter if it's any of the big 3, giving Sony and PS+ a free pass after all the hate towards Xbox Live is getting tiresome.

You mates should be angry, not accepting a "pay to play online" stipulations no matter how many times Sony and MS tell you how "great" their service is. you should be REWARDED for buying their product, not made to pay more for features of a console.

[ltachiUchiha]

Why does sony get blamed for something microsoft made successful? Sony also added bluray to the ps3 but u dont see ppl complaining microsoft added it to the xbox one. The online payment thing was already set in stone because microsoft proved that ppl will pay online with 45 million+ xbl members. This was already to be expected.

The real problem is all the restrictions microsoft is trying to add yet again & no one else is doing it next gen besides drm with sum publishers who want to but its a risk because u can lose potential sales from it but it still beats having every game with restrictions which microsoft is trying to do. Best way to stop it, ignore buying an xbox one & buy a wii u or ps4 or pc.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

Lolol if you don't game on consoles online, and this whole thing is so tiresome, you should reeeally do yourself a favor..

[solar]

@ KwietStorm

this is part of the industry, and part of the ecosystem of the PS4 (which i preordered) that interests me. yeah i probably shouldnt bitch about it i give you that much, but sometimes the bickering doesn't make a lick of sense :P

[dbjj12088]

Especially if you already have PS+ anyway, like a good PlayStation gamer.

[TrendyGamers]

Free marketing slogan: "Pay a little, get a lot."

[ftwrthtx]

Has anyone said if the PS3 will still be free?

[doctorstrange]

Yes it will

[Godmars290]

PSN on PS3 will remain free, just like everything that isn't multiplayer on the PS4.

You even get automatic update and maybe cross chat for free.

[RiPPn]

I'm already paid through 2015, so I hope it just means more awesomeness!! :)

[Foolsjoker]

I'm glad they are keeping the price at $50. I was worried they would bump up the price too.

[TheEvilWithin]

Umm it means FREE games and more 75% off discounts on DLC and Video games online! Adding in Multi player means really nothing to me. People are just trying to gripe over SOMETHING about the PS4. I feel like some Xbox fan's just can't accept that PS+ is THAT GOOD OF A DEAL. Try it out and you will see. We just got Saints Row the Third for free. What did they get? Oh! RIGHT! AC2 and Halo 3... No wonder there upset about PS+. There not getting the good deals!

[Foolsjoker]

Yeah, I can't believe MS is trying to push off 4 year old games as competition to PS+.

[Corpser]

Nobody else needs to pay to play online, sounds like to you Sony can do anything as long as it's better than xbl, thats not a very high standard

And SR3 was part of the thq humble bundle that you can get for next to nothing (ok, $5) with Metro 2033,Darksiders and Company of Heroes, and you actually get to own these games.

I maintain these "free" ps+ games are not worth much to hardcore gamers that own lots of games

[TheEvilWithin]

What's to say I don't already own the games? I was just stating the facts of the bonuses from it. What Xbox does something ONCE and there considered GODS for a few games??? Yea no I paid for Xbox live for 7 years and always felt I was getting ripped off. With Xbox you need to pay to play online. Why is it such a HUGE deal if SONY is asking for some money for all the FREE and DISCOUNTED items there giving you.

[rainslacker]

I own a lot of games. Over 200 PS3 games. And I find enough value in PS+ to be paid up for the next 3 years.

Just because people buy a lot of games doesn't mean they don't like getting more games. I've found many new series I wouldn't have thought would be to my liking through the service, and am now a fan of more IP's than before.

In fact, I would wager that people that buy a lot of games, would find PS+ to be right up their alley.

If anything PS+ has opened me up to different play experience that I was typically biased against...particularly in the open world and FPS genres which don't interest me that much. Now Bioshock is one of my favorite series.

[MariaHelFutura]

It means they are forcing you to get the best deal in gaming if you want to play multiplayer. Things could be alot worse. TBH, I would recommend to people who don't play multiplayer but have online to get PS+, It's just that good.

