Sony: PS4 multiplayer fee 'will fund improvements'

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Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida has defended the company's decision to charge customers for online multiplayer on PlayStation 4.

In an interview with CVG at E3, Yoshida explained the move was necessary to maintain a high quality service and facilitate improvements and expansions.
"That's [was] a big decision," he said, "what we internally discussed and decided is that we will continue the free access to online play on PS3 and Vita, so that's clear. But because on PS4 the online connectivity features such as second screen, auto downloads and share features - these are one big pillar of the PS4 experience and we will continue to invest in this area to expand and improve these online features and services.

"If we keep giving away online access for free, the natural pressure is that we have to cut down on the cost to provide this free service. But that's conflicting with our goal of being able to provide very robust and great online services going forward. So we decided that on PS4, because we want to continue to invest and improve our new services, we've asked the most engaged consumers in the online activities to share the burden with us so that we can continue to invest."

"IF WE KEEP GIVING AWAY ONLINE ACCESS FOR FREE, THE NATURAL PRESSURE IS THAT WE HAVE TO CUT DOWN ON THE COST TO PROVIDE THIS FREE SERVICE"
During its E3 press conference Sony revealed PlayStation 4 owners must subscribe to PlayStation Plus for $5 a month to play online multiplayer and access a number of additional benefits.

"To make the pain a little bit less we will continue to offer free content with instant game collections, discounts and early access to betas on PS4 as well," Yoshida continued.

"So at the beginning we typically picked from older games for the instant game collection on Vita and PS3, but because everything is new on PS4 we decided to make a smaller version of Drive Club with all the online features open, included in that instant game collection on day one.

"In addition to that we add one digital game every month, so they get high quality indie games as well on top of what they get on PS3 and Vita. So hopefully that makes people's decision easy to join PS Plus."

During the press conference Sony confirmed PlayStation Plus memberships will carry over to PlayStation 4, so current members will have access to all of the benefits across PS3, PS Vita and PS4 for one price.

Sony later confirmed in a Tweet that PS4 users that aren't Plus members "can still enjoy single-player games and access to media services won't require Plus".

PlayStation 4 will launch this Christmas in Europe and North America for 399 USD / Euros or £349 GBP. A free PlayStation Plus version of Drive Club will be available to Plus subscribers at launch.

Posted:
Related Forum: PlayStation Forum

Source: http://www.computerandvideogames.com/413823/sony-ps4-multiplayer-fee-will-fund-improvements/

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"Sony: PS4 multiplayer fee 'will fund improvements'" :: Login/Create an Account :: 107 comments

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OasisPosted:

AnthonyUK I guess this will hurt Xbox's Chances PS+ is really cheap.


Wow. Your really that dumb?

slapshot101Posted:

This really isn't that bad $5 a month is nothing it's double that for live. I think that this fee will make the services better and allow PSN to not be down so much.

xSTaTiCBLuExPosted:

I see their intentions but I wish it was a little cheaper, say 35 a year

MrOldGenerationPosted:

I guess this will hurt Xbox's Chances PS+ is really cheap.

SwiftPosted:

PS fans should be happy about this. Stuff like this is what made most users pick the 360 over the PS3. because it will allow better online servers.

LuckyOtterPosted:

Not surprised that they made this move. Helps out the company and if you can't afford fifty dollars a year then maybe you should get a job instead. I always hated when people complained about paying for xbox live.

SteeenPosted:

Sembolo It's a miracle they've JUST decided to charge now! People saying "You should get it anyway"

It costs money to make games and upkeep **** at companies like SONY.

Besides, only 5$ compared to 10$ a month? I like that, + PS4 doesn't have all this ******** about connecting once every 24 hours, or no used games or whatever the hell other downsides the Xbox has. Who gives a damn about watching TV on Xbox? I've sucked Microsoft's **** for 5 years for this ****? SONY always did make higher quality products in my opinion. :P

I've made my final decision, along with like 15 other friends, I'm going to PS4.


Agreed. I'm on the the same page as you.

SemboloPosted:

It's a miracle they've JUST decided to charge now! People saying "You should get it anyway"

It costs money to make games and upkeep shit at companies like SONY.

Besides, only 5$ compared to 10$ a month? I like that, + PS4 doesn't have all this bullshit about connecting once every 24 hours, or no used games or whatever the hell other downsides the Xbox has. Who gives a damn about watching TV on Xbox? I've sucked Microsoft's dick for 5 years for this shit? SONY always did make higher quality products in my opinion. :P

I've made my final decision, along with like 15 other friends, I'm going to PS4.

MaulPosted:

Wagering Puts an end to all those "Xbox sucks because you pay" arguments. Now they're even.


Yeah, but now there are a lot more arguments that you can use to say "Xbox sucks"

It's all pointless anyways, because it doesn't matter which console you buy.It's all personal opinion...

WokzePosted:

jakerussell yep.. was wondering why the console was a lot cheaper.. they just gunna get more money now and make it look like they have a cheap console


the plus isn't to expensive though, $5 a month is a fair price i'd say.


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