Survey: Sony Considering Premium PlayStation Network Subscriptions

A survey sent from IPSOS Online Research indicates that Sony is considering premium subscription plans for the PlayStation Network, detailing potential prices and premium services, including full hour game trials, free access to PSOne Classics, and cross-game voice chat.

[BlackIceJoe]

After looking at the survey I wish one of the boxes had all the stuff. I for one like stuff in box one and two. I see some things that would be interesting but do not want to pay 70 dollars a year. So I for one can live without the extra stuff.

[prabx]

wait...online music video service ? not Vidzone ? =/

[vhero]

I think you gotta decide what's more important. Free minis/ps1 games for a year or beta access. If you want BETA access then you got 3 packages to choose from but the free minis/PS1 games package with PS store discount seems like a really good idea! @ above its probably a vidzone alternative for US members.

[ExgamerLegends2]

i got a lot of disagrees when i suggested sony might only allow cross game chat with the subscription. Personally though i think 60 bucks is worth what they're offering. But what theyre offering isn't really something i need. Oh and i'd like my bubble back for being right about the cross game chat.

Edit: Actually, I think I will be getting one of those subscriptions. Prolly option 2. 70 bucks is worth it. I guy on the link said most peoples cell phone bills are 70 bucks a month. If i had to be without my cell for a month to get all of that for a year well....sprint might as well cut my phone off now.

[lociefer]

i no ill get alot of disagees but i dont like the idea of paying for cross chat, altho the classics r a real good deal

[Saaking]

Now THAT'S something I'd pay for. But which one would be better. Option 1 or 2. Both are great deals, but I think number 2 is better.

[SilentNegotiator]

If they decided to do that as part of it, they would certainly have my attention, depending on the price.

.....so long as gameplay remains free, as the promised.

[gaffyh]

I'd pay for Option 1, just for the 3 year Warranty, but it needs to have ALL the features for me to pay for it at that price. The free PS1, PSP minis etc. would be very cool, stupid that they have 4 subscription options though (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum Membership maybe?).

The 4th option kinda sucks.

@below - Online gaming will remain free, and Kaz already said, everything that is currently available will still be available for free. Nice try at trolling though.

[xskipperx82]

but psn is free and the best thing about the ps3! right?

[ceedubya9]

You have your base PSN with online play like what was already there, and then you have your premium with extra stuff if you choose to pay for it. Either way, you have online play available, which is the most important factor. Its good to have choices. However, the free online play for Sony's consoles is something they should really advertise to the high heavens. I just don't think it gets as much attention as some of the PS3's other functions.

Hopefully, this takes off, and then Microsoft will have to take a good look at its service and maybe decide to offer Silver member the ability to play online as well.

[Saaking]

PSN is still free. This are just extras for people who want it.

[heroicjanitor]

:/

The others are cool though.

Free classics I could do without, I find it difficult to play them now that I have better games, online music means what exactly? Online storage space sound great and catch up tv and free netflix? I would consider paying for these...

[Saaking]

Because it offers a ton of stuff. My personal favorite is cloud storage. Sounds awesome. Like I've said before, I don't mind paying as long as I get my money's worth.

[Blaze929]

Option 2 is the best

[Alcon Caper]

Because they've committed themselves to having a free multiplayer service, the have to compensate for the money they're not making by charging a higher fee. Whether this is something that people really will pay for--only time will tell. It's a gamble, yes, but they're already in dire need of money anyway for PSN so any gamble is good.

Meanwhile, Xbox Live is reigning in EVERYONE who purchases a 360, no questions asked. Purchasing Live is an unspoken requirement that MS has smartly stuck with from the beginning.

THAT is called business PLANNING.

[Megaton]

Meh. I don't think I'd pay for any of those. I don't understand why they're so clusterf*ckish. There should be one option with everything, not like one in the middle missing things that the others have. Sloppy. It's just a d*ck move to charge for some of those, like cross-game chat.

As long as online gaming is free, I'm good.

