IMHO anyone who pays for PSN+ loses the right to complain about XBL fees.

xgame chat is a pointless feature that xbro's keep crying about. if you like it so much STAY ON YOUR DUCKING SYSTEM. and a party system would be nice but you can party up in side a game and play. so another pointless feature.

and if you really need to talk to your buddy while he's in another game. get skype and video chat. or callhim. using system resources to talk to a friend in another game is pointless and doesnt help any one.

psn+ pwns live cuz were not PAYING to play ONLINE

If it comes with cross-game chat, I'm sold. That's it. No questions asked :)

I wont be getting it unless they add something better like i dont know....CROSS GAME CHAT

shitty article this guy did nothing but dis the psn+. some ps website. dam dude its not even out yet and your already shutting it out ITS NOT OUT YET how the hell do you know what's coming. thinking an xbot wrote that article that's pissed he doesnt get multiplayer for free

throw in vidzone and im sold i could care less about private chat nothing is more anoying than half your team in a private chat

I see this as a good deal for those who buy A lot from psn. 4 free games a month (1 psn title, 1 classic and 2 minis) sounds like a pretty good deal.

1 psn game = 5-20€~
1 Classic = 3-8€~
2 minis = 2-5€
+ other content (some of which should be free to being with like avatars)

Also the discounts on psn games may also work well for people that are constantly buying stuff from PSN. And the people that want to get in to the betas get what they want.

But I agree, this is not for everybody. The people who don't give a **** about psn games, classics, minis and don't really care about betas wont find much from this service at least for now.

imo Cross game chat should be a free feature tough...

oh lord it's OPTIONAL... If you guys truly hate it that much, then don't buy it.

i can't believe you all think Sony is going to give anything worth while away. They offer minis for free cos no one wants them. The reason they added all them lame ps1 games over the last year was for psn+ filler. For every good ps1 game they uploaded 4 worthless ones so they had enough to give away. I don't see Sony giving Final Fantasy 7 or Resident Evil etc away with this service. You will get the worst they have to offer.

that’s the exact point valve isn’t altruistic they’ve been offering this but they are a company they want to make money so where as it is free if the can get a very small slice of the free money Sony is going to get for PSN+ then its in their best interests to cater to the 30 mill plus people who have ps3s. and for Sony they do a couple important things which are smart to try to get us to pay... 1 they make sure to differentiate that we are paying to play online but a separate unrelated service that caters to people with high game consumption that is smart because we as silly ps3 owners don’t feel betrayed nor does it break some imaginary moral code we would have about paying for internet play (all online gaming should be free!!!)2 they can now monetize and cut out the used market (possibly)because if your on PSN+ u don’t need the used games u try and u get bored you move on u like u have the option to buy (and you may get to buy possibly at a discount)3 next the don’t have to developed the software valve will do it for a nominal fee and connect its infrastructure with theirs bolstering their library and adding functionality that was always there but free its a win all around 4 these discounts they give you make you feel exclusive and help to ease to make the fact you paying 50 a year but in reality when to take advantage of the savings you’d have to buy and try and play every game (which isn’t bad, ever person who gets bored might do this and def game reviews for job and practicality) but so now you buy every game but its a win either way for Sony if u leave the discounts on tithe table that’s good because it was bullet point for u buying it and if your member shit expires maybe you’ll buy it after, if u do buy it in addition to the 50 u pay u gave Sony more free money and its free because you wont buy every discounted game (not that that wont help Sony a little but in the long run if everyone bought everything on PSN plus they would be changing the value of the games in a way) 4 they now have a new revenue stream akin to Microsoft free money for relatively nothing to fund the random stuff they want to do and to make more money annually 5 they get to satiate all the idiots who are dying to pay for stuff thinking it’ll allow Sony to developed more features and that this will make PSN better than or equal to live because now they are paying for it. this is stupid as they are the same the ideology feels different and the ads make you feel connected and they do have small very close to useless perks like watching movies with my friends and family if they sign up to gold and netflix but those are useless the most useful thing live has is party chat and that is suspect, Sony could and should have founded a similar solution I thought of a long time ago but didn’t either way the dedicated server offer better game play online technically and isn’t unfair like peer to peer and also for a free service has experience way less and way shorter uninterrupted days. (I'm not defending this, I won’t buy PSN+ but I do like the features, and I really don’t think anyone else should because I'm scared of Sony wanting to charge for internet ala Microsoft but then again I'm scared if this isn’t a success they will have to resort to charging for internet (grrrr) al la Microsoft. So we are screwed either way honestly this isn’t as offensive as live because Xbox live is directly paying for basic and the free features of the internet and that bothers me as a person. Playing online should be free. I pay my provider I buy these games and securing all the exclusives in the world and adding all the paid content and ads and faux community stuff doesn’t make me buy into it. It feels like a community because we all get the same ads we had all our friends on it years ago because it was their only real viable choice. It was the only next generation system for a year!

