{"id":12398,"date":"2022-03-29T17:23:24","date_gmt":"2022-03-29T21:23:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/featured-news\/sonys-ps-plus-revamp-isnt-a-game-pass-killer\/"},"modified":"2022-03-29T17:23:24","modified_gmt":"2022-03-29T21:23:24","slug":"sonys-ps-plus-revamp-isnt-a-game-pass-killer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pley2win.com\/?p=12398","title":{"rendered":"Sony\u2019s PS Plus Revamp Isn\u2019t A Game Pass Killer"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sony\u2019s splashy first-party exclusives, like this year\u2019s God of War Ragnar\u00f6k<\/em>, won\u2019t hit PS Plus at launch, a stark contrast to the strategy employed by Game Pass.<\/figcaption>Screenshot: Sony<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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This morning, Sony finally unveiled<\/span> its games-on-demand service in a blog post<\/span> with more asterisks than the lease on your first apartment.. It\u2019s a revamp of PS Plus called\u2026 [drum roll<\/em>] wait for it\u2026 [another drum roll<\/em>] PS Plus.<\/p>\n
In line with details first reported by Bloomberg<\/em><\/span>, PS Plus 2.0\u2014yep, that\u2019s what I\u2019m gonna call it\u2014essentially merges Sony\u2019s two subscription services, PS Plus and PS Now, into one easily digestible package. At face value, the new-and-improved service seems like an obvious answer to Game Pass<\/span>, Microsoft\u2019s games-on-demand service currently subscribed to by more than 25 million people. Both offer access to hundreds of games. Both are available as monthly memberships. Both have options that allow you to stream games.<\/p>\n
But the two deviate enough in details and approach that it\u2019s not a one-to-one comparison. If Game Pass is the \u201cNetflix for games,\u201d as folks so often like to say, Sony\u2019s offering is more like, say, the \u201cHulu for games.\u201d Let\u2019s break it down.<\/p>\n
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How much does PS Plus cost vs. Game Pass?<\/h2>\n
PS Plus is available in four tiers. There\u2019s PS Plus Essential, fundamentally unchanged from the current service, for $10 a month or $60 a year. PS Plus Extra is $15 a month or $100 a year, and adds a library of PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 games. PS Plus Premium goes for $18 a month or $120 a year and adds games from previous PlayStation generations, plus game demos. Finally, geographical regions that don\u2019t allow for game-streaming can sign up for PS Plus Deluxe, which Sony says<\/span> will cost a \u201clower price\u201d than Premium and exclude PS3 games. (Exact pricing is up in the air. Sony did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.)<\/p>\n
Game Pass, meanwhile, is available in two tiers<\/span>. The base level, available on either Xbox or PC, is $10 and gives access to a library of Xbox One, Xbox Series X\/S, and PC games. The higher level, Game Pass Ultimate, costs $15 a month and pairs both together plus a number of other perks. There\u2019s currently no (formal) option to buy an annual membership up front at a markdown, though you can sometimes find a three-month card via third-party retailers<\/span>. But Microsoft, apparently confident in the retention rate of Game Pass, charges only $1 for the first month.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s easy, then, to look at these prices and immediately balk at Sony\u2019s highest tier. Yes, $18 is more expensive than the $15 going rate of Game Pass Ultimate. But by that same measure, PS Plus Premium\u2019s annual cost ($120) is significantly less expensive than Ultimate\u2019s ($180). If you know you\u2019re planning on subscribing long term, Sony\u2019s service already seems a bit more attractive.<\/p>\n
What games do you get on PS Plus versus Game Pass?<\/h2>\n
Of course, any games-on-demand service can succeed on the strength of its library. Game Pass, per its latest update, features around 450 games, roughly 350 of which are playable on PC. You can download any game from the library to Xbox or PC, and stream approximately 100 games on compatible devices, including phones.<\/p>\n
By comparison, the PS Plus library is a bit more confusing. At launch, PS Plus Extra will include 400 PS4 and PS5 games, anchored by marquees like Death Stranding<\/em>, God of War<\/em>, Marvel\u2019s Spider-Man<\/em>, Marvel\u2019s Spider-Man: Miles Morales<\/em>, Mortal Kombat 11<\/em>, and Returnal<\/em>. PS5 owners will note, by the way, how some of those games overlap with the offerings made available through PS Plus Collection<\/span>, which makes 20 of the best-selling PS4 games available to PS5-owning subscribers of PS Plus at no extra cost. It\u2019s unclear whether or not the rollout of PS Plus 2.0 will have any effect on that particular perk. Sony did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
Subscribing to PS Plus Premium adds a further 340 games from the PlayStation 1, PlayStation 2, PSP, and PlayStation 3 libraries. You can download PS1, PS2, PS4, PS5, and PSP games, and stream some too, but you can\u2019t download PS3 games. You can only stream those. Basically, it\u2019s PS Now<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n
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Microsoft recently beefed up its portfolio with its industry-shaking purchase of Bethesda, promising to add anticipated games like Redfall<\/em> to the Game Pass library later this year.<\/figcaption>Image: Arkane<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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There\u2019s also a notable divide in how each service handles its respective exclusive games. Xbox puts first-party games\u2014everything from smash hits like Halo Infinite<\/em><\/span> and Forza Horizon 5<\/em><\/span> to forthcoming blockbusters Starfield<\/em> and Redfall<\/em>\u2014on Game Pass at launch. For PS Plus, though, Sony won\u2019t adopt that strategy, at least not in the short-term. PlayStation boss Jim Ryan said, in a recent interview<\/span>, there\u2019s basically no reason to, as doing so could devalue the prestige status of games produced by the company\u2019s in-house studios. Sony\u2019s first-party games like Horizon Forbidden West<\/em> and God of War<\/em> already tear up the charts and enamor both fans and critics; they don\u2019t need the extra attention from a subscription service. In other words, don\u2019t expect to see God of War Ragnar\u00f6k<\/em> available on PS Plus any time soon.<\/p>\n\n
There\u2019s a lot of hay about how PS Plus 2.0 is positioned as a counter to Game Pass, and while such comparisons are fair, I\u2019m not entirely convinced they capture the full picture. Yes, both services fundamentally do the same thing (offer a bunch of easy-access games for a monthly membership). They\u2019re similar enough that it\u2019s worth scrutinizing the broader strokes in which they\u2019re distinct (Sony\u2019s service may be cheaper annually, but it lacks the best feature of Game Pass: day-one exclusives). It\u2019s also fun to play \u201cpros and cons.\u201d<\/p>\n
But such mental exercises conveniently gloss over the fact that Sony has no need to compete directly with Game Pass. Its first-party games are doing just fine. And they have legs, too: Horizon Zero Dawn<\/em>, which came to PC three years after its exclusive release on PS4, has sold more than 20 million copies, thanks in no small part to its PC port.<\/p>\n
To me, the big takeaway from today is nothing to do with competing corporate behemoths. Rather, it\u2019s that the era of subscription services\u2014which upended the film, music, and television industries over the past decade\u2014is officially here for gaming now too. And it\u2019s not going anywhere any time soon.<\/p>\n
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