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It’s really crazy how the internet works. Every few months, there are rumors that Sony might start to charge for PSN and the internet goes up in arms and gets crazy about it and starts to bash Sony for it. Well, four years into the cycle and you can still access all of this for free:

• Online play
• Web browser access
• Playstation Store (Games, Movies [Buy and Rent]) & Comic Store
• Video Chat
• Social network via Playstation Home

There is then all the little things like Facebook and YouTube integration which are, of course, still free. Unfortunately for those on the Xbox side of life, Microsoft continues to take a different path and everybody just kind of shrugs and goes along with it. In the US, UK, Canada, and Mexico Microsoft will charge Xbox Live users starting November 1. A single month will go from $7.99 to $9.99, three months will go from $19.99 to $24.99, and the yearly sub will now be $59.99, up from $49.99. In terms of the business side, more power to Microsoft. Their setting up and maintaining those servers and services costs money and is a testament to how locked down they have their users. But from the users’ standpoint, there goes more money towards a service that is being offered for free from Sony.

Of course, for Sony, there are also plenty of costs in running PSN but they eat it internally, instead of passing on the costs to you. Don’t think for a minute that if they could charge you, they would, because that is not what their business strategy calls for. I just hope that Sony can turn this difference into more of a campaign and let others know of all the great things that PSN offers, like playing MAG online with 256 players, for free.