PSN will continue to be free - bit-tech.net Forums

CardJoe · 4th Jul 2008, 12:32

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2008/07...e-to-be-free/1

Sony executives have confirmed that they still have no plans to make PSN a subscription service despite rising costs.

Timmy_the_tortoise · 4th Jul 2008, 12:39

It's free.. But it's just a shame that it sucks compared to LIVE.

bowman · 4th Jul 2008, 12:42

PSN, LIVE?

No thanks, I'll stick to Steam and Battle.net. What's that, they're free you say? Work perfectly fine you say?

Oops. Maybe PCs aren't dead after all.

Timmy_the_tortoise · 4th Jul 2008, 12:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by bowman

PSN, LIVE?

No thanks, I'll stick to Steam and Battle.net. What's that, they're free you say? Work perfectly fine you say?

Oops. Maybe PCs aren't dead after all.

Steam's great... but it just can't beat the ease of use of LIVE.. and not every PC game uses it... in fact, only Valve ones do at the moment.. Of course soon there'll be more non-Valve games putting it to use, but I think you get it.

p3n · 4th Jul 2008, 13:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timmy_the_tortoise

Quote:

Originally Posted by bowman

PSN, LIVE?

No thanks, I'll stick to Steam and Battle.net. What's that, they're free you say? Work perfectly fine you say?

Oops. Maybe PCs aren't dead after all.

Steam's great... but it just can't beat the ease of use of LIVE.. and not every PC game uses it... in fact, only Valve ones do at the moment.. Of course soon there'll be more non-Valve games putting it to use, but I think you get it.

Try using steam since 1999?

baronvongogo · 4th Jul 2008, 13:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timmy_the_tortoise

Steam's great... but it just can't beat the ease of use of LIVE.. and not every PC game uses it... in fact, only Valve ones do at the moment.. Of course soon there'll be more non-Valve games putting it to use, but I think you get it.

Steam has plenty of non valve games on its service such as, bioshock, the whole collection of ID games, Prey, max payne series, audiosurf and many more:
http://steampowered.com/v/index.php

The problem with the pc platform is that for the average joe they won’t know how to fix any problems that might arise or even getting their microphone detected. This is the one area where consoles are better being just plug and play if something goes wrong turn off and turn back on.

sandys · 4th Jul 2008, 13:30

Sony will most likely offer up Qore here as a method of generating revenue, its like an xbox Live Gold thing where you get exclusive access to stuff but unlike Xbox you can stil game and stuff like that online for free, seems fair enough, better than having a load of ads infecting my XMB which is another alternative that was talked about.

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2008/...h-playstation/

Timmy_the_tortoise · 4th Jul 2008, 13:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by baronvongogo

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timmy_the_tortoise

Steam's great... but it just can't beat the ease of use of LIVE.. and not every PC game uses it... in fact, only Valve ones do at the moment.. Of course soon there'll be more non-Valve games putting it to use, but I think you get it.

Steam has plenty of non valve games on its service such as, bioshock, the whole collection of ID games, Prey, max payne series, audiosurf and many more:
http://steampowered.com/v/index.php

The problem with the pc platform is that for the average joe they wonÂ’t know how to fix any problems that might arise or even getting their microphone detected. This is the one area where consoles are better being just plug and play if something goes wrong turn off and turn back on.

That's not what I meant, though, is it? I meant all of the Steam Community features which are what make it in any way comparable to LIVE. The friends, the achievements, the messaging system.. chatting with friends in-game..

bowman · 4th Jul 2008, 13:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timmy_the_tortoise

Quote:

Originally Posted by bowman

PSN, LIVE?

No thanks, I'll stick to Steam and Battle.net. What's that, they're free you say? Work perfectly fine you say?

Oops. Maybe PCs aren't dead after all.

Steam's great... but it just can't beat the ease of use of LIVE.. and not every PC game uses it... in fact, only Valve ones do at the moment.. Of course soon there'll be more non-Valve games putting it to use, but I think you get it.

That's because in the PC world we have such fantastic things as competition, open platforms, modifiable games, complete digital distribution..

Heck, every feature the current generation of consoles have that they're touting, we've had for years, sometimes even decades before they had them. 'HD gaming'? Given that Sony's definition of that is 720p and sometimes less, we've had that since the 90's, thank you.

