Sony Claims Games Should Not Debut Immediately on PS Plus and Game Pass
Sony does not want games to go to PS Plus subscriptions at launch. The company believes this does not serve to optimize profits for developers.
Source: Sony.
A few months ago, Sony launched the thoroughly revamped PS Plus subscription, revised to enable us to compete with Microsoft's popular Game Pass. However, the Japanese company has not fully followed in the footsteps of its rival, and now we have learned why.
- Context: Microsoft releases all its games in Game Pass on the day they debut on the market. For Sony, it's different - only older major releases land in the PS Plus subscription offer.
- In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz Sony's Shuhei Yoshida explained that the company does not want so-called "premium games" to be available on subscription from the moment of their release. This applies not only to its own games, but also to titles from other publishers. However, the company has no such reluctance in the case of smaller titles (just to cite the example of Stray).
- Yoshida believes that it's best for large games to debut traditionally first, and only come to PS Plus after a few months or even years.
"(...) we believe in the premium release of a title at launch and after maybe six months, or three months, or three years, when the game's sales come down, inclusion into this service, PS Plus Extra, can help introduce these games to new, broader audiences. Some people might have missed these games when they came out and it’s a great chance to play and generate word-of-mouth or if there’s DLC or a sequel going, we can help elevate interest to a broader audience about the franchise."
- This approach is meant to optimize game developers' profits. First, they can count on high post-release sales, and once those have fallen hard, subscriptions will enables them to reach new audiences. This is supposed to extend the period during which a game earns money.
It is worth recalling here May's statement by Jim Ryan, or the head of Sony Interactive Entertainment. At the time, he said that if the company's biggest exclusives debuted on PS Plus, it would be necessary to reduce their budget, which would in turn affect quality.
It is worth noting that Sony is alone in this approach. Not only does Microsoft place its big-budget games immediately in Game Pass, but Electronic Arts and Ubisoft do the same with their EA Play and Ubisoft Plus services.
Sony, as you can see, has chosen a different path. A different approach can also be seen when it comes to PC versions. Microsoft is now releasing all its games simultaneously on PC and Xbox consoles. In the last several month the PlayStation maker has begun to port its biggest hits to PCs, but there is no chance for simultaneous launch with console releases - so PC gamers receive game with a long delay compared to PS users.