[annus]

I subscribed for the first year PSN+ was released. You know what I got? Games I already owned, DLC I already owned, and some cheap android like games which I didn't even want, or could get for free anyway online. I'm not sure how much better it is now.

PSN+ just isn't for everyone.

[Rhezin]

yeah it might be that good NOW, but what happens when people are forced to buy PS+ and that becomes the norm? Will you still get all the perks that are coming out now to entice people to plus? because right now it's a choice for PS+. It won't be when the ps4 launches and you want to play online. That was the ONLY part of the press conference that pissed me off. Don't like paying to play online, that's one of the reasons I bought a ps3 in the first place.

[jdktech2010]

That's a fair concern but I've got some faith in Sony because they still would like to entice the people that don't play multiplayer at all to subscribe (which there are a lot of those people out there).

So if they are smart (and financially able), they should keep it the same service and just place the mulitplayer behind the paywall. That will keep the current PS3 subscribers happy and the new ones.

Quite frankly, I'm subbed through next June anyway and have been for 2 years already. It's a fantastic deal and one I hope Xbox users get to experience one day (seriously Halo 3 and AC2 don't count since they're at least 4 years old)

[rainslacker]

PS+ has been a huge success for Sony and it's partners. Publishers actually like the service for what it can do for their games in terms of marketing and revenue generation in DLC/MT.

If anything PS+ has only gotten better because of it, so why would you be concerned that it's going to suck when it becomes mandatory?

[infamousinfolite]

Paying for online mulitplayer with PS+ means that Jack Tretton will give us 'cake' and large sums of money as long as we help him help us create a better online experience.

[dbjj12088]

I wanna move to paradise too.

[izumo_lee]

I know a lot of people are not happy with the change to paying for online but i get why Sony decided to do so.

At February's PS4 reveal remember David Perry of Gaikai came out & said that the infrastructure to build the fastest streaming network in the world was greenlit by Sony. Gaikai the same company that owns a Guiness World Record for having the fastest streaming network before they were bought by Sony now has the budget to expand on their network. All of this will cost a lot of cash & to compensate for building this streaming network that in 2014 will begin in the US but over time have to be of use for all territories a charge by Sony for their online was necessary.

It may seem disappointing to know that there is now a price for online but in the end it will be beneficial for being able to play any game in the Playstation library anywhere, anytime. That thought is worth the small price we have to pay.

[Belking]

What it means is that sony finally realizes that they can't keep up the service and improve it without more resources, which is money. For all those who said they would never pay for something that should be free, what ya gotta say now? Now you have to pay and it's not even dedicated servers like XBL.

[MasterCornholio]

"Now you have to pay and it's not even dedicated servers like XBL."

Could you provide proof that the PS4 wont have access to dedicated servers?

Because this information is new to me and i cant find it anywhere on the web.

Anyways if Sony is going to start charging for their service like Microsoft they will have dedicated servers as well.

[ecstaticpunk]

Much as I love Xbox Live, I refused to pay for PS plus at the time of its launch but after a while the incentives were too good to turn down I mean 3-4 free games a month is simply amazing and that was without having to pay to play online, but now even with the addition of a fee to pay online it really does not bother me as it seems like they're offering a solid service currently and if they continue to provide this service next gen then Sony are on to winner, on the other hand when Xbox announced they're releasing two free games and announced they'd be releasing Halo 3 and Assassins Creed 2 it made me realise these guys are still the stingy bastards they've been all along.

[SpinalRemains]

That's what live is offering?

Two, 5 year old games!?!?

That's terrible.

[mochachino]

Of course I would prefer free, but as an exLive user, at least Plus provides an equal value for the money. With all the free games and discounts you'll end up making your money back and a lot of the games are really good.

Live is only a pay wall, even to services you already paid for like netflix or free stuff like you tube or IE. Live makes you feel like you're being ripped off.