DEC. 14, 2009 • Sony Computer Entertainment executive VP Masayuki Chatani told Nikkei Electronics that the division is considering ways to monetize its online services like the PlayStation Network. “Servers and the like have running costs, and we would face difficulties if our business depended solely on the sell-and-forget model,” he said. “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.”

Impact: Going back to 2003 and the early days of Xbox Live, DFC had always predicted that SCE would start charging a subscription fee for online access.  So far we have been surprised by the amount of free content on PSN.  However, we would also note that the success of Xbox Live shows that consumers are not necessarily adverse to subscription fees.  A fee of only $5 a month for all-you-can eat online access is quite reasonable.  When looking at the numbers for Xbox Live it is clear they have made a significant majority of their money from the basic subscription fee.  Therefore, we only think it would make sense for PSN to look at similar fees.