[snaz27]

anyone notice "token wagering" or "user to user challenges" can you imagine.... your burning round the track on gt5, your mate comes on and challenges you to a race! you can put a wager on that race! in the form of tokens that you can purchase and sell back!!! that right there would make me NEED a premium account lol, you could sit at home and make money off the noobs lol.

[ABizzel1]

This is the best and worst idea ever.

The content you get is great and worth paying for (1st hour free is amazing), but having 4 option where you have to buy 3 options ($170) to get everything is BS. They need to have 3 options which are as followed:

1. The free PSN we have now
2. A paid subscription for limited services on the list. ($30)
3. A paid subscription for everything on the list. ($60)

The limited Service should have the following features:

Exclusive Experiences with Sony Brands
Cross Game voice chat access
Token Wagering (this should make PSN a highly competitive place)
User to User Challenges
Online Music Service (Charge them to download music)
Online Music Video Service (Charge them to download music videos)

With that being said some of the stuff on the list should be free.

[raztad]

Lets wait for something official instead of wasting time discussing yet another rumour.

It feels good to know I dont need to pay for playing some KZ2 competitive, or some R2 or U2 coop. Anything else is just optional and probably something I can live w/o.

[Jamegohanssj5]

I believe this is actually a steal think aboot it. I think the first package is actually worth aboot 200 bucks itself. Just think.

TGSI

[SixTwoTwo]

Option 1 or 2 on day one =)
They should have an option with all the services actually.

[NecrumSlavery]

It is a marketing survey technique to weigh variables. It determines how important one thing is to the majority than another. So if the one option with facebook isn't strong enough to be more important that the other 3, facebook just may be given across all options for free. But honestly i think there will be only 3 services.
Basic: PSN now
Premium: A Large amount of content like integrated Netflix, Xgame chatting, Demos, betas, etc
VIP Member: EVERYTHING!!!!

But LIVE is around $50....I think PSN Should shoot for a $20Prem
and $40VIP package only. Cause everything they announced sounds amazing.

[Persistantthug]

Because the list is too convoluted and confusing for it to be something that would be introduced for real, I figured it must have been just a rudimentary sort of test survey to determine what features people would be willing to pay for vs. the ones they are not.

On a somewhat separate note,
Trying to splinter Cross Game Chat as an option to pay for is NOT a good idea. Why? Because Cross chat is a potential key feature that could help STRENGTHEN the PSN network overall (such as helping to get people to use their mics more). By making Cross chat a "premium" part of the service, would only splinter and alienate the "haves and have nots", and there will likely be more people without it, and that doesn't help build the social aspects of the PSN.

[blu_yu_away]

And what happens when I pay for cross game chat but no one else on my friends list does? I don't have a problem with implementing a premium service but Cross game chat should be a free update for all. As should features such as Netflix streaming without a dvd, automatic d/ls and updates and trophy alerts.

[Noctis Aftermath]

They need to take exclusive in-game content off the list, that is a stupid idea and it better not be in the final list of benefits.

Online music? don't want it, i want to be able to play music straight from my HDD whilst playing games.

Sony need to keep the price in line with Xbox live Gold, but also have another cheaper option which includes less features(customer can pick and choose some of the options) as i'm sure not everyone wants to pay for features they won't use.

[simplyRealistic18]

i think it would be smart to have everything in one option for like $70-$80 the have reduce options choices for less, don't you guy think that's the smartest thing to do instead of having 3 option for the same price but different choices

[DaTruth]

There is nothing there worth paying for for me except maybe the 3 year warranty, PSone classics and the beta access. But the price is far too steep, my PS3 is already 3 years old, I don't play enough PSone classics(wait I already have six this year so maybe), and I rarely find time to play betas or they don't hold my interest long!

[zeeshan]

I have only one problem here. Cross-game voice chat should be free! The reason is pretty simple. If I am paying for Cross-Chat, I'd want to talk to my friends right? But if they are not paying then they don't have it. I mean, this should be something for everyone to use, for free. Paying for Cross Voice Chat is plain stupid!

