PS4 Online Multiplayer Requires PS+ Subscription

[ImmortalDrifter]

Well I can't call this unanticipated. It costs an assload of money to keep the multiplayer systems running; and with the PS4's increased power and added features, it will no doubt increase server stress. I was honestly surprised Sony was able to hold out his long without charging a fee.

Something also tells me this news is Sony pressing their current PR advantage over Microsoft to get the pricewall in place while people are still hailing them as the saviors of mainstream console gaming. Who knows?

 

[recurve6]

My main problem with this is that my credit account is totally incapable of paying for PS Plus, not for funds but because my account does not enable address verification and thus denies any charges. Not even buying prepaid cards works for PS Plus because you HAVE to have a card verified in order for it to be accepted, which has prevented me from signing up in the past.

As long as they have found a method that includes all account types able to pay, it's not as bad; however, PS Plus was originally meant to supplement online features like early access, discounts, etc but now they've turned it into a near-mandatory service, considering the myriad of titles these days being multiplayer-integrated experiences.

 

[texanarob]

Just because one man charges you a tenner for a stinking turd, doesn't make the polished one for £5 a good deal.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

Pity Sony chose to go down this route. I generally don't play online, so this doesn't affect me, but I sympathize with those who do care.

At least PS Plus has something to offer besides online mp. It might not be up to par with Steam sales in terms of money potentially saved, but there's some sweet deals to had. Gotta find solace in something.

 

[Use_Imagination_here]

Damn. I was gonna actually get the PS4.

Guess I'll just stick with mah computer. Paid a thousand euros to build the thing, might as well play with it.

I mean there's really no incentive now. I was going to get the console so I could play with my some random fps with friends but the PC is free so... Tough shit I guess. There's exclusives, but I'd actually have to get through all the games I've bought on steam before I'll allow myself to buy anything new that I haven't played the previous installments in.

This really just sucks

 

[Saltyk]

Like many many others have said. As long as the PS+ remains the same as it is, this is not bad news. The only reason I don't currently have it, is that I rarely download anything off PSN. But now, I see it as nothing but good news. Fine I need PS+ to play online with my friends. But if I can also download free games, DLC, themes, and other content, I don't lose anything. And PS+ more than pays for itself in the freebies and discounts.

This isn't bad news. It's simply news. Maybe even good news. As long as Sony keeps being as awesome as they have been the last 24 hours, I still plan to buy a PS4. And as long as PS+ remains largely the same, I'll pay for it with a smile.

May even go preorder a PS4 this weekend.

 

[jowell24]

This makes the subscription service between Sony and Microsoft a bit closer but the former still takes the cake based on the benefits of the paid service.

I had a slight anticipation that Sony would stop free online gaming because it seemed from a business point of view, a natural progression to move to and therefore I wasn't as surprised (still unfortunate though). I've always considered getting a Plus subscription and I guess this makes the final push for me. Luckily I feel that the features of Plus help ease the pain of having to pay for the one of the features that made Sony popular last generation.

I also assume that PS3 online gaming will remain free.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

One of my problems is that it is single-account, and I have multiple accounts in order to make more characters on RPGs and more mechs in Armored Core. That's all I do. I would much rather it apply to all accounts on the system, like DLC does.

do you use all of those online? because online you wouldj sut need one of them unless you need multiple different accounts online for different characters online (which is kinda like a MMO?), in which case thats how its done anyway. still i think ahving character limit in singleplayer games is extremely stupid idea to begin with and came due to lack of power of current outdated consoles.

Not at once, but often once I fill up my allocation of 20 characters or 50 mechs or whatever, I have to move on to a different account if I want to make any more without deleting them. The PS+ apparently only does one account, although I might be able to use that across multiple 'users', but even so, sometimes I do have different accounts for different things. Oh well.

Yeah, it's a pretty arbitrary limitation, especially considering you can start a game on a new account anyway.

 

[Beautiful End]

Alright, I love free things as much as the next guy. Free online gaming is the main reason I bought a PS3. But I'm okay with this. I already had PS+ and it was pretty good. Free games, demos, and so on. So yeah, if PS+ remains as good as it is right now, I won't mind. Hell, I'm paying MS to play online anyway and I'm not getting anything out of it.

 

[Quellist]

*Shrug* So what? i'll be saving £5 a month or so by cancelling my Xbox Live subscription so for me its more like migrating to another service than having an extra cost.

As long as they continue to give free games and such like they currently do its a win still IMO

 

[Norrdicus]

But doesn't PS+ require a credit card? that's the only thing that worries me, is having to use a credit card, I've always used prepaid credit for the PSN and even used prepaid time for WoW when i used to play.

I used prepaid cards bought from retail, now moving to Paypal as it looks like it's finally an option.

