The Price of Free

PSN users are quick to point out PSN's one advantage over Xbox LIVE. PSN is free. Recently, though, that price of free has gotten to be pretty expensive.


Included with your Xbox LIVE membership, you get Netflix, Hulu, ESPN, facebook, twitter, exclusive discounts and promotions, and, of course, online multiplayer. Some of those features require subscriptions to the services themselves, such as Netflix or Hulu Plus. PSN offers all of that that anyone actually cares about (minus the discounts and promos) as part of it's free service. Recently, a service known as PlayStation Plus was launched, giving you access to discounts and exclusive promos. Most people don't find this worth it, as you'd have to spend quite a bit on games to make it worth the $50/year price tag. Also, you're essentially paying almost what an Xbox LIVE subscription costs just to have the privilege of discounts.

Unless you live under a rock, you likely heard that a group of anti corporation hackers stole the information of around 70 million PSN users. PSN was down for about a month. Downloadable games were delayed as a result. DC Universe Online subscribers found their PlayStation 3 MMO unplayable. Netflix streaming was unusable (for some). While Xbox LIVE subscribers were shooting each other in the face courtesy of CoD: Black Ops, PlayStation users were left wondering if they would ever get the pleasure of doing the same again. If you were one of the unfortunate one's who actually had their stolen identity used to make purchases, the price was pretty steep. Suddenly, a paid service for online multiplayer didn't look so bad.

Now, Sony has announced the launch of a new paid service, PSN Pass. Similar to programs announced by both Electronic Arts and UbiSoft, playing PSN Pass games (which will be all first party titles released post Resistance 3) will require a code to unlock online functionality. The code is included with all retail copies of the game and will be tied either to the console or the user name that activates it. Sony hasn't announced yet how this works. What this means is that those who purchase the game used will have to purchase a code from Sony. The codes will cost $10. Until Sony clears the air, it could mean that any account or console not tied to the new game will also have to pay for online functionality. Basically, this means that you're brother or wife might have to pay for the code to play online with you, even if the disc you purchased is a retail purchase and not a used purchase.

Let's say you buy 10 used games a year. You just spent $100 dollars for online functionality. I pay $60 a year for Xbox LIVE regardless of what I buy or how often I use the service. Now, Microsoft can't keep third parties from ripping you off, but at least I know that I'll never be penalized for purchasing a used first party Xbox 36 title.

If I were a Sony customer, I'd let them know how I feel about the way they've decided to reward my loyalty.