[DeThEoRy]

im not forced to pay but i can still go online im good

[ActionBastard]

Everything looks like something I'd like/use. Paying for x-game chat? Nah, I'm not going to pay for something I won't use.

[Ju]

That's a totally made up list. Makes no sense what so ever. The pricing is way off. E.g. monthly fee and yearly fee doesn't match. All prices are basically the same, but one (the cheap package pronounces the yearly vs. monthly fees unproportional). "Cloud computing space" ?? yeah, maybe in the minds of some fanboys dreams. Most of that stuff on that list looks like written up by someone who smokes some fantasy sh!t, but not by a serious "business analyst" (who usually do market evaluations).

[happyface]

this wont happen

sony doesn't care about profits, they're happy to lose money if it makes all their messageboard fans happy

[simplyRealistic18]

its a f**king survey, they are testing the waters how can you say it a mde up list specially when introduce thing that actually look like things in sony's forte,

but anyway i wanna see what the music service is like (not the music video service) i hope it's better than last fm where you can transfer song to you mp3 or something

[NYC_Gamer]

atleast we would get more for our yearly price..

[vhero]

Agreed for a little more than XBOX live sub you get a LOT more. Also if MS does increase the price like the rumour suggests they could be cheaper!

[tordavis]

And thus the new argument begins!

"For $70 you get more on PS3!"

[ActionBastard]

Nothing is required. XBL? No point in owning a 360 w/o XBL...unless you don't like paying for the net twice to play online, tweet (hahahaha), look at FB pics (hahahaha), Netflix, cross game chat, txt messages, etc.

[Proxy]

PC, cheaper games and all the free community services you could ever ask for, since 1995.

[PirateThom]

Ah, crap, the single thing I said that would make this worth it, cloud storage, isn't available on the cheap tariff.

Option 4 is by far the worst choice though.

[Godmars290]

Why would a potentially expensive option, server maintenance and storage, come cheap?

Though they'd have to use cloud computing to offer 1-hour access to games.

What sucks to me would be having to pay for general faster DLs.

[Proxy]

Google gives me 7 gigs for free.

[simplyRealistic18]

yup you get everything , the hacker, the glitchers, the people who just pirate a company hard worked on game oh and you cant for getting the money you to pay for the upgrade every year or 2

[Marie]

In game chat at a price eh. Or I should say cross game.

[PirateThom]

Better than paying for online play anyway.

[kaveti6616]

You will still be paying. And then playing online. So, what's the difference, really?

[123360]

look at all the things you get free,i would pay extra for some of those features. this is free http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[Marie]

Perhaps so, I guess time will tell.

[4point7BillionLoss]

Teeth whiteneing !!!

...and getting ripped !!!

[NYC_Gamer]

Ummm excuse me we getting ripped off?? if my mind serves me correctly we are getting a lot more than the xbox jive p2p service with no features at all, the warranty alone kills all xbox jive minor features, your spending 50 bucks and cant even watch a movie unless you have a microsoft point balance, so please sit down and shut up with the useless marketplace items as everything has to be paid for, cant even get a wallpaper free are you kidding me? just keep your mouth shut and go play with your p2p service based dvd machine.

[2-oj]

Your mother is a whore cause she got laid by 4point7Billion Mexicans.

[sikbeta]

PS3 owners getting ripped while you're paying $50 per year for playing on-line long before, how this make sense to you?

[King Hippo]

Droids will have white teeth and be in shape?

I guess xbots have lost things to troll about.

[4point7BillionLoss]

I said get ripped and have your teeth whitened ... like all the adverts on news for PS3 bloggers are aimed at ...

If only you'd just brushed your teeth a few times .... or got off your fat arse to turn on your diet PS3's

stupid fat ugly teeth droids

[insomnium]

quite funny. I lolled a little.

[MajestieBeast]

Well 4 options would be alot i think they will slim ti down to 2 this is just to check what people want most. For me thats beta and ps1 games. I would pay 60 for the complete package and 30 for half or so.

[divideby0]

dont need any frills...I just play games online, NOT features..
X chat, I very rarely use on Live....so mos def. will not pay for it on PSN

[Milky]

If we have to pay for cross-game chat then I will explode. Exploiting the people that have supported you is not good Sony.

[DeforMAKulizer]

Remember the MAG pay-to-play fiasco from a survey??
And MAG will be launching in a month and will be completely free to play..
So a survey is no firm indication of what definite future plans include... Hopefully the feedback from this will help form an even better subscription model...

[AssassinHD]

Cross-game voice chat was not an available feature when you purchased your console, therefore it was not a selling point. You really can't complain about a charge being tagged to a feature that was never promised to be free to you in the first place. At least you can still get online and play for free. If the feature is not worth the money to you, then just don't pay for it.

[kumashii38]

I would choose option 3.
yeah I just do want cross game voice chat.
or I want an All-In-One option for $99.99 a year.

[redDevil87]

For me option 3 seems the best.

At least it's giving 4 different choices. No point of making people pay for something they're never going to use.

I'm glad that there is a monthly option though. Sometimes i don't play online for a couple of months so i wouldn't want to pay for it.

[TABSF]

Why can't there be one option that has the lot like Xbox live.

I want option 1 & 2 but i'm not paying $140 or £100 a year FUK THAT!!!

[tdrules]

if you dont appreciate having a PSN CLOUD what is wrong with you?
sounds amazing, but not 80 dollars a year amazing.
and as a GAP member and multiple beta tester the idea that people can pay for beta access sickens me.

[AssassinHD]

I hate to break it to you but people are paying for beta access already. It is called Qore.

[AssassinHD]

It never ceases to amaze me how people can disagree with facts. I must have imagined those beta invites I received for Socom: Confrontation, Resistance 2, MAG, ModNation Racers, etc. for being a Qore subscriber.

[i_am_interested]

im more interested in seeing a subscription fee for their video store

a lot of good videos in there but ive never bought any because of the prices, id be interested in getting TV shows and other content thats not on blu-ray which is how i prefer to watch my movies

[koehler83]

Ugh. Surveys don't tell. Surveys ask.

[Ps_alm3k]

i like how there is options...
with live, there is no options.

[tordavis]

Cuz you get the kit and kaboodle with Live. Sony needs ONE option with everything if they are gonna do this.

[ktchong]

With the new PSN plan, you pay $70 and you still don't get everything. You look at both $70 plans, and neither one is all inclusive.

So, if you want to get everything on PSN, you have to pay for BOTH plans. That's $70 + $70 = $140!?!?!

And no one has mentioned that neither plan looks as good as $50 XBL Gold. Even the $140 plans (if you get both) don't look as good. That's just not right.

For $70, PSN should really include EVERYTHING and more than what XBL Gold offers. $70 *are* $20 more than XBL Gold.

[DaTruth]

That's just like you guys to pretend Live is offering half of what's on that list!

But it is just like you guys to comment on an article you didn't read and make an @$$ out of yourselves!

You guys have PSone classics for free on LIVE? You guys have save game cloud storage on LIVE? You have guaranteed Beta access on LIVE?

And no, I will not pay for anything on that list, but I will play online for free!

[Gobot]

all i want from that list is the party chat. if they put party chat into a pay-service i'm just gonna go back to xbox.

[Nitrowolf2]

wow 70 bucks?
thats allot of money
i hope Cross game chat becomes free cause really what of those without it? What if you are the only one with it or a few out of your 60 friends have it? Cross-game chat is to huge feature for online to charge for it considering not everyone will have it then. I like the ps1 theme and beta thing, a cloud

[redDevil87]

You make no sense at all.

Think before you speak otherwise you'll end up looking really stupid like you do now.

[Lord_Ranos]

is the perfect example of a retarded BOT.

[turtiturt]

who dosnt want to pay for any of this! I am sick of this subscription rumour and this all looks a bit suspect to me tbh.

If sony do this i will lose major respect for them, charging for cross game chat will defeat the object cos none of my friends will get the service

Like many people have said, this will ruin psn and just turn it towards live, I just know you will start seeing the error message 'only for premium users' for about everything you do if they implement this.

