What The Qore?! Sony’s Answer To XBL Gold
6 June 2008
Sam Morris 
The idea of a network service on a console that offers a television like program that has exclusive content and announcements and gives you access to demos, betas and the like, sounds great. You stick on a monthly subscription fee then you’ve got another kettle of fish.
Qore is the service in question bought to you by your friends at Sony. available on the Playstation 3, Qore will offer up some exclusive demos, content & more while also having a television-esque program that will be focused on the Playstation brand.
The immediate reaction to this concept is ‘where do I sign?’ but when you chuck in a monthly cost of $2.99, you have to think again. It sounds like Sony are charging you so you can watch an hour long advertisement for Playstation products. Then again, people buy the paper based magazine so why not the online version.
Luckily the content they offer makes it less of a pill to swallow. If you were to opt for the 12-month subscription ($24.99) you will get a free copy of Calling All Cars. What everyone who subscribes, regardless of length is the program and access to the SOCOM: Confrontation beta.
On it’s own Qore sounds interesting but now you can draw comparisons between the PSN and Xbox Live. Microsoft don’t offer up content like the program although demos and betas are available to Gold users early and thats what Qore sounds like. One of the main selling points of the Playstation 3 is that the online is free and although it still is on Sony’s platform, Qore sounds like a sneaker way of charging customers for content. The best way Qore could have been marketed is by offering up the first version for free.
Qore clearly isn’t for everyone and it will have to stand the test of time. There are still a lot of questions left to be answered, like will Qore be consistent with interesting enough content to warrant the cost every month? Will that content be worth the wait? How long before non-Qore subscribers get access?
Without the users to subscribe, obviously Qore will fall flat on it’s face meaning the most important question of all is ‘are you going to subscribe to Qore?’
[UPDATE] Just a quick point - I’m not saying that Sony are charging you for online play, obviously that is still free. But as far as getting demos early and having to pay Qore has some similarities to Xbox Live’s Gold Service.
8 Comments, Comment or Ping
Adam
why does everyone draw comparisons to xbl? number one, i don’t have to buy qore to play online, number two, i dont need it to play demos either. qore launched last night, and psn also had demos of battlefield and civ revolution, both of which i dont need qore to play. last time i checked, you need a gold account to play ANY demos on time on xbox.
Jun 6th, 2008
truBlue
I’ll be trying the first issue. Could be good. Not sure though. If it comes to paying for multiplayer, good bye PSN, just like Live 3 years ago.
Jun 6th, 2008
patamon93
so why pay for qore when i could just wait and watch videos on gamespot,ign,gamepro, or youtube, for free….. this does not compare to XBL at all…..this is silly
Jun 6th, 2008
Porkster
I’ll be subscribing no doubt, I’m proud of everything Playstation and Qore just makes it that much better. Can’t wait to see what kind of stuff us subscribers get access to.
Jun 6th, 2008
Sentry
Umm, what a dilly article. Qore is not the PSN. It is just a product like any other product in the PS Store. It’s an online magazine, it is not different from a magazine, exclusive behind the scenes videos/interviews/trailers (debut trailers is possible)/demos/betas. These are all things we used to see in magazines.
Its not in relation to the PSN service, Like XBL Gold is to Live. It’s just a way to get exclusive content. Its not even by Sony, its by Future Networks, which is responsible for countless popular magazines.
And how in the world is this considered an hour - two hour long advertisement?? So a debut trailer on Gametrailers.com is now an advertisement? Interviews are an ad? Come on, its just exclusive content on upcoming games.
I hate how you guys (with this article) are implanting something false into the minds of gamers, that PSN now has a fee, so to speak.
I’m sorry, but get the facts straight.
Jun 6th, 2008
Spriggs
The whole thing that makes this not sneaky at all on Sony’s part is the fact that you are still playing games online for free. MS are the sneaky ones for making people pay to play. Content and video can be all paid for all I care. The important line that Sony didn’t cross and MS did was the pay to play line. There is a gigantic difference here being offered. MS is doing it in such a way as to force people to pay for a feature in any publishers game. Not cool.
Jun 6th, 2008
Phil McKrotch
Sounds like more XBOT Sensationalism to me. Stop whining cuz we cool stuff like this and yall pay double this price for what we get FREE. PSPwned.
Jun 6th, 2008
Craig
Just a correction. XBL does have something similar, it’s called “Inside Xbox” and is updated every day, with trailers. demo’s and editorial content. It’s provided free to all Xbox uses including Silver accounts.
Jun 7th, 2008
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