Qore: Sony's Video Game Show/Magazine, Hosted by Veronica Belmont, Starting June 5

FriskyTanuki

FriskyTanuki

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http://blog.wired.com/games/2008/06/qore.html

The Gist: It's basically an electronic magazine, from the same publisher that makes PlayStation: The Official Magazine with similar types of content and bonuses. $2.99 a month or $24.99 for a year's subscription and for signing up now, you can get Calling All Cars for free and an invite to the SOCOM Confrontation beta, though the latter only requires the purchase of at least the first "issue" or you can try the other method that has yet to be revealed by the developers.

qore_front.png


This week brings good news and bad news for PlayStation 3 owners.

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.

Other content lined up for launch includes an exclusive six-minute trailer for the upcoming Incredible Hulk movie, a preview of Secret Agent Clank for PSP, and exclusive pages from an upcoming Star Wars: Force Unleashed graphic novel.

Sony is even hiding Easter Eggs in each issue -- apparently, there's a mini-game hidden somewhere in the first issue. Sony has partnered with game developer Backbone to create this half-game, half-TV show experience. The content will be provided by Future, publishers of PlayStation: The Official Magazine.

Panico says that 80 to 90 percent of the content in each issue of Qore will be exclusive.

It'll also be ad-supported. In my brief demo of the service I saw ads for Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, Metal Gear Solid 4, and the aforementioned Home of the Whopper. You can skip the ads, but only after they've run for about five seconds.

Sony still offers more for free than its nearest competitor: While PlayStation Network doesn't offer nearly as many features as Xbox Live, Microsoft's service costs $50 a year while online gameplay is free on PlayStation 3.

My only question is whether the value-add over what Sony was already providing for free justifies the minimum $25/year cost for the information. Although wrapping it in the very pretty package of an interactive magazine does make it seem a lot less like Sony is backpedaling on their stance of a largely free online environment, they'd be silly to release any really good demos, trailers, or interviews in the free section of PS3's network from here on out -- not when any halfway decent piece of content is another potential carrot to get users to pay them $3.
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http://blog.us.playstation.com/2008...king-you-behind-the-curtain-with-playstation/

Today we are announcing that Qore: Presented by the PLAYSTATION Network, a highly interactive, monthly lifestyle gaming program covering the world inside PLAYSTATION is on its way to PS3. Qore has been developed to give PS3 users early access to game related content at a level of quality, interactivity and depth. Everything is filmed in HD. Qore will feature exclusive news, developer interviews, in-depth game previews and behind-the-scenes looks at PlayStation games and special access to game demos, special beta invitations, game add-ons and other downloadable game-related content.

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Our premier episode will be available on Thursday, June 5. The premier episode includes in-depth exclusive and never-before released content on upcoming PlayStation titles such as SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Secret Agent Clank, Soul Calibur 4 and Afro Samurai, as well as the latest Blu-ray Disc trailers, an exclusive SOCOM: Confrontation theme with an invitation to the SOCOM: Confrontation beta, art galleries and other surprises. We also know that many of you are big fans of Veronica Belmont, the widely-known host of numerous online video programs and podcasts and an avid gamer, so we’ve chosen her to be your host.

Video Preview: http://crackle.com/c/Video_Games/Qore_preview/2301774/#ml=fi=&fpl=297570&o=12

To get Qore, simply log onto PSN and go to the PLAYSTATION Store, as you would purchase any other form of downloadable content. Once the single Episode or annual subscription is purchased, that month’s episode will be downloaded under the “Game” heading on the Cross Media Bar (XMB). Users who purchase the “Qore Annual Subscription” will notice only that month’s episode is available to download. The following month, the new episode will automatically appear in your download list. The introductory price for Qore is $2.99 for a single episode and $24.99 for an annual subscription of 13 episodes, using your PLAYSTATION Network wallet.

As Peter Dille mentioned in a previous PLAYSTATION Network post, the broader service and community initiatives launching on the PLAYSTATION Network this year such as Qore, PlayStation Home and the Video Download Service are all evidence of our dedication to delivering an all-encompassing entertainment experience for PS fans. Qore is the first in a series of planned original programming specifically created for the PLAYSTATION Network community and we hope you enjoy it.
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I'm friggin' tired of Veronica Belmont and just about every other female games/electronics host and blogger on the internet.
 
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.

Does that mean demos and whatnot are now not free. If so a very bad move on Sony's part. Seems interest, but again not $25 dollar interesting and I like printed magazines, not digital ones. Calling All Cars is nice, but if you already have it, kinda pointless and it's over a year old now so not as easy to find people online for it.
 
