PlayStation Plus will have 'prominent role' on PS4
By
Eddie Makuch, News Editor
Sony says subscription service a "core part of the way forward"; PS3 will remain "important" potentially beyond 2014.
Sony's PlayStation Plus subscription service will have a "prominent role" in the PlayStation 4 ecosystem, though the company is not yet detailing specific plans.
"We definitely see [PlayStation Plus] as a core part of the way forward," Sony Computer Entertainment president and CEO Jim Ryan told the PlayStation Blog. "We’re not yet in a position to disclose our plans for the future of PlayStation Plus but there will definitely be a prominent role to play for it in the PlayStation 4 landscape."
Currently, a PlayStation Plus year-long membership covering PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita is offered at $50. Subscribers receive access to the Instant Game Collection, exclusive and early access to demos, automatic updates, and various discounts, among other things.
Sony has not revealed specific PlayStation Plus plans for PS4, though the company said last month that it is considering multiple subscription levels, similar to a cable TV offerings.
Ryan also discussed what kind of support the PS3 can expect now that the PS4 has been announced. He explained that the aging platform remains "very important" to Sony and said it will remain viable through this year, next year, and potentially beyond.
"Typically, history can help us only so far here. We're actually still selling PS2s in regions such as the Middle East seven years after we introduced PS3. There are a number of reasons why the transition might be a bit more accelerated this time round, but PS3 is a very important part of our portfolio, certainly in 2013, 2014 and probably beyond that," Ryan said.
"I'd point to the software line-up on PS3 that we have coming up--God of War: Ascension next month, The Last of Us, which is looking great, and Beyond later in the year. And there's other stuff yet to be announced which is highly significant too," he added. "There's a lot coming on PS3 and it's going to be very important to us for some time yet."
By
Eddie Makuch, News Editor
Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He works out of the company's Boston office in Somerville, Mass., and loves extra chunky peanut butter.
312 comments
Glad to know my PlayStation Plus subscription isn't going to be irrelevant once he PS4 comes out.
psn WILL be for FREE because sony wants all its ps4's connected to the internet to be able to deal with piracy like in the ps3. no free online = people hacking the shit outta the ps4 and playing all its games for free. back in the day I played like 80% of all the games that came out for ps1,ps2 and psp and i didnt pay a single penny for em. and i have freinds that never connected their ps3 to internet and have tons of pirated games. but i didnt because i wanted to play online. so online is sony's best weapon vs piracy, its not giving up that TRUST ME.
LOL IM LOOKING AT MY 200+ PS1/PS2/xbox360 PIRATED COLLECTION AS IM WRITING THIS. SO sony you better behave and not charge for psn in the future unless you want me to rape my ps4, hack it and play for free like i have done for the last 15 years LOL
2 Like @ThePsiho If you talk about specific games for each consoles, both of them are pretty equal.
@Metroidalert911 @ThePsiho Ouya and Steambox are BetTrE than... oh, who am I kidding, they're not even out yet and I own both a PS3 and X-box360, along with a gaming PC.
I'll get any system that has enough games that I like on it. I like the PS3 for the Japanese games that don't come to the 360 for instance, and I like the 360 for Halo and Gears of War.. and I bought the DS to play Phoenix Wright and Dragon Quest games, and lastly the PC (Which I dual-boot with Windows 7 / Linux Mint) I love for playing indie games and to play games with mods.
Man, mods are so fun, it's those that make me love PC gaming more than the increased power and graphical capabilities. That and the ability to use mouse/keyboard or a gamepad.
My hope for the next generation of consoles is more flexibility in addition to more power. More power is always a given, but the ability to install mods the way you can on the PC would be my biggest wish.
1 Like @ThePsiho microsoft IS bEtter THAN SONY xbox IS beTtter THAN PS34
nintendo IS bEtter THAN SONY wii wiiU is beTtter THAN PS34
1 Like Lots of comments here thinking that Sony is start charging for basic online play... Personally I doubt that that will happen. While the primary purpose of the corporation is to money grab, with Sony being no exception, there has to be something said for competition in the marketplace. In an ideal world for the corporation, one would have a monopoly and could just charge for every service they offer. But no, there are 3 main competing corporations, so each one needs to find its edge over the other, and Sony's main edge this generation has been free online play. I can't see them dropping that.
I reckon that Sony will wait to see what MS is doing with XBL (I honestly think that they will make it free to some degree). It seems more likely that MS will make their service free to compete with Sony, rather than Sony starting to charge for their service in an attempt to make the same money as Microsoft, which I'm sure you'll agree, won't happen if they do.
@InnerSenses Microsoft was first so they charge for online play while Sony had to play catch up so they made it free.
Making a console isnt cheap and charging for online play is one of the main sources of income for thse platforms. I wish Microsoft would change that but I think they'd rather have a smaller userbase that pays for online play then a large one that doesn't.
