Sony Hints at Multiple Subscription Levels for PlayStation 4

Sony spent a bit of time during the PS4 reveal talking about all the online services and digital content they were hoping to provide and create, but nobody ever mentioned the price of those features.

In a recent interview with The Guardian, Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida discussed the potential for a multi-tiered subscription service in the vein of PlayStation Plus.

"We could have gold, silver or platinum levels of membership, something like that," Yoshida estimated. "We can do subscription services when we have more content – especially now that we have the Gaikai technology available. With one subscription you have access to thousands of games – that's our dream."

Currently, the PlayStation 3 offers two tiers of online access. Standard free PlayStation Network access is given to everyone, but there's also PlayStation Plus, a $50 per year service, which grants access to free games, discounted titles and add-ons, and improved functionality like instant update downloads. As Microsoft and Sony have both shown, people will pay for the service if the functionality is good enough. Just how Sony plans to break up its offerings for the PS4 remains to be seen, but a more a la carte style might increase the number of subscribers. We'll just have to wait and see.