[quote name='Thongsy']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.

Does that mean demos and whatnot are now not free. If so a very bad move on Sony's part. Seems interest, but again not $25 dollar interesting and I like printed magazines, not digital ones. Calling All Cars is nice, but if you already have it, kinda pointless and it's over a year old now so not as easy to find people online for it.[/quote]
It sounds more like they get first dibs.
 
[quote name='FriskyTanuki']It sounds more like they get first dibs.[/QUOTE]

Similar to what Live is doing?


In any case I say it's BS. I enjoy playing demo's, but I won't pay to play them.
 
[quote name='whoknows']
In any case I say it's BS. I enjoy playing demo's, but I won't pay to play them.[/QUOTE]

This. They're offering previews, videos, and demos. Things people have been accustomed to getting for free on PSN, what makes them think they can start charging for "dibs"?

Bullshit.
 
[quote name='zewone']This. They're offering previews, videos, and demos. Things people have been accustomed to getting for free on PSN, what makes them think they can start charging for "dibs"?

Bullshit.[/quote]
Xbox Live.
 
Right, so you can criticize Xbox Live doing it, but when PSN has established their "free to play" attitude towards an online infrastructure and they pull this shit, you have no qualms about it.
 
[quote name='zewone']Right, so you can criticize Xbox Live doing it, but when PSN has established their "free to play" attitude towards an online infrastructure and they pull this shit, you have no qualms about it.[/quote]
You asked what makes them think they can hold back demos for paid customers and I gave you the precedent for their actions, no opinion attached or anything. I haven't posted an opinion at all about this because this thing hasn't started and I need to see what they're actually going to do before I decide if I hate it or not. It doesn't seem to be for all demos like Live, but that could change for all we know. I'm just taking a wait-and-see approach for now.
 
FAIL. This should be $1 issue and people are wondering if they're taking away stuff to add to this? How about the Socom beta? And I cringe when Belmont takes about gaming on Twit. Ugh.
 
[quote name='whoknows']Similar to what Live is doing?


In any case I say it's BS. I enjoy playing demo's, but I won't pay to play them.[/quote]

There is no way I'm paying for demos. This idea is terrible.
 
You sure you aren't confused about the demo part? Demos have to be free,that will be bs. maybe they will let them get the demo earlier which is still bs though.
 
After reading some more, this shouldn't cost anything. I'm going to be paying them to advertise to me now. All this sounds like is a video podcast with developer interviews and early demos and access to betas. It seems the only thing that would be cool is the betas, if they were games you were interested in, otherwise you can probably get everything from free already, trailers, developer interviews, etc. Maybe if they offered the first issue for free to entice everybody and give them a chance first-hand to see it themselves I might be able to make a more info opinion.
 
It would have been a good idea to give away the first episode (sans beta invite) for free so people could have an idea of what to expect. As it is, it sounds like a bundle of PR spots and trailers and I can't imagine paying for that. Charging for early access to demos is lame, but I'll live.

Edit: Thongsy stole my post. :
 
It sounds a whole lot like paying for advertisements. Total fail.

Reason why I hate the X-Box 360 so much is because you pay 50 bucks a year to get a console interface that does nothing but shove stuff in your face to microtransaction/buy.
 
I wonder if this means that there will be a firmware update on June 5. The auto-download for each episode sounds a lot like RSS, which the PS3 doesn't currently support, right?

I have mixed feelings about this overall though. The PSN's big appeal for me is that it's free. That said, I might buy one episode to see what it's like. If they do it right, I'd pay for a subscription, but I'm not holding my breath.
 
Being a CAG I don't like to pay for things like this, but I need more information before I decide if it is truly worth it. However my gut is telling me this is not a good sign of things to come, but it has been wrong before...
 
This is Belmon't 3rd gig, in as many months, though I do think she is good, there is no way I am going to pay $3 an episode. I watch the 1up show on my ps3 for free now.

As has been stated many times, why would we pay to have people advertise to us? It is just like cable TV. The whole idea was you pay to have ad free TV. Once enough people got hooked on cable, they put ads back in. Sat radio is doing the same thing now. It's called double dipping. Taking money from viewer and advertiser. I guess you could look at it as paying for early access.

As for getting early access... I feel that it sucks, but I think pretty much everything will still come to the general public eventually. Why would a developer want their game to only be demo'd by a select few, when they could give the entire install base access to their demo? If they can use the monies from the paying uber-hardcores with disposable income to subsize my playing online for free, so be it. I would rather have them generate money this way, than a mandatory subscription like Live. As I don't play online enough to just paying, but I like to have the option when I want it. This was a major reason for a PS3 purchase. If they take that away from me, I would likely leave the brand next gen.

