PS3 having free multiplayer was why I chose it over the Xbox back in the day. Loved the exclusives and playing online for free. Then subscription happened on the Switch and PS4, so I ended up jailbreaking since there was no more benefit to not jailbreaking as someone who refused to pay for multiplayer.
I don’t think people buying consoles are doing that kind of long term thinking
Free multiplayer is a pretty good selling point either way.
PS3 having free multiplayer was why I chose it over the Xbox back in the day. Loved the exclusives and playing online for free. Then subscription happened on the Switch and PS4, so I ended up jailbreaking since there was no more benefit to not jailbreaking as someone who refused to pay for multiplayer.