Well Microsoft and Sony have made it easy for me this generation. Having all consoles last generation, and not having any new ones yet, I think I'm going to make the decision to only PC/Handheld game and possibly get a Wii U once more Nintendo games are released on it. I really don't mind paying for such a service if I were to use it consistently, and this incrementalism doesn't fit well with my principles as a consumer. I'd rather buy more PC games or upgrade hardware.

As long as online play is way better than it was on PS3, paying to play doesn't bother me.

No,it is 100 dollars much cheaper, no DRM, no online requirement,besides i am already a plus member and the subs (PS3, vita, PS4) work for the 3 consoles.

I didn't buy the PS3 for free online multiplayer but I know that was a big sell for a lot of consumers. Not quite ridiculous as cross game chat being a "sell" for paid XBLG though.

But PSN+ has always given much, much more than XBLG since SCE had to use the carrot approach to get anyone to subscribe. As it's been said plenty of times, MS basically just takes away features if you're not a paid subscriber, making the XB360 a fairly limited platform by comparison.

So now PSN standard takes away the most basic of features in online play, while PSN+ still gives a lot of extras in the form of free access to games, discounts, etc. And cross game chat. Woo.

The loss of free online sucks. It does, but for my consumer rights it's a fair fucking trade.

Also PSN Plus is really good as is, so it's not a total loss.

Hahaha, sorry guys, but all this "no problem for me" *now*... Well, it's nice to see how opinions can change if you don't have an option anymore :) PAYWALL!

This is my exact thoughts and situation on the matter.

All that said though, I do think Sony is using mandatory PS+ as a way to subsidise the cost of the box in the long run, which seems like a reasonable strategy. Plus MP seems to be the huge focus of this gen with dedicated server support for games and persistent worlds, which might be another reason for the cost.

Of course SCE wants to make cloud game streaming a part of the premium service, but my point is I seriously doubt paying $50 a year for PSN+ is going to grant subscribers carte blanche access to the entire back catalog of PS games as it becomes available. Maybe some old games, much like PSN+ currently, but I still expect to see per game licensing fees/access fees for most PS3 games. 

Why are you talking about strategy.  My avatar has nothing to do with the fact that many Sony loyalists were claiming they would never pay for online multiplayer, even if Sony introduced that. Now they are doing it and it is a "good strategy" and nothing seem that bad about it.

You guys are hilarious at most :)

Remember when people were criticized for defending the Xbox One's DRM?

How about we all just be honest: people are hypocrites.