Release The Hounds

I’m not even going to try and convince people that PlayStation Network, in it’s current state, comes anywhere close to the whole Xbox Live experience –XBL is, hands down, the better service. Xbox Live has been a rock solid service since it first launched and has only improved with the years. PlayStation Network, on the other hand, bombed when it first launched, despite being free. People were still willing to spend the extra cash for the extra service giving the Xbox 360 a large lead in sales of most all multi-player games – but things just might change. The PlayStation Network has come a long way since it opened and the fact that Sony are also giving their users the option of buying a premium service could mean trouble for Microsoft.

Here are six reasons why the PSN Premium service could outsell Xbox Live:

6. Access to Betas
I’ve always been one of the unfortunate sobs who is either too late to apply or plain and simply not selected into the latest and greatest Betas. If paying a little extra guarantees me early access to games like Resistance 3 and Killzone 3 you can definitely count me in.

5. Full Game Trial
With the price of most games these days I can’t gamble on what games are going to be good and what games are going to suck so I am left with a huge headache in trying to decide which games to get and which games to skip, especially when the developers choose not to release a demo. Being able to download and try the full version of the game for an hour, and for free, is a huge help for me and any other gamer who can’t afford every single game that will be released.

4. Free PSPOne Classics, and PS3 Themes
Tekken 3, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy VII, for free? Heck yes! The PSOne had some of the greatest games ever made, and if the PSN Premium package gives you some of these titles for free I would not hesitate to sign up.

3. Cloud Storage Space
Early adopters will love this one. One thing that pissed me off the most is the mandatory installs a lot of the PlayStation 3 games have – would leave me with very little space for extra DLC.

2. Cross-Game Voice Chat
Something Xbox Live has and PlayStation Network desperately needs; Cross-Game Voice Chat. It’s a bummer that it isn’t free but beggars can’t be choosers, right? It sure is a nice bonus, though.

1. Extended Warranty
This is why the smartest thing Sony could include with the package. My PlayStation 3 has been out of warranty for over a year now and after reading post after post of people complaining about the YLOD (Yellow Light of Death) I am starting to turn into one paranoid android everytime I turn my dinosaur of a PS3 on. The APOCALYPS3 (29th of February, 2010?) certainly did not help the cause. This alone is worth the extra cash that the Premium service costs.


Of course not everyone agrees with me on this issue. Bob Rea’s, one of our authors, opinion is quite the contrary — you can read his article here. Some users may be more than comfortable with their free service and fear that this Premium stuff might result in Sony completely abandoning their non-paying members. I guess all we can do is wait and see – all this is just speculation at the moment. Let’s hope Sony reveal a little more about the PlayStation Premium service before too long.