Dont do this sony, your current business model is finally working!

[Godmars290]

Cross game chat has to be free. Not enough people are going to pay for it to be useful.

Free/unlimited access to PS1 DL titles? That alone would be well worth the price, but it could also be problematic. Would non-subscribers still buy those games and would Sony continue to put up titles?

One thing they need to do is make the warranty option open. Make it apply to all PS3s since launch and are already out of warranty.

[Droid Control]

If i get a better quality service.

[Wrathman]

are you admitting the psn sucks?

[Saaking]

Bots are going crazy right now. I mean, just look at everything Sony is offering and for only a bit more than XBL membership. I especially like cloud storage. Not to mention that online gaming is STILL FREE.

[maniacmayhem]

But you still will be paying for something Sony fans touted on their high horse for a long time.

FREEEEEEEEE!!!

I for one hope they do offer a price then maybe MS will combat it with lowering their price.

In competition only us the gamers win!

[TheTruth2009]

I'm just going to sit back and watch these PS3 Supporters explain why it's okay that Sony charges a fee for Premium Services.

The same people that were bragging that Sony cares about the "gamers".
The same people that said Microsoft was greedy for charging for XBOX Live.
The same people that claimed they were getting an XBOX Live-like experience for free on PSN.

They'll now spin it and tell us that it's okay.
It's worth it.
Sony deserves it.

Let's all enjoy the fun. Hypocrites.

Let's watch. :-)

[Johnny Rotten]

nevermind... sigh :(

[Johnny Rotten]

here let me quote this for you:

"The subscription offering would provide NEW premium features you could choose to pay for and are in addition to the features currently available for free such as access to online multiplayer gaming (CURRENT FEATURES WOULD REMAIN FREE)".

double post? anyways subscriptions are lame.

[maniacmayhem]

But Johnny Rotten the same could be said with the services you now pay for Xbox Live. Sure you have to pay for online play but you have the choice not to.

As much as TheTruth2009 is a fanboy he is correct about the hypocrites that are posting for this article.

[Johnny Rotten]

I guess I really just saying that the actual multiplayer will still be free, which is the 'meat and bones' of gaming, if I had to pay for it I would end up waiting for trail cards like I do the Xbox!!

If the multiplayer is free I consider everything else to be "fluff" looking for a buck. Mind you this is not wrong people love fluff and companies have a right to create a business model around fluff, fluff's just not my thing!!

[LOLatURDUMBAZZ]

Option # 3 is working for me. I don't want all that other BS anyway. $30 a year is still too much for that BS. Oh yea, I'm calling sony to raise pure hell about the extended console warranty for 3 years issue. That is not fair at all to make someone pay an extra $70 a year just to get the system fixed. I'd be better off saving that money and gettin abother system. If Sony don't do this the right way I will be switchin over to XBL asap.

[Vortex3D]

Until PSN paid subscription is out, any new features Sony adds to PS3 can be considered a "premium" service. At this point don't expect many of the new features will be free on PSN.

One online gaming service Sony can add to the premium subscription is a guaranteed better online servers. If you look at many online games, you see a group of servers that you can join. Most online games, we can't see what server gets connected to. With premium subscription, Sony would add a better premium servers that are guaranteed with better online quality. There can be fewer servers for free PSN gamers. Of course I'm guessing here but this is one online gaming feature Sony could add to the premium subscription. Reason why I think Sony can get away with this premium online gaming is Sony can continue to advertise PS3 has free online gaming except advertising doesn't need to say if you want premium quality online gaming, you have to be a pay PSN subscription. You have to see from the business point of view how Sony can make money at the same time giving free service to PSN on the same feature.

It doesn't matter what gamers say or complain. Don't like it, go with X360 or PC? Sony knows not enough PS3 gamers will drop PS3. Loose a few complainers and non-profitable customers but make more profit with the rest of the customers who will stay on and willing to pay for the premium service. This is done all time with business that provides pay premium service.

[ReBurn]

Looks like a lot of things that people here bashed Microsoft for showing up as part of Sony's pay service. Netflix without the disc, Facebook connectivity. I wonder what the final packages will look like.

[Godmars290]

People have been blasting MS for online access since day-one. The Facebook and Netflix options are likely crap questions.

[thief]

Bottomline: you dont pay $50 for XBL is better, you pay that because you have no choice. Imagine, if they made multiplayer free on XBL (say as "poor" as PSN is claimed to be) and asked you $50 for cross-game chat, a moderately better friends list and all the stuff that supposedly makes XBL "better". How many would pay for that?

For the same reason, as long as online gaming is free, very few would pay for the premium service on PSN. Paying $300 ovr 6 years for online is just not worth it.

[Bren86]

Cross game chat should be free. My friends won't pay for this and if I do I'd have no one to talk to.

[Alcon Caper]

THIS is why they hadn't implemented it yet. So they can CHARGE For it.

[Vortex3D]

Since cross gaming chatting is one of most wanted feature, if it becomes a premium feature, Sony knows enough PS3 gamers will subscribe to the premium PSN if they want it bad enough. Gamers can complain but if they want it, pay for it. If not, then they can't do cross gaming chatting with their friends that do subscribe to the premium PSN.

That's the power of console features. It's controlled by one company. It's not like the PC where if you don't want to pay for a feature, there's probably another product from another company that is free.

[Bren86]

This would be better

Free version - 2 player cross game chat
Premium version - 10(example)player cross game party chat

[xAlmostPro]

think about it.. theres still time until then for them to implement it for free, this could be just stating what the full option will consist of?

[DaTruth]

Most of my friends list consists of people who just want people who have a mic to play with.

But there is no way to discover people with cross game chat!

[Demon5500]

Well what did you guys think sony was just going to keep PSN free for ever. The up keep on Home servers alone would cost millions a month, and now you have the movie service, games on line, Well I applaud Sony on this deception, I think it is the smartest move they have made so far. And If the sony guys on here have a cry get over it? this will Help you to invest in your platform, and support The PlayStation brand, If sony did not do this soon they would be starting to sell and close down more departments, And with out SONY and MICROSOFT in this console war together we would not see the innovation that is to come this year?
All we need is some common sense from the SDF?

[xAlmostPro]

why are you saying 'too bad' this is for extras.. we'll still be getting everything we already have and recieve before this goes into action for FREE we will NEVER be paying to play online, its not "too bad" at all lol

[Alcon Caper]

My jaw dropped. $70.00 a year!!

[Rowsdower]

i'm a little surprised that there isnt more anger about this. There is straight rage when people discuss whether its worth it to pay for xbox live. Hey at least the online gaming will still be free. As a owner of both consoles I wont fork out for two pay services, so I'll keep paying for Live, and wont be purchasing the premium PSN. I hope this forces Live to keep adding content in order to compete with PSN Premium, but I fear if enough people pay for the 70.00 PSN that MS will raise their price for Live.

oh well thats what I get for gaming on consoles I guess.

Response to below:

in the US Live is 49.99/year, 19.99/ 3 months, and 7.99/ per month
compared to the Survey
Premium PSN is either 69.99 or 29.99 / year, and 9.99 or 4.99/ monthly

[xAlmostPro]

why'd your jaw drop? lol if im right its the same price as live, and its only going to be an OPTION, FREE gaming will still be a choice lol

[Godmars290]

If $70 a year gives open access to PS1 games, 1 hour access to any PS3 title, unlimited viewing to a music channel, a renewed service warranty, it might be worth it.

[xAlmostPro]

man im so confused there is loads of great things here, but wtf! i dont want to pay for something and not get something else! i mean although its a great idea im not gonna pay if i dont get it all.. and another confusion.. alot of these sound like what we already have? facebook conectivity.. online music video service.. trophy alerts?.. sooo confused lol i mean im happy theres now an option, with adds another +1 on 360 because we dont NEED it, but i think they can come up with better, i dont want to have to switch each month just because i like 2 things that arent in the same packages lol but its JUST A SURVEY so i guess its not final anyway :D

[Lucreto]

I would love a pick and max option as there are some features I would pay for and others I wouldn't. It would give Sony far more options to get money.

