PlayStation Plans New Service To Take On Xbox Game Pass (bloomberg.com) 14
Sony Group's PlayStation division is planning a new subscription service to compete with rival Microsoft's popular Xbox Game Pass, according to people familiar with Sony's plans and documents reviewed. Blooomberg: The service, code-named Spartacus, will allow PlayStation owners to pay a monthly fee for access to a catalog of modern and classic games, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they weren't authorized to speak to the press about the plans. The offering will likely be available on the smash hit PlayStation 4, which has sold more than 116 million units, and its elusive successor, the PlayStation 5, which launched more than a year ago but is still difficult to buy due to supply chain issues.
When it launches, expected in the spring, the service will merge Sony's two existing subscription plans, PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now. Currently, PlayStation Plus is required for most online multiplayer games and offers free monthly titles, while PlayStation Now allows users to stream or download older games. Documents reviewed by Bloomberg suggest that Sony plans to retain the PlayStation Plus branding but phase out PlayStation Now.
When it launches, expected in the spring, the service will merge Sony's two existing subscription plans, PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now. Currently, PlayStation Plus is required for most online multiplayer games and offers free monthly titles, while PlayStation Now allows users to stream or download older games. Documents reviewed by Bloomberg suggest that Sony plans to retain the PlayStation Plus branding but phase out PlayStation Now.
PC (Score:2)
Unless you're allowed to play on PC it's not like XBox live.
Re: (Score:2)
consider.
more play stations
Re: (Score:1)
At last, unity (Score:2)
I have long been confused by why Playstation Plus and Playstation Now are two things.
In fact it's even more confusing because If you have Playstation Plus, that gives you access to a library of older hit games if you have a PS5.
The one thing not mentioned about Playstation Plus that I really like is the network backup of game saves. That saved me big time a few years ago when the PS4 HD had died in a way that bricked the drive and could not be recovered. I had actually let my Plus membership unknowingly l
Playstation Plus for online games (Score:3)
Re: Playstation Plus for online games (Score:2)
Re: At last, unity (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
That's my concern, so I totally agree. I had a trial of XBox Game Pass on PC and I thought it was pretty crap (I'm fussy about the games I play).
At the moment I pay £30 a year for PS plus because I buy it on sale, so if they think I'm going to start paying some Netflix level of money a month because they give me some crap games to stream, then they will lose a customer. Given the price of a PS5 it will not take much for me to just hook a PC up to my TV instead.
Yes, can be cheaper (Score:2)
PS+ is $60/yr and even cheaper on black friday.
Yep I always buy on Black Friday if possible, if you buy it extends the subscription you have.
If they combined Plus and Now, those that only needed online gaming could be stuck paying a much higher amount for things they don't use
Yep that is my concern also, how much more will it be? I almost never even play the bonus three free games they drop each month. Heck most of them I can't even be bothered to add to my library even though they are free.
But the game
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah, I've used it. Played Playstation games on my PC with an xbox controller. I don't have any other.
That said, the streaming performance made the games literally unplayable. I have fast internet for everything else. No problems at all. Internet speed tests say very fast. On PS Now, games tended to last soemwhere between five seconds and two minutes, then I would get booted out with a warning that my internet was too slow.
PlayStation games (Score:1)