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The PlayStation Network has been free since launch but discussions at Sony may soon change this.
November 2009 saw the start of rumours that the PlayStation 3's free online functionality may be coming to an end. This came about due to a bullet point in a Sony investor conference presentation pointing towards a 'New revenue stream from subscription'.
Fortunately the CEO and President of Sony, Kaz Hirai, quickly stepped in and told CVG that they are "studying the possibility of introducing a subscription model, offering premium content and services, in addition to the current free services". This answered the question on most people's lips and quelled the opposition that could of been.
Shortly after, Kotaku caught wind of a survey being sent round by IPOS Online Research, claiming to be on behalf of Sony, detailing potential prices and features of premium subscriptions to the PSN. Further information was then extracted by Engadget on what exactly these features mean by an unnamed source. It's clear this survey might have been only carried out to test the water and capture people's views but it gave an early indication of how Sony may add to their current services.
All was relatively quiet on this front until recently when an interview between IGN and Peter Dille, Vice President of Marketing and Head of the PSN, revealed that 'Kaz (Hirai) recently went on the record as saying that's something we're looking at' when talking about charging for the PSN service. Sadly aside from that there were no definite announcements on the subject although he strangely doesn't reassure that current services will remain free. Maybe we are reading too much into that?
We've fired off an e-mail to Sony for their comments and we'll be sure to share if we get anything back. As always we'd love to hear your opinions on the forum or in the comments section.
Customer Service Priority Access
Priority access to PlayStation's customer service both online and via
phone should you need technical help or have questions about your
products. This feature gives you support with little to no waiting.
Exclusive Experiences with Sony Brands
Get member-only access to attend exclusive Sony events and experiences
throughout the year, including those offered by PlayStation, Sony
Pictures, and Sony Music.
Extended Console Warranty 3 Years
Get your PS3 warranty extended to 3 years as part of your overall
subscription (requires you to keep your subscription active). The
standard warranty on your PS3 is 1 year.
Access to Beta Games
Get access to Betas of popular games not yet released at retail (Betas
offer bigger experiences than typical game demos). You will have the
ability to play these games before others do.
Early Access to All Store Content
Get early access to select free and purchasable game related content on
the PlayStation Store before it's available to everyone else. This
includes games, add-ons, themes, avatars, as well as free game demos.
Member Demo Sharing of Full Game
Share a level of a game that you just purchased for your PS3 with a
subscriber who doesn't own the game. Your friends could do the same.
This would be an exclusive demo not available otherwise to those who
haven't purchased the game.
Cross-game Voice Chat Access
Get exclusive member-only access to cross-game voice chat. This is the
ability to use your headset to voice chat with friends on your PS3
regardless of what they are doing on the PS3.
Full Title Trial - 1st Hour Is Free
Download full versions of select Blu-ray and PSN game titles and have
the chance to play the entire game (single or multiplayer) for free for
the first hour. After that time you will have the option of purchasing
the game to continue playing.
Token Wagering
Get a fixed number of tokens per month you can wager with other players
in competitive online games. These tokens could then be built up and
redeemed for free PlayStation Network games and other content.
User-to-user Challenges
Unlock developer-created challenges while playing games. Compete with
your friends to see who can be the first to complete these challenges.
The PS3 will automatically offer and track challenges and winners and
would post results. An example of a challenge is 'first to get 10
trophies' in a particular game.
Free Access to PSOne Classics, PSP Minis, and PS3/PSP Themes
Get a fixed number of PSOne Classic games, PSP Minis (bite-sized
games), and PS3/PSP themes per month to keep for free for as long as
you are a subscriber. The PlayStation Store offers these types of
content for $2-6 each.
Discounts on Store Content
Get weekly member-exclusive discounts on specific games, game add-ons
and themes on the PlayStation Store. Discounts may range from 20-50%
off regular retail prices.
Member Only In-game Content
Get exclusive member-only in-game content for your PS3 or PSP such as
new game play options, unlocked in-game weapons or player slots,
exclusive levels, costumes/skins, and PlayStation Home spaces.
Trophy Alerts
Get automated alerts on your PlayStation XrossMedia Bar,
PlayStation.com, and via text message (if you so choose) that alert you
when your friends get any trophy or a specific one. This feature is
customizable - you can choose which friends to receive alerts from and
what kinds of alerts.
Cloud Storage Space for Games
Store your game saves on a virtual secure saver. This would allow you
to access your game saves at any point in time, and from any
PlayStation 3 or PSP console you are logged in on.
Online Music Service
Get a streaming music service that allows you to choose your channel
based on music style, artist type, etc. and listen to an unlimited
number of tracks. This service would be for use outside of playing a
game and similar to Pandora or a Last.fm.
Online Music Video Service
Get a streaming music video service on your PlayStation 3 that lets you
stream music videos from a continuously growing catalog of music and
allows you to create a custom playlist to play back.
Automatic Downloads and Updates
Customize the types of updates you want your PS3 to download
automatically. These include game updates (patches) for games that you
own, firmware updates, and game demos downloaded on your PS3 without
manually having to select them and wait for them to finish downloading.
Your PS3 can be set to automatically turn on for updates and turn off
after completion.
Loyalty Program Rewards
Get rewards the longer you are a subscriber and also earn rewards by
engaging with PlayStation such as buying games, downloading movies, and
rating products. Rewards can include full versions of PlayStation
Network games and digital movie rentals from the PlayStation Store.
Facebook Connectivity
Access to member-exclusive Facebook features on your PlayStation 3,
such as viewing and linking your Facebook accounts with their PSN ID's,
updating your status, editing, uploading and sharing photos, and
viewing photo albums of your friends on your TV.
Catch-up TV
Get access to popular TV shows and movies through service providers
such as Hulu, simply by clicking an icon on your PS3 XrossMedia
navigation bar.
Netflix Access Without Disc
Access the Netflix video streaming service on your PS3 without the need
to insert a special disc into the drive each time to access the
service. A separate Netflix subscription would also be needed to enjoy
the service. Netflix offers over 17000 popular movies and TV shows for
streaming on your laptop or a supported device such as a PS3.