[forcefullpower]

This is one of the many reasons why i choose PS3 games over XBOX. I can understand for certain services like movies and game rentals. But if they are going to start charging for basic features. I will switch back to the 360.

[DarkBlood]

im curious about option 2 with the free psone classics does it mean downloading and owning them and being able to keep the psone games u downloaded and be able to redownload it after the subscription expires?

[DarkBlood]

some of these are good options if true i will opt for it but with all the awsome games coming out next year i wont be able to get this i'll need to wait till theres a month or 2 where its kinda slow with no major releases or games i dont want yet

which i doubt so because there seems to be a game or 2 i want so badly every month from here on out lol

[Noob]

If I remember correctly, they had it working with up to 8 people. That sucks though. Definitely not a good sign. As long as they don't charge for online play, I'll stick with PSN. If they do, back to Xbox live I go. Of course, you can't tell much from surveys so I'll wait and see what happens. Options 1 and 2 seem like the best options.

[KillerPwned]

They all look very promiseing, Id just get the best one with the most and best stuff there is to offer no matter what the price. Its just once a year anyway.

[gtafan]

Option 1 for me.

[Ninjamonkey82]

Id have no hassle payin i see alot i like there.

[chase167]

F that sh!t

[mcgrawgamer]

xbl. silver free gold 39.99 Yearly!
psn. base free. 4 premium options ranging from 29.99 -69.99 Yearly! Not including qore subs.

You'd think they would have learned from the 20gb, 60gb, 40gb, 80gb, and 120gb ps3 hardware strategy that more actually confuses some consumers.

psn SHOULD be base free. premium 39.99 then they can actually use price to their advantage imo. With a 69.99 price tag they could very well be pricing themselves out of potential premium customers on their high end tier.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

Online data storage and PSone classics is good enough for me(if they add Die Hard Trilogy). 70 bucks is a bit much though. I hope they do charge for cross chat so nobody uses that sh!t.

[HungPHAT]

I'll take the best preminum service they offer PERIOD !!!! I love my PS3 and if they have all the features that LIVE have and more , I'm game ! Bring it on . $60 or even $99 is nothing to me for my hobby considering I have a 5k in my game room

[Obama]

I am not paying either way. As longas I can talk to my friends on mic and play games online, I could care less about other features.

[HungPHAT]

What happens if Voice chat is a preminum service only ? Which highly speculated by many gaming gurus !

[Obama]

That would certainly piss off many ps3 supporters including me. It's such a dumb move and I doubt Sony would do it.

[SnukaTheMan]

Sounds sort of like xbox live...silver is free but you pay for extras......sounds like xbox live aint a joke no more. Especially to people LIke this who cry about xbox live not being worth it...but will quickly pay for "extras". Hypocrisy at its finest.

Edit@ Can Xbox Live silver members play games online??? No. PSN allows every user to play online, and THAT is the most important feature.

And that is the ps3's only bulletpoint...If you get a choice of paying for psn then all bets are off on the "free".

[Obama]

Can Xbox Live silver members play games online??? No. PSN allows every user to play online, and THAT is the most important feature.

[Smokzdaizm]

I will not be paying for any package they have to offer, My PS3 is even connected to the internet anymore, and this isn't a reason to reconnect it either. My 360 is my online console and it will always remain my online console. Say what you want Sony fanboys NONE of that appeals to me and it still doesn't do what I need and want PSN to do. Plus when a multiplayer game worth playing on the PS3 comes out I'll use the free service (esp after that laggy ass SOCOM and MW2), hell Sony fanboys don't like to talking to and meeting new people anyway LOL (just a joke so don't get your pocket protecters in a bunch) Aight enough posting time to hit the gym, and I gotta some time in on Forza big tournament tonight.

[ktchong]

Wait... does that mean if you don't pay, you don't get downloads and updates for your console and games?!?

And $70 is very pricey. XBL tops out at $50, for goodness sake.

