This shouldn't be approached in a PSN+ versus XBL framework. It should be approached regarding "Is it good for games/gamers?"
For me as a gamer, today, it's a great short term deal. I get a bunch of games for the price of a rental. It's ok for Sony short term as well, as they're sure to sign up a bunch of new peeps this month. And it's ok for the devs/pubs of these catalog greatest hits-type of games. Sony's paying them a flat rate to get those licenses. But it depends on how much Sony is paying them as to whether it's a good deal.
But in the long run, is it good?
Consumers used to paying so little for games become reluctant to spend full price on games. We've already seen the impact of Steam and iOS and piracy and filesharing, etc. on the bottom lines of the industry. At what point does our unwillingness to pay $60 Day one become our unwillingness to then not pay $40 3-4 weeks after launch, and then say, well I'll wait another month for $30, or 3 months for $20 or 6 months for PSN+. Obviously big games like COD or Halo or the evergreen Mario franchises don't drop as quickly and/or have the fans to snap them up early. But it becomes that much easier to wait and not take the risk on new IP, on unusual games, on niche games. And we see more developers going out of business or being swallowed whole by the Sony/MS/Ubi/EA's of the world.
For Sony, do people play through 3 or 4 or 5 of the PSN+ titles and then just wait for the next month? I know full well that Just Cause 2 can suck you in for hours and hours. It's that much easier for me now to say, I think I'll skip buying God of War combo pack or a PSN full-price title or risk $40 to see if I like Dark Souls. Is this really good for them in the long run? Yes, they get $5 a month form people, but they're still having to pay the devs/pubs for the games and pay for the bandwidth to support downloads, network support, payment processing, etc. etc. The profit margin there is likely not as high as people buying retail discs and giving Sony direct royalties.
They must have the numbers and find them strong enough to give it a whirl, but it's a slippery slope into being forced to not take risks as a dev/pub, having no margin for error. For the bargain basement prices to really work, you need a really huge base audience in terms of market share, like iOS or Steam enjoy. It's why PSN and XBLA only discounts a handful of the thousands of titles available each month. Otherwise it puts new content that ISN'T mine craft or a sequel at a huge disadvantage and you lose platform sales or exclusivity or devs/pubs wanting to publish on your platform.
It's a good short-term fix, and I know I'm enjoying it, but how long can it go and how great of an idea it is remains to be seen. (And I will say, it'll take a month or two to see if the quality of titles is as high as this first extended batch.)
And if you've read this far, here's a cookie. And take advantage of the deal for Space Marine. Well worth a play-through!
Can't we all just get along and play our games in peace?
