Sony to charge for PSP downloads in 2006?

SCEE's Phil Harrison says the portable will see "premium content next year."

Yesterday at the Game Developers Conference Europe, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe vice president Phil Harrison largely dispelled fears that the PlayStation 3 would come in multiple SKU models. Though he didn't entirely rule out the possibility, he said it would be "confusing" for the consumer and pooh-poohed the Xbox 360 two-tiered sales strategy.

But not all of Harrison's words were as comforting. In fact, many gamers were made downright nervous by the executive's comments on his company's portable, the PSP. He revealed that, having used the free downloads of Wipeout Pure as a test case, Sony would be moving to a pay-per-download model for extra content next year. "It's an experiment which has turned out to be a good experiment," he told UK-based Edge magazine.

Edge also quotes Harrison as saying that Sony is in the process of setting up a digital rights management system for PSP content. Like iTunes, this system will allow gamers to pay for content once and download it multiple times. While Harrison didn't identify what kind of content would be available for download, it would presumably be similar to the Wipeout Pure content, which included new vehicles, levels, and menu skins.

2 Comments

  • Deathkiller_NL

    Posted Feb 18, 2006 4:15 am PT

    I think so too... We pay enough for the games to get this stuff free...
    It's a shame that they wanna make money out of everything...
    Too bad...

  • Gameguy920

    Posted Dec 19, 2005 12:00 pm PT

    i don't want to have to pay for stuff that should be free

advertisement

Hot Stories

Newsmakers

Featured Stories

Submit News

Got tips? Send them in!

Related Game

Wipeout Pure Boxshot
Wipeout Pure

Game Stats

  • Rank:
    1,660 of 59,060
    (up by 194)
    PSP Rank:
    112 of 1,184
    Tracking:
    2,527 Track It»
    Wishlists:
    819 Wish It»
  • Users Now Playing:
    952
  • Number of Players:

    1-8 | Offline Modes: Competitive

  • Top 5 User Tags:
    1. wipeout pure
    2. wipeout
    3. psp
    4. racing
    5. futuristic racing
  • Everyone Rating Description

    Titles rated E (Everyone) have content that may be suitable for ages 6 and older. Titles in this category may contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language. Learn more

Full Game Details »Close

Related Games

Site Blogs