Is free better for gamers?
Issue date: 3/25/09 Section: Other Stories
Sony's PlayStation 3 has been taking quite a few hits lately from gamers and video game publishers alike. It has been under tremendous pressure by publishers to lower the price of the $400 system, but Sony is facing problems with the gaming system beyond the price tag.
According to a recent post on the MTV Multiplayer blog, Sony has been charging video game publishers a "PlayStation Network Bandwidth Fee" since October 1st, 2008.
The fee breaks down like this: For every one gigabyte of downloadable content - demos or supplemental materials for video games - that is downloaded by users, the publisher must pay 16 cents. This doesn't sound like a big deal, but it adds up quickly. For example, if one million users download a video game demo, sized at one gigabyte exactly, that comes out to $160,000 out of their pockets. If the DLC is free, publishers only have to pay the fee during the first 60 days of the content's release. If users have to pay for the content, the fee is permanent and lasts the entire time the DLC is available.
"It definitely makes us think about how we view the distribution of content related to our games when it is free for us to do it on the web, on Xbox Live or any other way - including broadcast - than on Sony's platform," says an anonymous publishing source to MTV Multiplayer. "It's a new thing we have to budget. It's not cool. It sucks."
Microsoft's Xbox Live might seem like a better choice for publishers, but somebody has to pay for the DLC for that system, too. Gamers are charged $50 per year for a Gold membership, which is required to play games online. On top of that, an arcade game downloaded from Xbox Live is anywhere from $5 to $15, but this might be a small price to pay for the overwhelming DLC support behind the Xbox 360.
Sony might be trying to appeal to the consumer by providing the PlayStation Network free of charge, but this could also be a huge step in the wrong direction. Not only would Sony be deterring gamers from purchasing the system because of the inflated price tag, the company would be pushing away publishers from putting content on the Sony console because of the deluge of fees.
"It's like leaving your phone off the hook for a long distance call," says the publishing source. "The meter is still running."
Sony has said it isn't pessimistic about a potential fall out. The technology conglomerate feels there will be "no change in the high quality or quantity of demos and games available on PSN," said Sony spokesperson Patrick Seybold.
But the company needs to take a cue from its competition, listen to gamers and make some changes. If the sales of the PlayStation 3 continue to drop, Sony will have more to worry about than the amount of demos released on the PlayStation Network.
According to a recent post on the MTV Multiplayer blog, Sony has been charging video game publishers a "PlayStation Network Bandwidth Fee" since October 1st, 2008.
The fee breaks down like this: For every one gigabyte of downloadable content - demos or supplemental materials for video games - that is downloaded by users, the publisher must pay 16 cents. This doesn't sound like a big deal, but it adds up quickly. For example, if one million users download a video game demo, sized at one gigabyte exactly, that comes out to $160,000 out of their pockets. If the DLC is free, publishers only have to pay the fee during the first 60 days of the content's release. If users have to pay for the content, the fee is permanent and lasts the entire time the DLC is available.
"It definitely makes us think about how we view the distribution of content related to our games when it is free for us to do it on the web, on Xbox Live or any other way - including broadcast - than on Sony's platform," says an anonymous publishing source to MTV Multiplayer. "It's a new thing we have to budget. It's not cool. It sucks."
Microsoft's Xbox Live might seem like a better choice for publishers, but somebody has to pay for the DLC for that system, too. Gamers are charged $50 per year for a Gold membership, which is required to play games online. On top of that, an arcade game downloaded from Xbox Live is anywhere from $5 to $15, but this might be a small price to pay for the overwhelming DLC support behind the Xbox 360.
Sony might be trying to appeal to the consumer by providing the PlayStation Network free of charge, but this could also be a huge step in the wrong direction. Not only would Sony be deterring gamers from purchasing the system because of the inflated price tag, the company would be pushing away publishers from putting content on the Sony console because of the deluge of fees.
"It's like leaving your phone off the hook for a long distance call," says the publishing source. "The meter is still running."
Sony has said it isn't pessimistic about a potential fall out. The technology conglomerate feels there will be "no change in the high quality or quantity of demos and games available on PSN," said Sony spokesperson Patrick Seybold.
But the company needs to take a cue from its competition, listen to gamers and make some changes. If the sales of the PlayStation 3 continue to drop, Sony will have more to worry about than the amount of demos released on the PlayStation Network.