There’s no smoke without fire, and clearly changes are afoot when it comes to PS Plus and PS Now. While Sony is yet to announce what its plans entail, Bloomberg has gone on record with internal documentation that hints at a new tiered subscription model. From what we understand, the existing PS Plus model will continue to exist, but the platform holder will introduce higher tiers as it seeks to strengthen its services and close the gap with Microsoft’s Game Pass.
Last year, the manufacturer put 3-month subscriptions to streaming service PS Now on sale, but kept the annual option at full-price. It’s since pulled 12-month subscription vouchers out of retailers in the UK and North America. So, clearly, changes are coming.
We rarely ever comment on PS Plus because the lineups are usually subjective, and we think the service represents pretty good value for money on the whole. It’s not perfect, and can be improved – we’re hopeful the rumoured Project Spartacus will refine things and take the subscription to the next level. But we’re writing this article because we do think, on this occasion, Sony has genuinely missed the mark.
There are things that are occurring in the PlayStation Nation that Sony has little control over. For example, the Japanese giant can do little if Microsoft decides to drop near-$70 billion at Bobby Kotick’s doorstep in order to buy Activision Blizzard. There are other instances where the platform holder can do better, however – and the way it handles cross-gen games on its subscription services is one such thing.
Next week, subscribers will be able to download Planet Coaster: Console Edition as part of February 2022’s PS Plus update – a pretty cool game. However, despite this title offering a free PS4 to PS5 upgrade, the release will only be available to owners of new-gen consoles. If you’re still playing on a PS4 – perhaps you can’t find PS5 stock – then you’re bang out of luck. Sony may argue that this is a bonus title, included specifically for new-gen adopters, but it’s been wildly inconsistent on this front.
