Sony ‘Thinking About Charging’ For PSN [Sony Executive Confirms They're Thinking About A Premium Membership Model, Expecting PS3 To Complete Its 10-year Lifecycle]

Late last year, some feathers were ruffled when a Sony PowerPoint presentation revealed that they were considering charging for the PlayStation Network gaming service on PSN. Sony’s PlayStation chief Kaz Hirari confirmed it back then, and now the head of the PlayStation Network confirms that they’re still thinking about it.

Peter Dille, who’s the VP of both the marketing for the American arm of Sony Computer Entertainment as well as being in charge of the whole PlayStation Network, said in a lengthy interview with IGN that. “It’s been our philosophy not to charge for it from launch up until now. [...] That’s something that we’re actively thinking about. [...] No announcements at this point in time, but it’s something we’re actively thinking about.”

So, it seems obviously that a paid premium service of some sort will becoming to PSN sometime in the future. It’s worth staying that last November, when this story first broke, PlayStation chief Kaz Hirari tried to calm the gaming press by assuring everybody that services that PSN users are using today, like free multiplayer, Facebook and Netflix connectivity, will still be free forever.

Other notables from the interview, Dille thinks the PlayStation 3 platform is hitting its full stride, with both 2008 and 2009 Game of the Year contenders appearing on the PS3 (Little Big Planet, which is dubious at best for being a GOTY contender, and Uncharted 2). He parted by saying that he expects the PlayStation 3 to keep strong in sales and support for another 10-years.

Dille didn’t miss the chance to take a shot at the boys in Redmond. “Do you think the 360 will be around in 10 years? [No.] I think that would be the responsible personal opinion of most responsible opinion makers.”