SvennoJ said:
A metered solution could work, but wouldn't that entice publishers to pad games out or keep short games away from the service? Plus you get other forms of pressure, stuck on a puzzle, look it up cause the meter is ticking. No time to read the lore, skip the cut scenes, run along to the next part. |
While that is a scenario it is highly unlikely. Sony is going to have to offer a good mix of games to keep the service appealing. Money is money in this case and while the metered service would likely be less appealing to those looking for a longer meatier game it does not have to be the only method of paying for your games. But that would be where just buying a game outright or in this case renting it for say 30-90 days might just be better. Having a metered option would allow you to say play an hour or two of a game to see if you are going to enjoy it before plunging into that 30 day rental fee.
I think this is a delicate balance Sony is going to have to maintain here to make PSNow successful. I think they need to tread very carefully and be agressive of pricing as well as keeping as many options open for the consumer like metered pay as you go, subscriptions, a la carte, or even straight up purchasing a title to own. Perhaps even offering those who already own PS3 digital titles immediate access to those games on the service.
