70% of DC Universe Online users on PlayStation 3
"Free-to-play on PS3 is huge. A lot of people have already stored their credit card information."
70 per cent of DC Universe Online players connect to the free-to-play game via PlayStation 3.
The fact that only a minority of gamers play the PC version proves "free-to-play on PlayStation 3 is huge", Sony Europe boss John Smedley claimed.
"Right now, it's us with DCUO and Free Realms and our friends at CCP with Dust 514 that are going to prove that this market really works," Smedley told Eurogamer sister site GamesIndustry.
"There's a lot of people that go through that store and it's so easy to find and download these games that it's a great business model. A lot of people have already stored their credit card information so it's very frictionless if they do want to buy something.
"It's a business model of the future."
Sony was initially reluctant to dip its toes into free-to-play gaming, Smedley explained, but the success of DC Universe Online has helped to silence critics.
"I admit there was a mindset where when you use the word 'free' people pause. 'Wait a minute, what do you mean by free?' But even then people want to see the results. With DC Universe Online the split that we're seeing ended the debate right there."
"We can tell when the bad [MMOs] come out because they might have a lot of hype up front and we lose players for a couple of days, but they come right back."
Smedley did not reveal player numbers, but noted how Sony watched crowds leave - and then later return -as other MMOs hit the market.
"When another MMO launches we track very carefully how many players we lose to it. We can tell when the bad ones come out because they might have a lot of hype up front and we lose players for a couple of days, but they come right back so we immediately know if something is not good.
"Then again with a game like Diablo 3 we'll see them go away for weeks," Smedley concluded. "I was one of them! It's right in front of us when that happens."