~S
 
No one knows what they are going to do for demos yet. There is only one issue a month, so if you think they are only going to release demos once a month you're wrong. It sounds like they are using it as a way to determine who gets betas. There's no way they are going to limit all demos to this once a month service.
 
Yeah I agree. Demos as usual me thinks.

But like mrlokievil said, betas, exclusive content etc. I can even see getting a demo or two before the demos general release but nothing major.

It's a online mag. Tons of peeps pay for mag subcriptions. This is just another one of those, just online. You do the annual things and turns out to be a double cheeseburger an episode.
 
I'm not interested in this based on Sony's typically paltry download offerings. Their Thursday PSN updates have been dismal, short of the expected Rock Band updates, for over a month now.

So I'm not sure how they can offer up shit sandwiches on Thursdays and then get people excited about paying for services that they haven't really kept up with already.

"If you think our service stinks now, wait until you pay for it!!!"
 
Now would be a really good time for them to ... I don't know. Drop the whole XMB/achievements/Home thing in our laps, to actually make this system comparable to LIVE in ways *other* than cost?
 
It seems reasonable if they are letting people into restricted betas and giving demos early, along with small games inside each issue. I doubt I would pay for it, but it certainly beats the previous model of buying a different game for this stuff (Crackdown for halo 3).
 
[quote name='trq']Now would be a really good time for them to ... I don't know. Drop the whole XMB/achievements/Home thing in our laps, to actually make this system comparable to LIVE in ways *other* than cost?[/quote]

Exactly. Sony keeps throwing all this stuff at us but I just want the stuff the system should already have. Online magazine? Great....but I'd rather have the stuff they promised months ago.
 
Hmm if this will make my downloads as fast as XBL then I will do it (they need better servers...their servers are shit right now).
 
This looks like complete crap.

-All the info will be out on the blogs 10 minutes after the Qore episode is up
-Demos and Betas "should" be free
-now other users may not get access to "exclusive content" ever??

I dont like it one bit.
 
[quote name='Pojomofo']This looks like complete crap.

-All the info will be out on the blogs 10 minutes after the Qore episode is up
-Demos and Betas "should" be free
-now other users may not get access to "exclusive content" ever??

I dont like it one bit.[/quote]
Who's to say this isn't exclusive content that never would've appeared on PSN otherwise? These are third party videos, so it's not like Sony's not going to have their normal trailers in there.

If I'm not mistaken, you had to pay to get access to:
MGO Beta
Halo 3 Beta
Final Fantasy XI Beta (on an OXM demo, right?)
and now SOCOM Confrontation

Free Betas were:
Battlefield: Bad Company (had to be quick to the draw to get a code)
Call of Duty 4 (either had to be in the press, very lucky, or use a exploit to get in)

I think that's all of them, so it's not like there's no precedence for it, but you get other content besides just a beta or demo. It works exactly the same as an issue of OPM or OXM, which a lot of people bought just for whatever they offered on the demo discs.
 
MGO beta went towards your purchase of MGS4 = free
Halo 3 beta, there were TONS of chances to get in on the beta without Crackdown, I even got in for free early (friends and family beta) = free
FFXI (360) you did indeed have to buy that issue of OXM, Sony did have a free beta for the PS2, they even gave away the 40GB HDD to you when you beta tested it.

I was also in the Shadowrun beta for free and some other PS2 betas I can't remember.
 
I'm just talking betas of this generation. Just because you squeaked by for the Halo 3 beta doesn't mean a majority of people paid for it. All the copies at the GS where I bought my prisitine used copy kind of hint at that fact. You still had to pay to get access to the MGO beta, unless you found some employees that didn't care.
 
eh, I seriously doubt this will last long. The information will never be bleeding or even cutting edge. And I wonder how long they can dole out worthwhile "exclusive" content. I can bet they have a done of demos and betas lined up for the first couple of months, but unless subscriber rates increase, it will most likely dry up and be wallpapers, videos and music.

Betas, eh. I'm fine without those really. Personally I have a backlog of unfinished PS3 games, not to mention other systems.

It's the ads that are really irking me. Paying for ads. I know they're in magazines, but you know, I don't pay for any magainze subscriptions at all thanks to CAG and the internet, and the Gameinformer subscription is like a bonus freebie adding to the value of the edge card. Ads and Premium Services don't go hand in hand. You usually fork over money to not see ads.

I've never head of the hostess they've got lined up, but I wonder how long she's going to last. I give her 6-9 months(if Qore lasts that long) before she's ditched in a revamp to better attract the 18-34 male demo.

