PlayStation Plus: an expected subscription system with a lot to improve

For those of us who grew up playing Atari, or later Sega or Nintendo, the memory must surely be with the most classic and popular titles of those generations. Sure, those were times when you bought a game and played it tirelessly until, hopefully, you finished it. One could perhaps trade the cartridge with friends, resell it used as a stand for another game, or simply save it for another time. So, more or less, the life cycle of a video game has been running for several decades since the birth of this industry.

But in a few years, times have changed. New technologies — especially high-speed internet — have radically changed the way people access video games. Beyond a certain ubiquity to play from different platforms – from classic PC or traditional consoles to mobile phones or tablets—, is access to online libraries, as if it were a streaming service, which really meant a change when choosing our next adventure.

A little over five years ago, Microsoft launched its system, called Xbox Game Pass, which at the time seemed like something out of heaven. player: the platform provided access to a large but at the same time select toy library of hundreds of titles, current and past, as well as exclusives and other surprises, all for a monthly subscription of less than ten dollars. Something similar to what popular services like Netflix or Spotify do, only with video games.

It sounded too good to be true, but that was the way it was. Those of us who are subscribers know what a panacea this can become. All you need is a good internet connection – and a paid subscription – to enjoy a lot more games with just a few clicks than you ever imagined as a kid. Five years later, Xbox Game Pass is one of the most attractive hooks when choosing a new console. An advantage that Sony and its PlayStation could not continue to afford.

The competition had to respond. It did sooner rather than later, but eventually Sony got the job done and launched its own subscription system for PlayStation this year. It’s not exactly the same as Xbox Game Pass, but it has many similarities in essence and purpose.

It’s still called PlayStation Plus, just like the membership service the brand used to have for its users, but it now has three subscription tiers. For several days and nights, we reviewed and dug into the available titles. With this we find.

The basic subscription level, called Essential, is always the same: it gives access to online multiplayer games, free games per month (provided you are up to date with the subscription, otherwise they disappear from the console ), discounts, cloud storage, shared games and not much else. Its cost is almost 7 dollars per month (about 6,800 pesos), although it is considerably reduced if you pay annually: 39.99 dollars, or about 3,250 pesos per month at the current exchange rate.

The next plan is the Extra, which along with what the Essential already offers, adds access to a library of games, mostly from PlayStation 4 and 5, as well as classic games from French Ubisoft. It’s worth $10.49 per month (just over 10,000 pesos) and $66.99 per year (about 5,400 pesos per month).

And finally we have the last level, called Deluxe, which adds a large library of classic titles to the previous two plans, which can reach the original PlayStation, as well as exclusive trials of games that are about to be released and even play games via streaming (if broadband allows). While all tiers have their draws, this one is definitely the one worth the most, especially for older players who have long been waiting for a backwards compatibility option for titles from yesteryear. It doesn’t cost much more than the Extra plan: 11.99 per month (about 11,600 pesos) and 76.99 per year (6,250 pesos per month, at the current exchange rate).

The system is good, it works, but it lacks cohesion. We note that it was not born as an original plan but as a response to Microsoft, since in terms of value and user experience, Game Pass is ahead of it.

In what aspects is this noticeable? From the ability to play exclusive games from the day of its debut – something PS Plus doesn’t yet have – to the details regarding the search interface, which is very unfriendly. Despite all the time it’s been in development, it’s becoming very apparent that Sony’s system is still in its infancy.

By browsing the page by doing scroll, we see that service offerings appear in different categories, which might seem a bit confusing at first glance. There are also prominent titles for the different tiers, which can add to the confusion. The search box works, but the delivery of results isn’t as straightforward as one might expect. Many times you have to type in the full title of a game to find it.

It’s true that these issues can be fixed quickly with time, it’s really nothing serious, but the navigation definitely needs improvement, especially considering how long it took Sony to work and release this product.

The values ​​are also quite questionable, especially at the highest levels: while the Xbox Game Pass for consoles costs 5,990 per month, the PS Plus Deluxe plan – which would be its equivalent – costs almost double. The prices only get closer if you risk paying all year round.

The Game trials – or demos, as they were once called – are available in the two highest plans and are just that: tests of games that are about to be released. This way, the studios and the company itself can assess in advance which titles will be the most successful and which will lack work.

Unlike before, where you could only play a few stages, part of the game map or only choose a few characters or teams – if it was a fighting or sports game -, in this case, the title is fully downloaded, but with access restricted by hours.

The selection of games is scarce. There are powerful titles to try for a while, like the Horizon: West forbiddenthe Cyberpunk 2077 or the WWE 2K 2022. It is free to download and if the user likes them during the trial period, he has the option to purchase it. But this is not something that can be done with all games or at least with a wide range of them: on the contrary, the selection seems very random and loose. Here too, there is a lot of room for improvement.

Of course, the library of PlayStation 4 and 5 games, available in the Extra and Deluxe plans, is really attractive and will probably be the right bait to attract subscribers to the service. Here we find the great battery of titles that in recent years have been available for the last two generations of the console: works of art such as Spider Man, Red Dead Redemption II, return, Death Stranding, God of the war, Ghost of Tsushima and many more are just two clicks away. For someone who has just bought the console, it is a real must to access several titles at once.

The library that provides access to historical console classics, meanwhile, is decent. Personally, it was the one that interested me the most, and although I found several interesting, nostalgic titles that I had never had the opportunity to play at the time, the selection is rather sketchy if the you consider the ton of titles that came out during those decades, those of the 90s and 2000s. It still has a long way to go to be a truly attractive mainstay, especially for those who debuted with those generations.

Either way, there are some appealing classic titles that made me more than smile (and almost tear up), like the fun saga Monkey Escape, Jack, carmageddonthe saga Castlevaniaold Disney/Pixar titles, early games in the series God of the warthe vast majority of games Lego, Loco RocoThe titles ninja gaiden and others.

The last question is: is it worth subscribing? If the dedication to the console is usually several hours a week, or if many people use it at home, certainly yes. Instead of buying single games for 30, 40, or 50,000 pesos, hundreds of them can be accessed here for the latter price throughout the year. Although it still lacks content, this first step has something to captivate even the most cunning.

• Essential: Subscription for 1 month US$6.99 / For 3 months US$16.99 / For 12 months US$39.99.
• Extra: Subscription for 1 month US$10.49 / For 3 months US$27.99 / For 12 months US$66.99.
• Deluxe: Subscription for 1 month 11.99 US$ / For 3 months 31.99 US$ / For 12 months 76.99 US$

*Prices for products in this item are current as of September 28, 2022. Values ​​and availability may change.