According to an MTV report, citing “publishing sources,” Sony is charging publishers by the gigabyte for placing content on the PlayStation Store — a tactic otherwise known as the “PlayStation Network Bandwidth Fee.” Publishers are charged 16 cents per GB on each download, presumably to assist Sony in paying for store upkeep and network costs.

Considering full games and demos often transcend the 1GB mark, this fee can add up quick if the content is popular. Sources say with free content, the fee only applies for 60 days following the initial upload of said content. However, paid content is in a different ballpark, as the fee stays until the content is removed from the store.

Paying a rather substantial fee on top of other license costs is not sitting well with publishers, especially not in this harsh economic climate.

“It definitely makes us think about how we view the distribution of content related to our games when it is free for us to do it on the web, on Xbox Live, or any other way — including broadcast — than on Sony’s platform,” one publishing source said. “It’s a new thing we have to budget. It’s not cool. It sucks.”

When asked if this policy would result in the removal of certain content due to upset publisher partners, Sony PR spokesperson Patrick Seybold simply replied that the company does not “foresee [a] change in the high quality or quantity of demos and games available on PSN.”

Microsoft of course takes a different approach to all this. It imposes a $50 annual fee towards users who wish to take full advantage of the Xbox 360′s online capabilities, such as online multiplayer. It’s safe to assume that Microsoft has no need to slap publishers with a fee as money earned from XBL subscriptions is paying for network maintenance.

You have to wonder… is this fee one of the reasons publishers like Rockstar have shunned Sony and decided to keep Grand Theft Auto IV: Lost and Damned on Xbox 360? Certainly explains why Microsoft has netted the majority of digital exclusives on its service.

Sony Now Charging Publishers For PS3 Downloadable Content, An Unpopular Policy Shift [MTV]

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