When it's free, people *****. "You get what you pay for HAHAHA!"

Now when it's not free ...

I wonder if the subscription is necessary only if you go through the PSN network ... What about MMOs?

At least the F2P MMOs (Planetside 2, DCUO...) will not require PS+ and some other games decided by publishers. Yoshida confirmed this

If this means that the online servers will be of higher quality, then call me a convert.

It looks like things are going to move to that direction, Yoshida says that the strategy this gen will be different from PS3's "lower costs and cut corners to keep services and features cheap" tactic they used post-launch. Only time will tell

"Our plan is to continue to invest in the future, but investing like this is not compatible with our previous policy that involved reducing costs by every mean to keep the service free. [http://www.dualshockers.com/2013/06/12/e3-2013-sonys-shuhei-yoshida-shares-relevant-details-on-playstation-plus-requirement-for-multiplayer-on-ps4/]"

 

[RicoADF]

This isn't even necessarily as bad as it sounds (and it doesn't sound that bad at all, really). In all likelihood, they're using the fact that they'll get this increased long-term revenue, and using that to justify having a lower price for the main console - they'll make their large profits in the long term rather than short term, but the price differential is going to lead to a higher rate of adoption over Microsoft, as if that wasn't going to happen already. If they hadn't done this, the PS4 might have come in at a slightly higher price bracket, so really, it'll likely only cost you more money after 6-12 months or so - not to mention you get the free games. I mean seriously - the WiiU costs, what, $350? Sony's got to be getting that $400 price tag from somewhere. That or Nintendo are just morons... which, actually, is not out of the question, now that I think about it.

Of course, I could be wrong, and they could just be fleecing us, but you know what? It's a better service than XBL, what with the EXTENSIVE free games library and all, so anyone making the decision based on online stuff should still come down on Sony's side. It's better for Sony to edge out Microsoft on all fronts than to seriously outpace them in only a few.

I say let them have it - they've earned it, by managing to not shoot themselves in the foot like Nintendo and Microsoft, and as a 360 user, it's a dynamic I'm already familiar with.

Actually you make a good point there, here in Australia at $549 thats about half the price of a PS3 on release (I paid $1000 for my pre-ordered PS3, money well spent I might add since it plays PS2 games ), and while the hardware they've selected is cheaper the big drop probably does need to be funded from somewhere *scratches chin* that's actually not such a bad thing in the grand scheme of things. Depending on local price, lemme check *checks Playstation Australia website* Hmm so $69.95/yr, basically $6/month..... not a bad price actually..... It would take 7 years of paying for PS+ to make the cost of the PS4 on launch day equal a PS3 on launch day, not to mention the extras.... not a bad deal at all.

 

[RicoADF]

But doesn't PS+ require a credit card? that's the only thing that worries me, is having to use a credit card, I've always used prepaid credit for the PSN and even used prepaid time for WoW when i used to play.

You can buy PS+ cards in EB games (Gamestop in the US)

Pictured above

 

[mrjoe94]

The way I see it... this is MORE than forgivable in exchange for the fact that the CONSOLE costs 100 bucks less than the competitor.

I forgot about this. I have absolutely no issue with the online now. People should be happy the console is cheaper at all than the XBone.

 

[Strazdas]

One of my problems is that it is single-account, and I have multiple accounts in order to make more characters on RPGs and more mechs in Armored Core. That's all I do. I would much rather it apply to all accounts on the system, like DLC does.

do you use all of those online? because online you wouldj sut need one of them unless you need multiple different accounts online for different characters online (which is kinda like a MMO?), in which case thats how its done anyway. still i think ahving character limit in singleplayer games is extremely stupid idea to begin with and came due to lack of power of current outdated consoles.

Not at once, but often once I fill up my allocation of 20 characters or 50 mechs or whatever, I have to move on to a different account if I want to make any more without deleting them. The PS+ apparently only does one account, although I might be able to use that across multiple 'users', but even so, sometimes I do have different accounts for different things. Oh well.

Yeah, it's a pretty arbitrary limitation, especially considering you can start a game on a new account anyway.

so you create 20 characters and then go to create more? lets face you, your are in a small minority of people who even reach those 20 characters. though in my personal opinion there should no limit for characters to begin with. but yeah the world is sadly movign towards "no different accounts, must be all in one". i hated when youtube forced me to use my gmail account which was used for completely different purpose (not that it even asked me, one day i just got told to use gmail password to login ) or how everything has the "comments via facebook" and if you dont use facebook, tought, there is no seperate registration to comment on this site only.

 

[TallanKhan]

Well I'm going to miss playing games online i suppose.

Hopefully enough people will be put off to effect the revenue from add on map packs and whatnot and if so they might review this later.