PlayStation Plus is going through some changes. What they are, I'm not entirely sure. For starters, they have created an "instant game collection" containing 12 PS3 titles for free starting June 5th for North America that cycles in new games throughout a 16 week period. Europe will be receiving a similar "collection" of 10 PS3 games that cycles over a 12 week period. According to SCEE 2-3 games will shift every month but their total of 10 games will always be available for anyone who signs up for PS Plus. From this we can safely assume SCEA will be doing the same over their 16 week period. There is no confirmation yet on the exact route SCEA will take but one thing is for sure, PS Plus has never offered this many full size quality titles before. In fact, I've researched that the full PS3 game titles offered only require to be at least 1 year away from their initial release date meaning consistent quality games will keep coming.
So what's this mean? Aside from free games, of course. New customers can now buy a PS3 and subscribe with PS Plus to get 12 free games right off the bat. This games aren't anything to scoff at either, with inFamous 2 and LittleBigPlanet 2 leading the way with several other huge titles the value of purchasing a PS3 has never been better. This, with more coming down the road, all for as little as $4.17 a month.
This is an obvious contrast compared to what the other two platforms are offering. Microsoft has a subscription service at about $5 a month that offers online gameplay and streaming features they restrict access to from non-subscribers, while Nintendo has no current subscription service and until the Wii U is fully integrated into the market, a limitited online space.
So a ton of free games, a cheap subscription fee, and no reduction in features for non-subscribers; what's the catch? These games can only be accessed while you currently have an active subscription. While there is a 3 month subscription option for those interested in testing the waters, or managing their subsription time to maximize their gaming content while keeping their costs low, it doesn't leave too much room for this and in the end might be easier to opt for the annual subscription.
Where is Sony going with this? If properly advertised this "instant game collection" could be a huge selling point for new shoppers, but this might not be just an attempt to discern themeselves from the main competition. This subscription service brings to mind rental services like GameFly($15 per month for one rental) and BlockBuster ($10 per month for one rental). PlayStation could be targeting rental and used game services by beating them at their own game through digital distribution.
There are obvious trade offs to digital games compared to physical ones but there are also benefits, and the market is inching towards digital downloads as these services improve. One has to ask though, is this a sustainable business model and if so what impact could this have throughout the industry?
Before the PS3 everyone was nice to me :(
