Sony Debuts... Something Called "Qore"

Written by Ryan Hewson

Tuesday, 03 June 2008 05:18

Chris Kohler over at Wired News has the scoop on a new initiative for Sony's PlayStation 3: Qore. A subscription-based "digital magazine" that will offer exclusive demos, beta access, and hype for upcoming titles on PlayStation 3. Here's Wired's take:

The good news is that on Thursday, Sony will debut Qore, an interactive online magazine that will give PS3 gamers a monthly dose of news, interviews, and other exclusive PS3-related video and game content.
The bad news? Qore will now be the home of the hottest PlayStation 3 game betas and demos, and what used to be served up for free will now carry a $3/month price tag -- and interstitial ads for Burger King, who is sponsoring the new download center.
Demoing the service to Wired.com Monday afternoon, PlayStation Network senior director Susan Panico implied that while the PlayStation Store would still get game demos, the big ones would go on Qore: "Qore is like the network broadcast" of a TV show, she said, and PlayStation Store is like "syndication."
Users can pay $3 for each monthly "episode" of Qore, or $25 for a one-year, 13-episode subscription. As an added bonus, early subscribers will get a copy of the downloadable game Calling All Cars for free.
The inaugural episode, set to launch on Thursday, will contain interviews and preview videos for SOCOM: Confrontation, plus an exclusive invite to the game's open beta, scheduled for later this year.

Ok I'm just a little sceptical. Charging for demos? In an ad-supported thing? WTF is that noise? They had better not be ferrying off every first-run game demo into this pay-pen. That's a step backwards.

The digital magazine aspect is kind of intriguing, but only if it doesn't totally step on what I'm used to getting gratis on the regular PlayStation Store. No user asks for less stuff. Besides, demos are marketing: I can't see too many publishers being happy with the concept of flogging their wares to a decidedly smaller (albeit more targeted) audience.

We will all see for ourselves on Thursday, although personally I will be watching the reaction to the magazine itself. It's somewhat hard to see what the specific value is right now, unless you really want into that SOCOM beta.

(Update - more details available on the PlayStation Blog.)

Comments (4) Add Comment

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written by Kevin Alexander, June 03, 2008

I wouldn't be surprised to see if down the line this wasn't the first step towards making the Playstation Network totally subscription based along the lines of Xbox Live Gold and Silver.

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written by Jim Squires, June 03, 2008

I really see no issue with it. There are magazines out there with exclusive demos on disc and other sweet perks. Would I be willing to shell out $3 when there's something I really want to check out? Absolutely. As a matter of fact I'll be picking up this issue to get in on the SOCOM beta. I've never played the series, and I'd rather drop $3 than $60 to see if it's for me.

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written by Ryan Hewson, June 03, 2008

Well it is true that print magazines have had exclusive demos for years, and there is that Inside Xbox thing, although I've never tried it.

I do sort of wish they had picked "ad-supported" OR "paid subscription" though, rather than *both*.

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written by Xav @ X3F, June 04, 2008

So Sony is charging for all the bonus stuff Xbox Live members get as a part of their subscription? Wicked.

Wouldn't want to mess with that fine bullet list of features on the box of the console that says "Free Online."

Congrats Sony on taking a huge step backwards.