We've seen with the X360 and Wii that each generation can be a fresh start for these companies. While Sony was huge with its PS2 (both core and casual gaming), Microsoft and Nintendo took a substiancial bite out of these two segments this generation.
So the next generation can be a clean slate for Sony as well. They just need to get in with a lower price and compelling exclusives and they're back on track. Which leaves room for them to drop free online play. As Microsoft will likely charge for it as well they wont stand to lose much customers. So I think Sony is waiting to see what Microsoft announces. If Microsoft keeps the pay2play online model then I fear Sony will also adopt it.
1 Like @ronnet @InnerSenses "charging for online play is one of the main sources of income for thse platforms." ... "they'd rather have a smaller userbase that pays for online play then a large one that doesn't."
Another main source of income for sellers of game consoles is game sales. A "smaller userbase" buys fewer games. Fewer game sales means fewer games being made. You can work out the rest of the slippery slope there. Neither MS nor Sony wants only a selective cut of the market. They both want as large a consumer base as possible.
I agree with you when you say that Sony is likely waiting for MS to announce what they're doing with XBL before announcing their plans for PSN (as I said it already), but regardless of what MS does, Sony can only benefit from keeping the basics of PSN free. If MS makes XBL free it's a no-brainer. But if XBL continues charging, Sony would do well by hastily assuring everyone that PSN will remain free. Think of the droves of people who will flock to the PS4 to avoid monthly fees for a service that is free elsewhere. More console and ergo, game sales for Sony, while MS takes a ride on the aforementioned slippery slope.
@ronnet I find it very difficult to believe that both will charge. That is literally worst case scenario. I'm simply saying, that assuming Sony is a company that understands the concept of competition in the marketplace, they will attempt to beat MS's online service model with PSN, rather than matching their model as you say.
If you're playing chess, and your opponent moves their pawn to leave them open to checkmate, you move your queen and checkmate. You don't move your own pawn in the same way.
@InnerSenses @ronnet " Fewer game sales means fewer games being made. You can work out the rest of the slippery slope there. ''
I can. But I think its one Microsoft is willing to risk, especially if Sony decides to charge for online play. Because Xbox versions of multiplat games usually sell above the PS3 version. So while Microsoft has more income from Xbox Live they also make more on game sales. I imagine Microsoft would try to keep it that way.
Of course I hope the treat of a free PSN will make them switch to free2play as well. Considering this is a new generation it would be wise to do so (a cheap PS4 launch could really hurt Xbox). So I think Microsoft in turn is waiting to see what Sony will do. If both charge for online play then they have little to fear from this slippery slope. Sure some can switch to PC but we've already seen this generation that consoles are stil popular despite PC alternatives.
It's best for the world if Sony first announces their plans. If they go free then Microsoft's fear of this slippery slope might compell them to do the same. If Microsoft announces the continuation of Xbox Live Gold then Sony might follow it because there is less to fear.
@InnerSenses @ronnet True enough. I do tend to buy more PS3 games lately and use more online video apps on the PS3 due to the fact that I don't have to pay monthly to do it.
That said, I do have a X-box live gold sub right now, but only to play Halo 4's Spartan Ops. When I'm done with that, that live sub is gone.
@InnerSenses MS could come to the idea to make the multiplayer all of sudden free...god behave :)
@codeman101360 It is cheaper to play games via Steam then on a console. But steam means having a PC that can play the latest greatest games for 7+ years in a row. Those arent cheap and many lack the skills, time or desire to keep their PC up to date. So they rather invest in a new console that is sure to have the newest games 7 years after release, even if they dont look as good as they would on a new PC.
3 Like @codeman101360 just thought to put that out there... to make yourself look stupid?
6 Like @codeman101360 ....except for EVERYTHING you buy on it....
Because of Playstation Plus I own copies of Super Street Fighter IV, Vanquish, Far Cry 2, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Wipeout 2048, Gravity Rush, Outland, Just Cause 2, Infamous 2, Little Big Planet 2 and about 30 other FULL games that I didn't spend a penny over the price of my subscription for.
@grey_fox1984 @codeman101360 You own those games as long as you are a member. Once you discontinue the service those games will worth nothing, but the wastes of space on your hard drive.
@InnerSenses @jark888 @grey_fox1984 @codeman101360 There're two things to keep in mind here.
1) Sony want us to continue paying for the service while we want to pay as much as we see necessary.
2) Owning games in physical form is a better option in terms of hard drive space saving and the security of games ownership.
@jark888 @grey_fox1984 @codeman101360 All or most of the games he mentioned in his comment were available with PS+ in the last 12 months alone... if you got all those games within the duration of just one one-year subscription, why on earth would you want to stop using it the year after unless you just weren't playing the games they offered anyway? XD
That is of course, assuming you can still afford it when renewal time rolls around.
