Today is that day the PS3 owners will be able to purchase access to PlayStation Plus, the PS3’s new premium subscription package. It seems that the PS3 user base is split right down the middle on this one with some gamers welcoming the new option while others are crying foul.

Personally, I think that PS+ is a great idea and a smart move on Sony’s part. The fact that they are not removing any capability from basic PSN users is important, basically these users will get what they have always gotten which for free is pretty darn good. I think what Sony has began to understand is that there is a subset of their user base that is more than willing to pay for extra capability and services. With the amount of money they were bringing in through items purchased in PlayStation Home and people paying for their Qore service, PlayStation Plus seems to me like a natural evolution.

For those people that want early access to betas and demos, some free content, the capability to schedule updates and downloads and all that other stuff will pay for the privilege and those that do not won’t. To me its kind of that simple, I don’t understand some people’s issue with Sony having a subscription option as long as they don’t take away any capability PS3 owners currently have which at the time of this article they haven’t mentioned. PS+ is no different than the people who by DLC and the people that don’t, I mean not everyone has purchased the MW2: Resurgence pack but that doesn’t seem to have affected that player base one bit.

Personally, as someone who is an early adopter when it comes to stuff like this, I will definitely try it out and depending on how I like it I will decide if its worth dropping the cash to renew it once it runs out. It seems that Sony has done what all smart companies do, expand their offerings and the fact that they have even come out with this service means that they have more than likely done market research that told them this would be well received. The bottom line is that I don’t think this will divide the PS3 user base at all, it might even strengthen it by bringing people who wanted a little bit more from their PSN experience. It also opens the door to some interesting possibilities as far as future PSN capability, now that Sony has a pricing model could they use that to bring PS+ owners all those cool capabilities we were promised years ago and never got. Could PS+ owners actually see cross game chat or dedicated game servers anytime in the near future, I don’t know but the possibilities are intriguing none the less. Alright folks, you have heard what I have to say, what do you think? Will PlayStation Plus split the PS3 user base and more importantly are you going to give it a try, either with the 3 month $18 option or the 15 month/$50 (Note: As a launch bonus, Sony will be giving people who buy the year subscription an additional 3 months for free)