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Sony Pins Hopes on E-Distro
Ars Technica reports on Sony's plans for their online service. As previously discussed, they'll be offering online play for free. They hope to make money via an e-distribution system. From the article: "Yet it is unclear what Sony intends to sell. While the 60GB hard drive in the premium console is spacious, it would not be large enough to hold a collection of HD video, although the company could sell storage add-ons in the future. We believe that Sony will initially sell other content, including music and standard definition video, as well as gaming content such as that available today in the Xbox Live Marketplace."
In short, it appears as though Sony plans to offer for free what Microsoft is currently charging for, and that could be a big plus ... it could convince many gamers that the PS3's expense is more reasonable
... PS3 better be incredible ... otherwise this will be another victory for MSFT.
Get Charged up front or have an optional fee later on? Hmmm
Sony is using the "Developers control Internet Gaming" solution used in PS2.
Problems?
-Every developer has a ton more work to do. There isn't an Xbox Live framework to work from.
-Each developer could decide to charge for basic gaming privelidges. Someone needs to pay for the Servers and the bandwidth.
-Games will have unique online systems, destroying continuity across the platform.
A couple bucks per month is worth these advantages. Why buy a hot-rod $600 PS3 and pay nothing for a junky online system?.
I'm going to state the most probable reason and say the games will not take up nearly 25GB, Sony knows this and has decided instead to tout the POTENTIAL size of the games over the actual while saving money by including a hard drive that is suited to the minimum space really needed. In addition, they could do this while believing the games may reach 25GB, thus forcing poeple to buy expensive hard drive upgrades, further increasing profits.
Demented But Determined.
The article itself talks about Sony providing matching services, which is just what XBox live offers. That means there will also be a framework to make use of these services...
It also says that service is free, so where do you get the idea that game makers can or will charge for online play?
As for unique online systems, again SOny is providing a centralized online hub for free. So it pretty much blows that theory out of the water.
Basically think XBox Live Gold, only I don't actually have to pay to play games with other people online. I think it's pretty funny you're raising the boogeyman of people MAYBE having to pay for online PS3 games when you already have to for just about every 360 title.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
So in a PS3 I get a whole Blu-Ray drive as part of that $100 extra cost. Only now it's not $100 more because I also get the equivilent of XBox Gold for free, which is $50 a year - thus the PS3 now only costs $50 more than a 360 (if you only plan to play online games for a year), and includes a Blu-Ray drive which allows games to hold far more data. Consider everything else is the same:
360 premuum and $500 PS3 both have 20GB hard drives.
360 premuum and $500 PS3 both have component out for HD video (though here the PS3 gets a nod since it supports 1080p)
360 premuum and $500 PS3 both have just as many ports (basically USB and memory ports, the more expensive PS3 also has media ports)
360 premuum and $500 PS3 both support the same networking options (ethernet in)
Seems to me like Sony has priced the console pretty well against the 360.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley