PlayStation Plus converts to three levels: PlayStation Plus Essential, PlayStation Plus Extra and PlayStation Plus Premium – priced at $ 10, $ 15 and $ 18 per month, respectively. The Xbox Game Pass, by comparison, has roughly equivalent levels of console and computer for $ 10 per month each and a combined Game Pass Ultimate for $ 15 per month. Sony also offers annual pricing, which makes Plus Premium cheaper than Game Pass Ultimate. It’s a slightly different value proposition and you can read more about how Plus levels compare to Game Pass. However, in general, Essential is similar to the current Plus service, Extra adds to PS4 and PS5 games, and Premium adds additional games from the back list and Sony streaming support. It’s almost obvious that the power of the PlayStation subscription will depend heavily on its list. This is, unfortunately, one aspect in which Sony is very vague. It has advertised the approximate number of games you get in each level, but has not given specific names beyond a small handful, so it is left to our imagination. Some of my assumptions are based on how well the announcement has already matched the previous leaks. And to be precise, the top version of the service is essentially Plus, Now, and some PlayStation back lists have been integrated into one. While the public will continue to compare Sony’s effort with the Game Pass, it is clear that this is not intended to be a direct competitor. According to NPD analyst Mat Piscatella, the move is more about streamlining its existing digital strategy to make it more comprehensible at a glance, despite the previously divided and potentially confusing Plus and Now offerings. “I do not see it as a significant change in Sony’s existing strategy, but simply as a gradual (but substantial) improvement over what already existed,” Piscatella told GameSpot. However, Sony wants the service to be realized, however, it is a digital subscription that offers a range of games. Consumers who have access to both the PlayStation and Xbox ecosystems will naturally see themselves as competitors and make value comparisons about where they will spend their dollars. And in this respect, Sony’s offer lags behind what we know so far. The appeal of the Game Pass is a steady stream of brand new games. Set aside for the time being the promise of first day releases for all Microsoft premium games like Halo and Forza. Microsoft has been very cautious about entering into agreements with third-party publishers, even independent studios, to release multiple games on the Game Pass per month, usually on release day. The huge volume means you are almost certain to find at least one game in any given month that you would happily pay $ 15 to play anyway. A Game Pass subscription is easy to justify as saving money on buying a la carte games. Sony has not given details about its library, but has not promised that new third-party versions will be part of the series. The top tier, Plus Premium, simply offers a list of older PlayStation games. (Even then, PS3 bids will be downgraded to streaming, most likely a technical concession that will prevent some gamers from enjoying it.) backwards compatible. And most importantly, a back list is inherently static to some degree. Sony may be adding more classic PlayStation games to its library as time goes on, but once it locks in the basics that are closely related to the platform like Metal Gear Solid or Final Fantasy 7 – if we even have such high profile games – – there is not much room for exciting new announcements. After playing all the back-catalog games you are interested in, what is there to keep you from paying your monthly fee? We can see a similar dynamic to that at the Switch, where Nintendo’s NES and SNES versions are becoming increasingly sporadic and obscure. Then, of course, there is the first part factor. Microsoft has created studio acquisitions such as Skittles, building a broad team of developers to support its service-oriented approach. While Sony relies on one or two huge releases a year, Microsoft is content to release a lot of mid-range games to supplement its release calendar and boost Game Pass. Sony’s strategy does not allow it to easily imitate this approach, so it may seem to avoid conflict altogether. The Plus Premium service will offer some PlayStation exclusives with big names, such as God of War and Spider-Man, but long after their initial release. We have not heard anything about when or even if new releases will join the series in the future. There is reason to believe that Sony’s ultimate vision for the service could completely bypass this direct comparison. Sony has said it intends to invest heavily in live-action games, in part through the $ 3.6 billion acquisition of developer Destiny’s Bungie. This strategy certainly comes with risks – there is reason to believe that live service games may have already reached a saturation point before Sony sheds even more weight behind them – but it could set a completely different example for Sony’s subscription services approach. Instead of relying on a steady stream of new first- and third-party games, it may be planning to offer live service library bonuses or other bonuses. This would be a way to make Plus offers different from Microsoft, with a completely different approach. Alternatively, Sony live-service games could successfully coexist with Plus. While the Game Pass seeks to serve as an umbrella for all Xbox content, the Plus may just be part of the pie for the PlayStation. And of course, Sony has a much bigger base in Japan than Microsoft. Whatever the comparative weakness it may have in the United States, Microsoft is such a non-entity in Sony’s home country that its subscription offer is sure to reach more people there and the flow is much more sustainable for the Japanese market. . This in itself could make the effort to simplify and streamline its subscription offers worthwhile. And since this builds on the existing Plus structure and current users will be converted automatically, this revised version will allow Sony to easily make a higher upgrade available to a more responsive audience. However, for those who have access to both ecosystems, our Game Pass is broken. PlayStation fans and dual-platform owners have been waiting to see how Sony would react to the Game Pass, and the answer is obviously that it does not intend to do so. New Plus offers may be better and older games may be a good advantage, but at the end of the day, Sony is asking us to pay more for a service that feels out of competition. For now, at least, it has lost the signal.