Timmy_the_tortoise · 4th Jul 2008, 14:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by bowman

That's because in the PC world we have such fantastic things as competition, open platforms, modifiable games, complete digital distribution..

Heck, every feature the current generation of consoles have that they're touting, we've had for years, sometimes even decades before they had them. 'HD gaming'? Given that Sony's definition of that is 720p and sometimes less, we've had that since the 90's, thank you.

Stop being so patronising and talking to me as though I'm some lowly Console gamer who thinks "PC gaming is too fiddly"...

I am a PC Gamer, but the LIVE platform is just so well thought out, it's perfectly simple.. I love it. The fact is that there are SO many platforms on PC that you can rarely find one that all your friends use. Steam is the best, undoubtedly, but the in game chat that is with friends who you are not currently playing with only works with a limited number of Valve games.. automatic updates only apply to Valve games.. It needs further growth before it's as good as LIVE.

Bauul · 4th Jul 2008, 14:29

I must admit that whilst I'm a PC player at heart, the short time I've had a play with Live it came across as extremely smooth and easy to use. Something that to be honest not even Steam can claim to always be.

baronvongogo · 4th Jul 2008, 14:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timmy_the_tortoise

That's not what I meant, though, is it? I meant all of the Steam Community features which are what make it in any way comparable to LIVE. The friends, the achievements, the messaging system.. chatting with friends in-game..

Oh ok thought you meant steam as a whole

but yes the steam community options are limited, so far it only a few games fully supported with steamworks which is where LIVE is set apart as being a fully complete tool for achievements, chatting and friend system for all its games.

LIVE is still ahead of PSN just little things annoy me with the PS3 such as not being able to password my account so say my brother could login as me play as me online or use my saves.

badders · 4th Jul 2008, 14:45

As good as LIVE may be, the fact that it's not free is the reason I haven't bought a 360. Even on the PC I won't upgrade to gold - silver's free and it's the minimum I need to play the GFW games.

What are the main differences in infrastructure between LIVE and PSN? I've heard that quite a few 360 games actually host the multiplayer on someone's 360 instead of a server - is this the same on PS3, or are the games hosted by the developer/publisher?

Timmy_the_tortoise · 4th Jul 2008, 15:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by badders

As good as LIVE may be, the fact that it's not free is the reason I haven't bought a 360. Even on the PC I won't upgrade to gold - silver's free and it's the minimum I need to play the GFW games.

What are the main differences in infrastructure between LIVE and PSN? I've heard that quite a few 360 games actually host the multiplayer on someone's 360 instead of a server - is this the same on PS3, or are the games hosted by the developer/publisher?

Â£40 a year is bloody peanuts, mate.

And yes, quite a few games (such as Halo 3 and CoD4) do host on someone's 360 as opposed to a dedicated server... It works well, but makes international play considerably more laggy... especially when playing across the pond.

badders · 4th Jul 2008, 15:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timmy_the_tortoise

Â£40 a year is bloody peanuts, mate.

And yes, quite a few games (such as Halo 3 and CoD4) do host on someone's 360 as opposed to a dedicated server... It works well, but makes international play considerably more laggy... especially when playing across the pond.

I don't know what your situation is, but £40 a year is a lot of money, especially if you have to pay it all in one go. If you can pay it monthly I bet it's more, too!

Timmy_the_tortoise · 4th Jul 2008, 15:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by badders

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timmy_the_tortoise

Â£40 a year is bloody peanuts, mate.

And yes, quite a few games (such as Halo 3 and CoD4) do host on someone's 360 as opposed to a dedicated server... It works well, but makes international play considerably more laggy... especially when playing across the pond.

I don't know what your situation is, but Â£40 a year is a lot of money, especially if you have to pay it all in one go. If you can pay it monthly I bet it's more, too!

As a one off payment, I suppose it is a little steep, and yes.. the monthly plan makes it a little more expensive.. but it's not a bad price for the services you get. I think it's definitely worth it.

will. · 4th Jul 2008, 15:25

PSN store is better than Live.

Live's integration with the multiplayer aspect of games is better than PSN.

PSN is free... Xbox is cheaper...

It's pretty much neck and neck.

Timmy_the_tortoise · 4th Jul 2008, 15:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by will.

PSN store is better than Live.

Live's integration with the multiplayer aspect of games is better than PSN.

