Publishers forced to pay fee for PSN bandwidth

[Bitmap Frogs]

madskillz said:
I am shocked at the number of folks who are steadily saying 'Stick the publisher with the cost.' Tell me again why would a dev make a demo, spend extra cash in this time of recession for what?

If I were a dev, I'd be looking at the bottom line - and if that means having to pay nada to put it on LIVE vs. paying to put it on PSN, you already know the answer.

Something tells me this gravy train for the days of free online play is about to derail.

 

While there is a lot to talk about Sony's earlier (before the console was launched) understanding that they could provide this kind of services entirely free of charge, I think they won't back away from this one.

Obviously the costs of running PSN and HOME are hurting them and they are trying really hard to squeeze money. Just last year we saw the debut of Qore and the decision to charge publishers for the bandwith. However, the backlash from implementing a flat fee on users ala Live Gold would be huge. I believe they will stick to their value tactics, offering extra services (like Qore) at a cost.