Things are much different now and the woman we went to bed with eagerly in the dark is much uglier in the morning lol imagine silver subscription allow u to play Xbox online and to voice chat. none of those other features would matter as much face book integration wed just use our comp… think about it I’m no fanboy I just believe in practicality) So this isn’t Sony could be charging for basic internet play this is exactly like a Costco’s card u pay 50 bucks for a discounted game and free samples just like Costco’s but when u leave the store you cant (keep playing your games or) keep refilling the soda that came with the huge hotdog you bought for 1.50. I'm happy steam is coming I heard it was a great free service and this seems smart/ practical as long as they dont touch my free net gaming (and or take/ charge for the base features now or potentially base features) (and yes there is such a thing as potentially base features) I'm fine.

I dunno i want PSN+, but feel like the features for the price I pay is like an extended PSN voucher... All I read was buy games... Rent Games..... Discount prices on games...

I was hoping for awesome features that include cross game chat, PS2 emulator or at least a count down to get us excited about it. Or even a beter XMB overhaul with faster Internet browser!

come on Sony FUDGE IT!!! think what ppl actaully want. Not what you think they want... If its not possible to add these features, then just come out and say.. PSN+ is a miniature version of STEAM

-New Web browser
-Cleaner & faster XMB
-PS2 games on the PSN
-Background game updates
-PS2 BC
-Redesigned in-game XMB

F! Cross game voice chat.

thats the breakdown and it sounds really lame.the free games will be lame ones,and why wouldnt you get free games cause it would be like ur payn for one each month by payn the price of plus,but half price. discounts are anything,most gamer will buy a game off psn if they like it.

if im payn for anything it will be from a third party like netflix or something like that. least psn is still free to play online

"Grand Theft Auto 4 and Metal Gear Solid 4 because now, Plus users will be able to experience the exciting opening of install screens and initial load time."

Where does a downloaded copy of MSG4 and GTAIV install itself to exactly?

sony should offer a free ti++y,for u whining brats,its optional idiots!

Sony can't do anything right. They're always getting attacked for *something*. What part of optional do people not understand? Seriously?

i like the writers sarcasm and ability to incorporate jokes in his explainations.

i thought their was supposed to be extended warranty and free online hard drive included....well eitherway i dont want this service or xbox live golds

tho i dont know why people say this is worse than wat live offers, u mostly pay for live to play online, ps3 does that free already. even if this is just a netflix for games its still more useful than live to me as all live has is X-game chat.

I will stick to free tho :) an option sony gives all of us

I mean, I bought Siren Blood Curse, which was $40, but it's sincerely doubtful that would ever be free, and then I did buy a couple PSone titles. But other than that all I bought was Noby Noby Boy.. I loved Katamari, and it's just as ridic. I don't really have anything else I really want.

Off topic..kind of still on though: So, obviously, N4G has been very Pro-Sony lately, and I'm sure I'll get disagrees.

But, honestly, until PSN fixes up their interface, and does a little more to foster a community, then XBL is still going to be topdog in my opinion. I mean, if PSN implements a party system, how are we going to check who's in the party and what games each individual is playing? Is it just all going to be on that crappy little friends list thing we have? with just a bunch of the little icons next to eachother, and you have to click on each one to see what they're playing?

