PS Plus Is Finally Delivering Solid Titles, And I Hope Sony Keeps It That Way

Modern gamers have it pretty easy with the many subscription services that provide great value for the money. I remember back in the day when I had to go out and search for every single game I wished to buy. And missing out on a deal meant paying full price or looking for it in the used department. It was not easy I tell you. Over the years came video game rental services, some still popular, and getting games became easier.

It was easy on the pocket and saved me from having to hunt for games every time a new one came. After that came the era of game subscription services like PS Plus and Game Pass, and let’s just say it made getting games for a single price a lot more comfortable. No more waiting in lines, or getting digital games at full prices. The benefits were great, but the demerits like insane price hikes periodically also followed. 

PlayStation Plus price has increased

12-months:

Essential – $79.99
Extra – $134.99
Premium – $159.99

https://t.co/1Q6cKJbCTA pic.twitter.com/7FPudUvGWH

— Wario64 (@Wario64) August 30, 2023

After The Price Hike, PS Plus Is Finally Bringing The Quality It Should Have

To sustain subscription services like PS Plus, price increases are inevitable. You can’t realistically expect them to stay at the same price tag for years. And that’s perfectly fine, I’m not against that. But the problem is the service needs to show something to justify the price hike, that’s pretty important. I mean, take a look at Game Pass. In terms of benefits, I always found it superior to PS Plus, but PlayStation has a superb library at its disposal.

Yet nothing concrete followed the price hike, and that was troublesome. However, it looks like Sony is finally raising the stakes and presenting a solid lineup to soften the blow. First, let’s take a look at December 2023. While the monthly games of Essential were pretty unimpressive, the additions to the game catalog were solid. GTA 5, to make use of the sequel’s hype, Strangers of Paradise, and Salt and Sacrifice among other titles.

It wasn’t anything revolutionary, but it was a start. And then Sony began the new year with a very compelling monthly games lineup I can’t help but praise. Putting A Plague Tale: Requiem there was a splendid move. If you haven’t played this game, you’re missing out on a brilliant two-part story. Not to mention Evil West is a solid adventure. Overall, PS Plus seems to be taking one small step in the right direction.

PS Plus January 2024 Essential games are now live in EU/UK/India/Australia
byu/kabirsingh84 inPlayStationPlus

The Price Increase Backlash Hit Sony Pretty Hard

Now I know the price increase is a necessary evil, but couldn’t Sony have given a little extra to its loyal fanbase? The fact that it didn’t is what caused all the problems in the first place. Not only did the tech giant raise the PS Plus prices by an insane amount, but it presented nothing solid enough to justify this increase. And fans were not going to take it sitting down. This erupted a backlash stronger than any profit Sony could’ve made.

I know very strongly loyal Sony fans give up on the service after this decision. Even if you go over to strictly PlayStation communities, you’ll see people complaining about it. If random people were bothered, I would’ve dismissed it, but you realize the gravity of the situation when even the most dedicated followers are leaving you. I don’t know about you, but I was certainly disappointed by it, and so were a ton of other people.

you never realize your in the good ol days til theyre gone. look at that price
byu/dixie2tone inPlayStationPlus

Sony should’ve understood that PS Plus is not the only subscription service out there, and this is what escalated the situation. Others raise their prices, too, but they provide something in return. Sony didn’t, and thus it faced criticism, and people started to prefer alternatives. When you have a competitor releasing major games Day-One on its service, I don’t think you have the luxury to mess up this badly, you’re bound to lose customers.

The Games That Followed Didn’t Help, And Neither Did The Sony Pictures Initiative

From all this discussion, we’ve established that Sony unfairly raised the prices of its PS Plus without giving anything in return. But you know what’s worse? it’s that Sony continued to present a bad lineup for 2-3 months after the price increase announcement. You want to raise prices but don’t plan on giving your loyal followers anything, and on top of that bring even more bad games, too? I don’t think it could get any worse than this.

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The very least Sony could’ve done was to give us some quality games, but no, the game quality dropped even further instead. Take a look at some of the prior additions, and help me pick even a single game you think justifies the price hike. Can’t find it, can you? Yeah, that was my expression, too; an expression of disappointment. Oh, and did I tell you about Sony’s “solution” to the problem?

That solution was a movie rental service of sorts, called Sony Pictures Core. It was a revamp of the Bravia Core service and gave you early access to buy Sony movies, plus a catalog of movies to watch for free. The problem is, have you seen that list? It’s like they collected every two-decade-old flicks no one cared about and called it a day. Besides, who even wants movies in a game service? There’s no way this was even close to a justification.

PS Plus Needs To Carry This Month’s Momentum Into The New Year

With all my explanation as to why this was a pretty bad move, you should’ve got an idea how hard it must’ve hit Sony. After all this backlash, I believe the company lost more in the long run than it could’ve gained with the increased prices. While I still think Sony needs to add some additional benefits to its service to win back some of the people it disappointed, I can at least say that this month’s lineup was a good initial step to start off the year.

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Oh, and while on the topic of the new year, PS Plus should consider its lineups and decisions more carefully after a backlash of such scale. Especially since the competing services are also gearing up. Xbox is going to receive a lot of titles Day-One on its service; Sony needs something of equal impact to stand a chance. It’s still not too late for redemption. If PS Plus continues to deliver exceptional games for its fans, they just might come back.

If I say for myself, I have been a PlayStation fan ever since I got my first PS2, and although disappointing decisions hurt a lot, the will to make amends is not turned away by loyal fans. So far, I can’t help but admit Game Pass is a much more attractive service, especially since it covers two platforms and provides timely releases of big games. This month’s lineup is what I wish to see consistently from PS Plus, and I’m sure it’s the same for many others, too.

For Starters, Why Not Play To The Strengths Of Its Exclusives?

Do you know what attracted me to the PS Plus Extra tier when it first came out? It was nothing more than the solid lineup of exclusives it featured. By that time, I hadn’t purchased even half of those exclusives to play on the newer PS5, and that was a perfect opportunity to try them all out. And the rest was history. Getting to play games like God of War, Returnal, Demon Souls, and Ghost of Tsushima was the greatest strength of PS Plus.

What’s everyone’s opinions about PlayStations new and revamped PlayStation plus? In my opinion I love it!
byu/Theggyou inPlayStationPlus

Thus, I believe Sony should take that particular strength to the next level from here on. The first thing to do is bring more of these exclusives to its service. If you look back, the months that featured an exclusive were overwhelmingly praised, compared to when unknown games were added to the PS Plus. And that’s my answer to this predicament, the addition of stronger exclusives and multi-platform games that everyone eagerly wants will boost the service pretty effectively.

Similarly, how about another way to approach this? I think you know how much PlayStation exclusives are popular among PC Players, and their PC releases have been overwhelmingly successful, too. And since these games are not on Game Pass, why not put them on a PS Plus service specifically for PC Players? Leaks suggest it might happen soon, but it’s only speculation so far. I hope Sony considers some improvements to make PS Plus stronger in the now-beginning year.