Sony announced yesterday that it will integrate PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now into the new PlayStation Plus subscription service in June this year. The new subscription service will be divided into three membership levels, ranging from $9.99 to $17.99 per month. Sony plans to include games like Death Stranding, God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Mortal Kombat 11, and Homecoming to Online PlayStation Plus subscription.
However, Sony has no plans to include PS Plus in the subsequent release of first-party games through this subscription service. Thus, the new subscription service seems to be a little short of Xbox Game Pass.
PlayStation CEO, Jim Ryan explained in an interview with Gamesindustry.biz that if Sony sends its own first-party games directly to PlayStation Plus on launch day, they could suffer, and that’s not what gamers want either.
“After the game is out, we put our game on this service, or any of our services…. But you know, that’s not the way we’ve been in the past, it’s not what we’re doing in this new service. We think that if we do this for the games we make at PlayStation Studios, then that virtuous cycle will go bad. It’s impossible for our studio to invest that much…”
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“But gaming is different from music and other online entertainment. I don’t think it’s going to be on the same level as Spotify and Netflix. There are online gaming services that are very successful right now…They are perfect for the needs of players who like any game, no matter how much time they spend playing it…I think the trend of live-streaming services is going to continue, if you look for a model in our entertainment category…”
Nothing is set in stone – Sony PlayStation CEO
However, Ryan admits that the decision is not permanent and may change his mind at some point in the future.
“I don’t want to say anything that is not set in stone. What I’m talking about today is just the approach we take in the short term. Our subscription model depends on how it works right now, it won’t make any difference. But it’s a well-known fact that the industry changes too much.”
Microsoft has a completely different approach to Xbox Game Pass. It promises that Xbox Game Studios will go live on the day the game debuts. Therefore, XGP has become a very attractive option for players. When taken together, the combination of Sony PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now gives players more choice. Gamers can now play classic and new PlayStation games without subscribing to a separate service. While it may not be XGP’s true rival, it’s certainly an experience improvement for PlayStation users.
It is worth mentioning that the Xbox official immediately tweeted … “We love options…play brand new games on day ONE”