On XBL, you can see who is in each party, and what they are playing, right on your dashboard, and if you click on the party, you get to see what each individual is playing, but even if you don't, you see what the majority are playing as an icon on the outside of the party. & if the party is open (which you can make it joinable or invite-only) then you press Y to join when you are scrolled over to the party you want to join. Or if you are in a party and you want to invite a friend, you just bring up the blade menu by pressing the xbox button, and scroll down to friends, and then you choose which friend, and press X to invite to party. It's so simple. M$ is an interface company, that's what they do best. Well, not as good as Apple, but Windows 7 is pretty fancy schmancy. So, this is where is shows.

I honestly love my PS3, don't get me wrong. I love the games. I like the Blu Ray-ness. But it's interface leaves a lot to be desired. It makes sense for the PSP, but this is a not a hand-held system, it's serious business, and with PSN, they are doing practically nothing to foster a community, other than allowing you a friends list. If they did a complete interface overhaul, and made something simple to use, and easy to tell what's going on in your friend-world. Then, I think that would be very much for the best. & Maybe you all are content to sit pretty with a crappy interface, but I really hope when they release party chat, that they at least fix it up. I would pay $3 or 4 dollars a month for that.

I agree, but you must admit people have been asking for x game chat for years now, and Sony just keep letting people down on a major request.
As it stands PSN + is perfect for moms or dads that buys a lot of stuff from the PSN for their kids, and anybody in general that want to save some kind of money.

The guy who wrote this article is a complete PRICK!!!!!

Now that Jim Ryan is gone just need to remove Herman Hulst from his position! And maybe give Shuhei the position he deserved.

This gen hasn't been the best for games, last gen consoles are still out there and now there's been talk of the PS6 and Xbox Two for a year or so. Many games this gen will be ported to next gen and the cycle will continue. The re-release of the Neo Geo AES+, games on cartridge for £70 ($95), gaming is going back in time. Gaming has gone pricing mad with the high cost of games, consoles and controllers. The men and women at the top are clueless.

It’s always interesting to hear behind-the-scenes stories like this, especially involving veterans like Shuhei Yoshida and leadership figures like Jim Ryan. That said, there are usually multiple sides to decisions at that level. It could be less about not “listening” and more about differences in long-term vision for PlayStation. Yoshida played a huge role in shaping the brand, so whatever the reason, his impact is undeniable.

If true, and I'm inclined to believe it is, it goes to show that Sony lost their way when they became more western/didn't respect the PlayStation origin story. Andrew House and Jack Tretton did great work, but they also didn't try to fundamentally change the PlayStation DNA. Ryan oversaw the death of Japan Studio and a live service direction.

I already figured this, good lord imagine if Shuhei took over instead, would've been a platinum era 😩

I miss the first three generations of PlayStation. The way they turned PS3 around, we knew they meant business. We were all worried for a bit there around launch. Eventually from 2008 they started shifting slowly. But since Yoshida was fired, it's never been the same. Still enjoy my PS5 daily. I got a backlog dating back to PS2 lol So I'm fine but new games aren't as appealing anymore.

It seems like we were thrown on to the worst timeline possible where everything is too expensive and the wrong people were put in positions that makes the world a shitty place. We could have had Shu as the head of PS but we got the shitty alternative. Same goes for everyone in power around the world. Doesn’t matter the company or country the majority of us got the shitty picks and the world is declining like never before. I do think PS can come out of this because of their studios, talent and IP but they need someone more in touch with gamers leading things like Shu was. They’re still the best place for console gaming imo but it could be much better than it is especially without the massive live service failures. The rest of the world I have a lot less hope for right now. Hopefully the pendulum swings back towards the good ole days but I’m preparing for the worst.

There goes illuminati distraction story

So now there's certifiable proof that Ryan was in fact "fired", as opposed to when it was first announced that he "retired", in order to save face.

There's another guy who recently "retired" as CEO of another large gaming company, after doing a dismantling job as lead for well over a decade.

seems legit, the business man, fires the one who has ideas to move the business forward.

Jim Ryan is the reason why we are entering year 6 since the PS5 launch and many of us don't feel like the PS5 has gotten started as yet.

I hope going forward, we will see a return to form.