The PlayStation 4 has been quite popular with consumers since its launch in late 2013. Thanks to high demand, the PS4 along with Sony Pictures and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was able to help swing Sony into a surprise Q1 2014 profit. One of the things that’s made the PS4 popular has been a far more robust PlayStation Network that’s embraced gaming trends like live streaming to Twitch and Ustream from launch. These, among other features and a greater than expected number of PS4 users, are making Sony rethink their PSN strategy and to invest more into the platform.

From Chief Financial Officer Kenichiro Yoshida, Corporate Executive Hiroki Totoki and Senior General Manager Kazuhiko Takeda:

 About the costs, this year is a year of investment, and we have to do another round of investment in systems. As you know the PlayStation 4 has social networking functions and the number of sessions the people engage in is huge, much larger than before. The cost of the network and server costs are higher, and therefore there’s requirement for investment. 

While all three were mum on the exact details of the investments they’re looking to make into PSN, it’s becoming quite clear to them (though this should be of no surprise) how important a robust platform like PSN is. With rivals such as iTunes, Netflix, and Xbox Live which deem our attention at any given, Sony is realizing how important a stable and smooth platform is. Beyond the PS4, the PS3 and PS Vita still heavily rely on PSN and neither require PS+. At least on PS4, PlayStation Plus is a necessity for online gaming which many partake in at a costs $49.99 per year which helps Sony recoup some of the costs associated with the network.

With PlayStation Now beta beginning to go live soon on PS4 and quickly expanding to PS3, and PS Vita before it makes its leap to Sony televisions, PlayStation TV and mobile devices, Sony needs to make sure their network is capable of handling the onslaught of traffic that is headed their way. In addition to that, as consumer taste continues to shift towards digital downloads, Sony needs to ensure that users don’t suffer from grievously long wait times to download a given. The Last of Us Remastered made it’s debut earlier this week on PS4 and PSN with a download size north of 40GB.

Discuss:

Are you happy with the current performance of PSN?