In a recent interview with Nikkei Japan, Masayuki Chatani, Sony’s CTO fields questions regarding the PS3 slim and the PlayStation Network. With the PSN growing to over 30 million users Sony is looking to capitalize exploring means to offer premium content in addition to the single payment system employed now.
Chatani elaborates on the current business model for PSN versus subscription fees or per-item payments.
When asked how Sony Computer Entertainment will maintain the ever growing infrastructure Chatani commented:
Servers and the like have running costs, and we would face difficulties if our business depended solely on the sell-and-forget model. After we sell the hardware, though, we continue to sell products such as content and services.
We expect to see considerable growth in digital content, such as game download services, avatar items and the like.
We can also accept payment in a growing number of ways. In addition to single-payment packaged software, there are also schemes like monthly fees or per-item charges. I think this variety of payment methods will bring about a diverse range of playing methods, too.
Are you interested in Sony’s premium PSN offerings? Let us know in the comments.