[NYC_Gamer]

and what does live offer?this new psn service offers way more features and even without it people can still play online free..

[ad4mb]

lol, that would be stupid.

[Mr_Luke]

It would be VERY stupid O_o
And they say (promised even) that all the feature that we're using will stay for free, so probably it's something else related to the trophies.
I hope.... the "*pling* You got xx trophy etc" isn't a feature to pay O_o

[matta]

Being able to choose your own services would be a lot better. I mean, all of those options contain some really useless services for me.

[Mr_Luke]

I don't like things that pop out from nowhere or better "from a ignote reader" or "someone"... i want name and facts =P
But i know that if all of that is true, i won't pay anything and i'd continue like i'm doing now. I don't care about all those features, for now.

[hoo_mook]

Online gaming will always be the "killer app" for consoles.

XBL wouldn't be so popular without it's multi-player component so why should PSN be any different.

[cmrbe]

The only thing i do on PSN is play online. I mute everyone with mics because they are freaking anoying when i kill them.

[hoo_mook]

I don't think there will be mass acceptance of a premium service when the most 'premium' feature is already free.

[Captain Tuttle]

And it's good that the MP is still free. But 70 bucks? Yeesh!! Is that American? Hopefully it'll be like Live and you can get discounted cards...$30 for a year etc. And charging for cross-game chat will split the user base (although I guess without a packed in mic it's already a bit split).

[King Hippo]

$0 a year FTW!

[rawd]

Thats the worst fake I've ever seen. Faker then Pam Andersons jugs

[Ripyealip]

is this official?, if so im sad to hear that cross game voice chat you have to pay for

[Alcon Caper]

$60 to watch Netflix streaming without a disc. 0_o

[ginsunuva]

They should exchange Music Videos and Facebook in Option 2 for beta access and I will buy immediately.

[jalen247]

I don't think I will be paying for these services. I am happy with my free services at the moment. They would have to be offering more compelling stuff to get me on board.

[blu_yu_away]

Some of this stuff looks to be worth a premium. Access to minis, PS1 classics (especially if I can save them to my psp), hour long access to full retail games and store discounts all sound promising. The tokens sound interesting as well. But on the flip side charging for cross game chat, Netflix without a dvd, automatic d/ls and updates and trophy alerts are all ridiculous. Don't necessarily like the idea of exclusive in game content either.

[Darkshader]

If you worry to much that SONY will charged $70/year .. then don't answer the survey.

SONY might even consider giving us 2 choices. 1 is worth $30 and the other one is a premium worth $50 - 60/year.

And free Online Gaming for the REST of our lives ... get that Microsoft!!!

[keysy420]

because people arent going to buy that service so youwont even be able to use it i rather pay 5 extra dollars so that everyone could have crossgame chat

[Silly gameAr]

Sorry. I had to laugh at the funny 360 fanboys like that Acorn guy complaining about optional fees on a service they're not going to use. Me on the other hand, I see plenty of value with these options. I like having choices. Keep online play free and I'm good to go.

[Braska]

Sony's New Motto: $ony, the new M$.

[kagon01]

_

[PS360PCROCKS]

haha I always knew Sony would charge someday in some way. Gotta admit this is a clever way of doing it.

[Justin_bristoe]

i will be getting the whole flabanga day one.

free streaming ps1 games
cross game chat
instant beta access!
online memory storage!! come on now this stuff alone is worth every cent lol.and i bet a million dollars that they will be putting hulu,music service and tv network service in home! not to mention our facebook will likely become one with our ps accounts meaning we can browse the ppl we meet and see them easily!! this is gonna be sweet.i cant wait one more day for this to come out!

[Justin_bristoe]

will be getting the whole flabanga day one.

free streaming ps1 games
cross game chat
instant beta access!
online memory storage!! come on now this stuff alone is worth every cent lol.and i bet a million dollars that they will be putting hulu,music service and tv network service in home! not to mention our facebook will likely become one with our ps accounts meaning we can browse the ppl we meet and see them easily!! this is gonna be sweet.i cant wait one more day for this to come out!
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