1 Like PSN will remain Free. If people who continue to buy PS+ are paying $50 a year there not going shell out another $50 a year for a Paid PSN. Trust me Sony knows its Fans rely on Free PSN and that's what Seperates Sony from Microsoft. Sony would piss off its Fans if they charged for PSN.
@BryanParksSuper That doesn't mean Sony would NEVER charge for online like Microsoft does. Let me put it to you this way: if Sony ALSO charged for online, SOME gamers would switch to PC gaming but MOST console fanboys would stick with their respective fav console whether it's the PS4 or Xbox "720". Not every console gamer can afford a good gaming pc AND even if they could, not everyone would want to spend all that money for a high-end gaming pc.
3 Like This is good news that Sony is going to be supporting the PS3 2013 and beyond....I am going to be playing on my PS3 for a long time.....
1 Like @Batmanreborn Me too. Even if I buy the PS4, I will still be playing games on my PS3. I like PS Plus. I just signed up with them, because I recently bought a Vita and I love playing their free games like Uncharted and Gravity Rush. Peace :)
1 Like Woohoo! More money to fork out! And if it's anything like Xbox Live, I'll get to pay $30 more because I'm in Australia, sounds sooooooo fun!
1 Like Ive been a member of PS+ since a few months after is started, and I love it. It will be interesting to see how this "multiple subscription service" will work out.
I called this long ago.
When you have an online gaming service and you are losing millions each quarter, then look at your competition that also has an online gaming service that is making millions in profit each quarter, it's very likely you'll be more like them.
Sony can't continue to exist in the game console business by losing money all the time, they must make a change.
1 Like I much as I hate it, the writing has been on the wall for quite a while, Playstation Plus will probably be mandatory going forward with the PS4. I will not go on a rant like others here have, I will not spout stupid inflammatory nonsense like so many fanboys on this site does, but I will set down and think long and hard what I will be willing to pay for moving on.
On PC I do not have to contend with subscriptions to enjoy satellite services - but I do have to put up with Zero value games after purchasing- since I cannot give them away, loan out, resale, or trade them. Not to mention late ports of console games being the largest majority of quality games, unless you want to play the 1000th clone of Wow. And pirating is not for me. Also the expense of keeping up a gaming pc over time is prohibitively expensive, compared to consoles.
Xbox, I have kept a subscription for 7yrs now and haven't minded too much as the entertainment value has kept up with the 50 dollars a year as I have always felt the subscription has been the only thing keeping tons of griefers and cheaters from spoiling multiplayer games. But that value has decreased along with the quality of games and services due to an overly long gameing generation.
On the PS3, I have put in the least amount of time, but have spent the most $ in past ps1, ps2 games. Some of the ps3 exclusive games have been truly awesome but required little in the way of online services. Even Netflix, Hulu, and 3D content is much better over that console and access is free. While there is little in the way of griefing or cheating with a free subscription for ps3 online services - it is no where near as robust or easy to use.
Well, alot to think about, though I am at my limit on what I will spend on my favorite past time. I guess i will just have to wait and see what services I will be willing to pay for or not pay for while still enjoying gaming instead of having to watch reality tv shows.
7 Like and PS+ actually gives you hundreds of dolars in full games, as well as exclusives ....XBOX live gives you....uh...online...wow. No one forces PS+, it's worth ten times it's value.
@4quarters Xbox Live Gold gives you more than just onilne, you also get free games, but everybody seems to ignore this fact.
@GothikaGeist @Landsharkk @4quarters non of those titles are MAINSTREAM TITLES like INFAMOUSE, UNCHARTED, EARLY ACCESS TO DLC for FREE on PS+)
@4quarters That is a very subjective opinion of yours.I respect your opinion about psn+ but If you think that xbl means only "online" then you know very little.
@sladakrobot @Jecoh I AGREE IT SHOULDNT BE about the TWO systems,...but it will always come down to this debate with console gamers...perhaps one day we will all agree that PS has better HARDWARE innovations and the Xbox has better SOFTWARE applications...making them both great...just depends on what you want more...
@Jecoh This shouldnt be psn vs xbl.I think this is about how current ps gamers will accept subscriptions.From what i ve read here so far,the majority wouldnt mind to pay for a service.
2 Like @sladakrobot @4quarters True but PS+ deffinately gives one many more incentives than XBLGold. They have some really decent games on their for free for PS+ Subscribers, as well as great deals on the PSN store and early access to demos and other things.
1 Like @megakick Sony didnt lied...yet.Several model of subscription are announced,one of them is free...what is free is to be seen.
@megakick ...where was the LIE? PSN is free to game online, and view things as well as PS HOME
Waiting to hear more on this before I make my peace with the ps4 and end buying gaming console to join PC gaming.
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