You read that title right… Sony may (or may not) start charging for the PlayStation Network.

In an intereview with Geoff Keighley, Eric Lempel, director of PlayStation Network operations, let loose that the company may one day charge for PSN.

“Microsoft had a year jump on us for the launch and essentially we’re offering a lot of the same stuff. I don’t think there’s a big difference in exactly what we’re offering when it comes down to the nuts and bolts of what’s actually there for the consumer… We’re not charging money for our service. That’s a key differentiating factor.”

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“Right now that’s our model. In time anything can change but right now we’re happy with it.”

Here’s to hoping they keep it free, since it’s a major selling point for them over Xbox Live.

In addition to talking about pricing, Lempel talked about some of the new features coming to the PlayStation Network, and how much he likes Xbox Live.

“I like how their marketplace is integrated directly into their user interface….Talking across games is fantastic. That definitely builds momentum for games and actually migrate users to other games and keeps you in touch with your gaming community.

“We’re working on an achievements system… I can’t say if it’s definitely tied to a gamerscore or something like Xbox does but that is an important feature.

“We’re continuing to build on this. We’re definitely going to have all of those features at some point. We know that they (consumers) want it and we’re building to get there… It’s not in the next firmware update but it’s something we’re working on.”

Sounds like a plan to me.