According to experts interviewed by our colleagues from “Gamesindustry”, the new PS Plus unveiled by PlayStation is considered less interesting than the Xbox Game Pass for players, but more profitable for Sony.
According to analysts interviewed by Gamesindustrythe new PS Plus from Sony, an updated formula next June with the merger between the old PS Plus and PS Nowas well as the addition of old titles and a huge catalog of games, is “less attractive” than Microsoft’s Game Pass.
The debate between the two formulas resumed following this announcement. And according to Michael Goodman from Strategy Analytics, the new PS Plus is coming a bit too late in battle:
Sony should have combined these two products long ago, because that’s where the market is today.
That said, with this significant advance, thea PlayStation should reach a new form of profitability with a product with significant potential for turnover:
They have created an attractive product. Giving consumers the choice between hundreds of games, and combining multiplayer is important. […] Add hundreds of games, integrate the online part, and lower the price… it greatly increases the value.
Especially since according to himthe PS Now did not have much value for the consumer today. While PS Plus is used by 72% of their customers, only 5% subscribe to PS Now.
For other analysts, the new naming of offers is “unattractive” or can even lose players. Lewis Ward of IDC explains for example:
In the Premium category, subscribers will be able to download original PlayStation, PS2, PS4, PS5, and PSP games, but not PS3 games. Additionally, subscribers will not be able to stream PS5 games, only download them through the new service. […] All of these permutations, plus upgrade messages for current subscribers, are bound to create some confusion in the short term, and even in the long term.
Finally, the new PS Plus should continue to allow Sony capitalize on in-game revenue, one of the strengths of the studio explains Piers Harding-Rolls of Ampere. If the service develops, games counted in the subscription will have new levels of progression and therefore profitability for PlayStation.
Overall, while the experts mostly consider that PS Plus Extra and Premium are ‘less attractive’ than Xbox Game Passthe “aggressive annual price policy” should “encourage many people to opt for this formula rather than for the monthly subscription and thus obtain more regular income and reduce the risk of fluctuations in subscriptions depending on the release of contents.”
Source: www.gamesindustry.biz
