How long until Sony starts charging for PSN...or xbox live becomes free?

[Bodhesatva]

Here's a more interesting question, to me -- how does Sony make up the hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue lost froom not charging for PSN?

The obvious way would be to absolutely destroy the 360 in hardware/software sales, but that clearly isn't going to happen. Is it okay that Microsoft, with about 10 million gold members by year's end, will be making 400 million dollars more per year that Sony has no equivalent for?

Both companies make money off first party software, both make money off third party software, both will (at some point) make money off hardware, both make money off DLC -- and then Microsoft also has an additional revenue stream that's already exceeding hundreds of millions of dollars per year, and growing.