Xbox fanboys rejoice! A common quibble between our favourite rival consoles has always been the ongoing debate of free PSN versus subscription based Xbox Live online services, but now it seems that Sony will also be plummeting down the subscription route in 2010.

In this case however, you will still be able to play games online free of charge, so the Xbox fanboys can hush afterall. So what exactly is Sony planning?

Fresh from an official Sony presentation, details have emerged that the corporate giant is planning a “new revenue stream from subscription” in 2010 in the form of a new paid subscription service. “We will be building upon our current free [PSN] service offering with premium content and services to start the subscription model,” Kaz Hirai stated. “SCE will further increase sales by offering users new entertainment through the combination of hardware, software, peripheral, and PlayStation Network.”  Fortunately, none of the PSN’s currently free perks will be sacrificed.

It has since been revealed that this move is part of a far larger project involving a uniform online service for all Sony network media products. Tentatively dubbed as Sony Online Service (SOS), Sony are so confident about the platform that they feel it has the potential to rival iTunes. It was also said that SOS will run from a single user ID across media devices such as HDTVs, Blu-Ray players, laptops, Readers MP3 players and of course consoles, with the PSN being used as the foundational structure.

Quite what this will fully entail and whether or not Sony’s bold claims are justified remains to be seen, but this is nonetheless an intriguing announcement.

Source: Gamespot