As I've said the only real issue is paying for ads on PSN. Now if they offered a free version, basically just the VOD show with ads, and a pay versions sans ads and the bonus downloads I can see it lasting longer($3 a month for Special betas, early demos, other exclusive content and Ad-free Qore? Now that's a sales pitch).

Also WTF is up with the name? Is it pronounced "core?" What are they trying to invoke here?


Hmmm, wonder if it will be Gameshare-able.... Wouldn't that be a kicker.

[quote name='FriskyTanuki']

If I'm not mistaken, you had to pay to get access to:
MGO Beta
[/quote]
Not in EU. They got it for free. Though waiting for the patching process and the all the bloody forms to fill out could be considered leveraging a fee.
 
I really don't see how this is so different from OXM. Unless they wont usually be offering demos / early demos / exlusive demos.
 
[quote name='FriskyTanuki']I think they're going for a unique name you won't easily forget.[/quote]

They need to go back to the brainstorming sessions then. I've already mixed it up with Vore, and it just lacks name appeal to me. It doesn't connect with PS brand really. Hell I wish they were able to steal the name Threespeech for it.
 
I've never heard of Vore and since it's got the long official title of "Qore: Presented by the PLAYSTATION Network," it's hard to not forget it for me.
 
I keep hearing the argument: "It is just like OXM only digital".

The more I think about it, the more I agree. OXM, had demos, had ads, had articles, cost more, killed trees. If Qore does not affect non-subscribers (i.e., I keep gettting the service I am getting now), than I am totally fine with it. Hell, the revenues generated by it could possibly be used to upgrade the overall service for everyone.

But if Qore takes away from the free service, then I reserve the right to pronouce the 'Q', as an 'H'.

~S
 
I'm actually kind of interested in this when giving it a lot of thought. If it has worthwhile content such as behind the scenes of various developers, and give me some exclusive info magazines do (but in HD and displayed on my TV), I'll be interested.

Some seem to get the impression that Qore will take away demos, but I doubt it. OXM, Gamestop, etc. will get an exclusive demo 2 months in advance (way before PSN or XBL Marketplace usually gets a demo) anyway, and it may be similar (but we'll still get within 2-3 weeks before release). Or maybe have X amount of themes made for a game, and maybe make a cool exclusive theme to Qore (where those people can download).
 
[quote name='snowsquirrel']I keep hearing the argument: "It is just like OXM only digital".

The more I think about it, the more I agree. OXM, had demos, had ads, had articles, cost more, killed trees. If Qore does not affect non-subscribers (i.e., I keep gettting the service I am getting now), than I am totally fine with it. Hell, the revenues generated by it could possibly be used to upgrade the overall service for everyone.

But if Qore takes away from the free service, then I reserve the right to pronouce the 'Q', as an 'H'.

~S[/QUOTE]

OXM's primary use was for non-LIVE enabled gamers, though. Once the marketplace was relatively robust, there was no need to pay through the nose just to get late content pressed to disk. If Qore were a monthly disk mailed to non-online PS3 owners, I think it would make a lot more sense.

And if we're talking marginally-clever-yet-insulting name variants, I nominate: "Qrap."
 
[quote name='VipFREAK']Oh, that's where she went?[/quote]

Not exactly. Her main gig is co-hosting Tekzilla, a Revision 3 video/audio podcast with Patrick Norton of The Screen Savers fame. It's a tech-only podcast and probably the closest thing to The Screen Savers we'll ever get.
 
Oh, that's where he went? Hmm... I'm gonna have to check that out. Thanks! I miss the days of Tech tv and Screensaver. They were way better than the garbage it replaced.
 
[quote name='The Mana Knight']I'm actually kind of interested in this when giving it a lot of thought. If it has worthwhile content such as behind the scenes of various developers, and give me some exclusive info magazines do (but in HD and displayed on my TV), I'll be interested.

Some seem to get the impression that Qore will take away demos, but I doubt it. OXM, Gamestop, etc. will get an exclusive demo 2 months in advance (way before PSN or XBL Marketplace usually gets a demo) anyway, and it may be similar (but we'll still get within 2-3 weeks before release). Or maybe have X amount of themes made for a game, and maybe make a cool exclusive theme to Qore (where those people can download).[/QUOTE]'

You talk as if anything they're doing is beneficial to us.
 
[quote name='zewone']'

You talk as if anything they're doing is beneficial to us.[/QUOTE]

When will you learn to accept Sony's love?
 
This is kind of like playstation underground isn't it?
and as far as the name, maybe they needed something they could get a dot com domain name for.
 
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