Sony has started charging game developers and publishers for the bandwidth used to deliver their game demos and downloads via its PlayStation Network for the PS3, according to MTV’s Multiplayer blog. Sony will now ask 16 cents per Gigabyte from publishers when their game content is downloaded by consumers. Promotional content like game demos will only be charged for the first 60 days, but bandwidth used to deliver actual game downloads will always initiate the bandwidth fee.
“It’s a new thing we have to budget. It’s not cool. It sucks,” one anonymous publisher told Multiplayer.
“We foresee no change in the high quality or quantity of demos and games available on PSN,” a Sony spokesperson told PaidContent.
Microsoft does not currently charge publishers for distributing game content via its Xbox Live online service, but consumers must pay to access the content. Access to the Playstation Store has been free since the console’s debut.