PSN is free... Xbox is cheaper...

It's pretty much neck and neck.

From my (limited) experience with PSN store.. I would say that it is better than XBL Marketplace.. BUT, the downloads from the PSN Store took FOREVER!! It was stupidly slow.. It may have been my brother-in-law's router, or internet connection but Jesus Christ.. it was like running on a 14.4k modem or something..

WildThing · 4th Jul 2008, 15:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by bowman

That's because in the PC world we have such fantastic things as competition, open platforms, modifiable games, complete digital distribution..

Heck, every feature the current generation of consoles have that they're touting, we've had for years, sometimes even decades before they had them. 'HD gaming'? Given that Sony's definition of that is 720p and sometimes less, we've had that since the 90's, thank you.

Lol QFT

kenco_uk · 4th Jul 2008, 15:36

Hang on a mo - who was doubting it was going to be staying free?

4th Jul 2008, 12:32	#1
CardJoe Player Character bit-tech Staff Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 7,940	PSN will continue to be free http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2008/07...e-to-be-free/1 Sony executives have confirmed that they still have no plans to make PSN a subscription service despite rising costs. __________________ this is joe's non-bit-tech blog

4th Jul 2008, 12:39	#2
Timmy_the_tortoise International Man of Awesome Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: County Durham, UK Posts: 961	It's free.. But it's just a shame that it sucks compared to LIVE. __________________ Q6600 @ 2.40GHz w/G0\|Gigabyte GA-G33M-DS2R\|4GB OCZ Gold PC-6400 800MHz\|Powercolor Radeon HD4850\|Samsung Spinpoint F1 1TB\|Scythe Ninja Mini\|LG Blu-ray/HD DVD/DVD-RW Combo Drive\|Corsair TX650W\|Antec NSK2480 Pioneer VSX-417\|2x Gale 3010\|2x Yamaha NSP110\| MS304W Centre \| MS308 Subwoofer

4th Jul 2008, 13:30	#7
sandys Hypermodder Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bristol, UK Posts: 914	Sony will most likely offer up Qore here as a method of generating revenue, its like an xbox Live Gold thing where you get exclusive access to stuff but unlike Xbox you can stil game and stuff like that online for free, seems fair enough, better than having a load of ads infecting my XMB which is another alternative that was talked about. http://blog.us.playstation.com/2008/...h-playstation/ __________________ Into Gaming and around Bristol, UK, Click Here

4th Jul 2008, 14:29	#11
Bauul Sir Bongaminge Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Godalming, near Guildford Posts: 1,553	I must admit that whilst I'm a PC player at heart, the short time I've had a play with Live it came across as extremely smooth and easy to use. Something that to be honest not even Steam can claim to always be. __________________ Pentium 4 CPU 3.4 Ghz \| 1Gb + 2x512Mb Corsair DDR2 667 Mhz Sapphire Radeon HD 4770 512Mb\| WD Raptor 36Gb, Seagate 300Gb \| Asus P5LD2 SE Ibanez RG 470 Japanese Edition \| 1991 Japanese Lo-TRS Tremolo \| V7 S1 Custom V8 HSH Pickups

4th Jul 2008, 15:25	#17
will. A motorbike of jealousy! Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Yorkshire! Posts: 4,403	PSN store is better than Live. Live's integration with the multiplayer aspect of games is better than PSN. PSN is free... Xbox is cheaper... It's pretty much neck and neck. __________________ work \| play \| blog PS3 & 360: willblack Flickr my twitter. Last.FM Check out my Last.FM & iToggle & Nav-o-Matic jQuery plugins.

4th Jul 2008, 12:42	#3
bowman Multimodder Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 249	PSN, LIVE? No thanks, I'll stick to Steam and Battle.net. What's that, they're free you say? Work perfectly fine you say? Oops. Maybe PCs aren't dead after all.

4th Jul 2008, 15:36	#20
kenco_uk glourious bacon? Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Bourne, Lincolnshire, UK Posts: 6,292	Hang on a mo - who was doubting it was going to be staying free? __________________ MSI X58M - i7 920 4Ghz - 6GB Corsair - GTX260 648/2520 ::: Vote for bit-tech T - theevilelephant - "it sounded like bouncing around on a pogo stick, screaming in chinese while occasionally throwing a cat at a door."