Achievement for who, Sony? (Concering the profit) Obviously. For Gamers? Possibly. You could argue that quality of online gaming on PS gets better because of it, and in response XB's infrastructure must strengthen in response. As for getting away with, well, that is a strange statement. In order to have taken significant flak for it, they did take some mind you, they would have to have actively tried to overshadow the backlash Microsoft created for themselves.
Not to mention, XBL was lucky enough to have desensitize millions into paying for online before it even became an issue because someone offered it for free, Sony's PS3. Then it became a matter of quality, which PSN as a new service vs an established veteran would be hardpressed to beat. Only with the added value of PS+ could Sony compete which in turn forced XB to adapt accordingly.
So in that respect, "getting away with it" as achievement or trophy, isn't really such, it was basically free.
In this day and age, with the Internet, ignorance is a choice! And they're still choosing Ignorance! - Dr. Filthy Frank
