PlayStation Network Details

Gamasutra has details on the gaming network that will underpin the PlayStation 3 online offering. From the article: "Co-developed by Sony Online Entertainment, the company's MMORPG development arm, and GameSpy Networks, the PlayStation Network Platform will allow players to compete online even in its free iteration, unlike Xbox Live. Sony will enforce integrated online capabilities between games, but publishers will be free to run their own servers." The folks on the 1up podcast were just talking about this topic last week. I'm personally not sure 'free' is the way to go. I'm willing to pay if it means I'm getting a quality service. Obviously you'd prefer not to pay but if it means the difference between an unreliable service and one the quality of Xbox Live, are you willing to pay?

Comments

SOE Warning

[eldavojohn]

"Co-developed by Sony Online Entertainment, the company's MMORPG development arm, and GameSpy Networks, the PlayStation Network Platform will allow players to compete online even in its free iteration, unlike Xbox Live.

For those of you with an XBox 360 who aren't in the MMORPG realm, Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) is the same team that brought you EverCrack, Star Wars Galaxies: A Fanbase Divided and The Matrix: Lagging Online.

This is just ample warning that you may experience one or more of the following symptoms when using the Playstation Network:

• An unlimited number of expansion packs you need to buy, each more expensive than the last.
• A development team that actually reads through customer suggestions so they can figure out what not to do. They then implement the opposite of what everyone on the forums wants. When the product fails, they'll blame the original concept creators.
• The death of your best NPC friend just because he was getting a little weird and creeping everyone out.

I honestly hope that this Playstation network thing is done right. But then again ... it's probably just going to be a system by which Sony can get the FR (first rootkit) on your new PS. Especially if you've managed to run Linux on it.

Re:SOE Warning

[gormanly]

Wow, Sony-bashing in the OP and the FP - is this MS-fanboy day?

Free

[Kohath]

if it means the difference between an unreliable service and one the quality of Xbox Live, are you willing to pay?

IF? Why don't you wait to see what happens and then decide?

If paying works out better overall, people will be willing to pay. If it works out worse, they won't. WTF is the big mystery? We'll know the future when it happens.

Re:Free

[thedletterman]

If publishers want their online game to be popular, and sell well, they will provide an adequate service. The idea that the price barrier between bad service and excellent service is a chasm is absurd.

Great analysys, 1up!

[cluke]

What the hell is the world coming to, when you announce something is going to be free, and people start whining that they want to pay for it? Big business has us well trained.
Maybe in some parallel universe where paying for something improves the quality of it, but here in the real world comapnies just do the minimum they need to muddle through, fee or no fee.

Free vs. Pay

[matr0x_x]

It's a tough debate. I like many would prefer to pay for a good service then receive a sub-par service for free. However, I'd also rather receive a crappy service for free then pay for it. Do you think the Playstation network will be good if it is subscription based? Then I for one don't mind paying for it...

playstaion linux

[altodarknight]

From what I've read, the Playstaion OS is a distibution of linux made for the playsation interface including the software for the functions of the console. Don't think of it as a Desktop distribution of linux. You won't be able to tell it's linux. It's just like the xbox and xbox 360 os is a modified version of windows 2000.

Re:What made you such a cynic

[cluke]

Another way to look at paying for a service as a positive is the income source. Without the income from subscription, another income stream would be required.

But they do have another income stream, a massive one: license fees and royalties from sold games.

Don't get me wrong, all things being equal I think they would charge for it. But this is a way to stick it to Microsoft - why pay $x per year on XBox360 when you can get it for free on PS3? Therefore I think it is entirely possible that their service will be as good as they can make it, without fees. (How good that turns out to be is another matter, given their track record...)

Why scramble?

[the computer guy nex]

"Free online play is where Sony and Nintendo are at. Microsoft better scramble to come up with an answer."

I would rather have 8% of my customers paying me $5 per month than have 25% of my customers playing online when I have to pay for all the bandwidth, hardware, and development costs.

I can see XBL being free in a few years

[aka_big_wurm]

If the Live market place keeps doing as well as it is now I can see MS making it free to play games on live and the Market Place downloads paying for the upkeep.

Re:Unture

[MrCopilot]

On another note, what the hell is with the name. Talk about crappy branding. Playstation Network Platform.

PNP yo, its like a nut you play with in your house.

Quality of XBox Live?

[Trogre]

I'm personally not sure 'free' is the way to go. I'm willing to pay if it means I'm getting a quality service. Obviously you'd prefer not to pay but if it means the difference between an unreliable service and one the quality of Xbox Live, are you willing to pay?

Well, any lingering hope that Zonk might not be a Microsoft shill just flushed noisily down the gurgler.

So Sony is now doing bad for offering a service for free huh? Talk about damned if you do...

Why not just ask "if paying money means the difference between an unreliable operating system and one the quality of Windows, are you willing to pay?"