#PS4FreeOnlinePlay

Plus unlike Microsoft you don't need it for other payed services like Netflix. Sony has to get credit for at least not enforcing that policy.

Right. I'd say there's about a one in a million chance the Sony apologists saying that Sony is less evil than MS for this would suddenly be pushed too far at that point if Netflix wasn't behind the paywall. It's a complete flipflop, and shows that the pretend principled stance they had against it on the XBox was just fanboy ammo.

I can only post a few times per day because I'm a newb, but in general wanted to respond to the tone I've been receiving. First off, to those calling me lazy, greedy, selfish, etc etc etc. I'm in a better position to pay for PSPlus than the average gamer, and I probably voluntarily work more hours than the average gamer as well.

I've had PSPlus in the past. I own the console and a ridiculous library of games, 4 regular controllers, 2 move controllers, and the eye, and I've done my share of positive Sony pr and given them a few converts from the darkside. I have absolutely no issue with the price, or the value of PSPlus. My issue is one of principle. Not everyone is in my position financially, and to call those who are not lazy, greedy, cheap, hippie, aside from being ridiculously mean spirited and immature is a moot point. If anyone has an actual response to the following that doesn't devolve into namecalling or avoiding the issues, because "poor billionaire Sony, they're so kind to us, won't you please show appreciation for our lord and savior"

I'd argue that the biggest gamers are the laziest ones. The issue here is that something that has always been free is suddenly behind a paywall. I can game on my cellphone vs people around the world, and I don't see the tiny indie developers crying about how I'm not paying for their servers to do so. My cellphone has less restricted gaming than the PS4. That's pathetic. Second, Sony DOES NOT provide dedicated servers for gaming, as can be noted by many games using Peer2Peer, and some games having lag while others do not. If you'll notice, XBox hasn't done away with peer to peer FPS's.

All the 'improvements to the network' have come from software and firmware. It doesn't cost 10s of millions a month to maintain a storefront, and pay a handful of programmers to rearrange the tiles.

Gaikai admittedly will cost money to continue to expand it as more gamers come in, so I believe Gaikai should be behind a paywall, the streaming, and sharing features could also be behind a paywall. Instant streaming of demos can be behind a paywall. But if two random gamers who don't care about streaming, don't care about the free games, or beta access, or any of the other things that currently come with plus just want to play an online game with eachother, it should be just as free as picking up a second controller.

Playing online for free has been a feature of every internet connected device capable of gameplay (of which there are thousands) in history. MS was incredibly greedy to even conceive of the idea of pay to play online, and now the grand total of devices that don't allow free online play is 3. I pay for the console, the games, and the internet connection. The servers reside at the companies who make the games. This final payment to Sony to be allowed to use my own stuff is a toll they are collecting that has nothing to do with the act of connecting me to other gamers.

Please find a less desperate way to attack me, if you insist on doing so (for no apparent reason), I can assure you I have more than enough money to pay for this crap. My annoyance is forcing me to do so. And before you get the oh so brilliant idea to say "ok fine, get a wii-u then", first off, yes, I probably will. Secondly, I don't know when the regime change came into gaming where expressing my distaste for a defenseless multi-billion dollar corporation's actions became some horrible thing.

And finally someone pointed out that I just joined, and started this thread, and I'm probably trying to rally people to my cause. I think yes, it's pretty obvious that I'm trying to rally people to my cause, seeing as how the original post was a rallying call for people to join my cause, but I'm also interested in hearing opposing viewpoints that don't involve the types of things I'd hear over the headset on xbox live from 10 year olds, and I'll probably participate in the community in other ways as time goes on.

Yet. MS is going to be spending TONS of money on dedicated servers in the next generation, and Sony is going to have to do the same thing if they want to compete. If everything is peer to peer, you might have a point, but I doubt that will be the case. If Sony wants to compete with MS, not many games will be peer to peer.

Sony has already given gamers more than enough reason to support them in the next generation. It's sad to see a company offer its customers so much--FAR more than their competitor--only to see a bunch of those customers turn around and demand even more.