I play on the 360. That means to enjoy online features, I have to pay a subscription fee. This is one thing PS3 owners hold over my head to no end. But haven't you ever wondered why it's free?
I do know that Microsoft prefers that people making downloadable content available make that content "premium" (READ: make'em pay for it), but that doesn't mean they all are of course. We do get free content on occasion, and there is much rejoicing when we do.
But the Playstation Network? Well, of course accessing it in the first place is free. But the publishers? Apparently they're having a hissy fit on the fees that come from putting DLC on the PSN.
The PlayStation Network Bandwidth Fee, instituted on October 1st of last year, charges game publishers 16 cents per gigabyte of free and paid content download via the PlayStation Network, which presumably helps Sony cover the cost of the bandwidth. The fee only covers the first 60 days of downloads for free content, while paid content accrues fees until the content is removed from the service.
While 16 cents may not sound like much, as MTV Multiplayer points out, a one gigabyte demo downloaded one million times equals an additional $160,000 a publisher has to pay Sony, on top of licensing fees to get their games on the PlayStation 3 in the first place. Needless to say, publishers aren't too happy about the fee.
Big deal stuff has been bolded. Your stuff on the PSN popular? That's great! Now pay up publisher!
The arguments between Xbox Live's subscription fees and Playstation's free service is never going to end, but this is certainly food for thought on how you percieve the business your recieve.
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