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Forums - Gaming Discussion - "Sony’s PlayStation Now Service Feels Like Highway Robbery"

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ICStats on 01 August 2014
Euphoria14 said:
Back when we had Blockbuster it was like $8 for 5-days.

Today we have Redbox which is $2/day or $14 for 7-days.


Now $8 for 7-days is bad? Where have people been living where they did not pay attention to rental prices? What did they want, $2 for a week rental?

Great point.  And streaming movie rentals are typically $4~5 for a day.

I'd expect a subscription service to come out, but don't expect it to be as cheap as Netflix.  Running a HD game in a cloud is more expensive than streaming a HD movie from the cloud.  You're renting the game + the console in the cloud.



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deskpro2k3 on 01 August 2014

I don't really like those prices, but Sony is not at fault for it. They have to talk to the game publishers etc to work out a deal.

I hear Sony is working on a subscription plan which should be far better in my opinion. A flat sub and the ability to stream whatever you want sounds like a plan I like.



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Trunkin on 01 August 2014
Neodegenerate said:
Trunkin said:
$8 for a week for a single outdated game just feels obscenely expensive.

The way I'see this is if I am interested in playing the game, 8 bucks isn't a lot.  Generally your games are going to have somewhere around 8 hours or so of content (I know some are less, but a lot are more, run with it), which means that for a dollar an hour I can be entertained.  That doesn't seem all that bad to me.  If you aren't down for playing "outdated" (which btw is completely subjective) games for 8 bucks a pop then well, at least the service isn't being forced on ya.

By outdated, i just mean old. And my problem isnt really that they're old, but that i could get them for a similar  price somewhere else, and play them whenever i like. Although another personal issue i have is that i dont finish any game in a week, and im usually playing more than one game at a time.



Neodegenerate on 01 August 2014
Trunkin said:

By outdated, i just mean old. And my problem isnt really that they're old, but that i could get them for a similar  price somewhere else, and play them whenever i like. Although another personal issue i have is that i dont finish any game in a week, and im usually playing more than one game at a time.


I have the same "multiple games at a time" thing going on myself.  Though with the new gen systems I have found myself having time to peddle through my PS+ backlog on the PS3 due to the release droughts.  Now if only they put out the PSNow thing a month or two ago and had a few games I was interested in on it...



TheBlackNaruto on 01 August 2014
DeadBigfoot21 said:
BMaker11 said:
DeadBigfoot21 said:
I just came here too see all those Sony fans defending this because Sony is doing it.
Prices are way overpriced and if you're ok with them then you simply are blind. You can use gamefly for lower the price and still get newly released games for cheaper. Heck EA's plan is a lot better.

What part of streaming to PS4, PS3, Vita, and Sony TVs instantly aren't people getting? You know server maintenance for that isn't free, right? And what part of "You can rent a game for $10 for a month" aren't people getting? That's overpriced? To have 2 games out at any given time for Gamefly is $22 or $23, I believe, and you have to wait on shipping, which is (from what I've read) 3-4 days. Not to mention, games are queued up for rental (there isn't an infinite supply), so if it's not available, you're not getting that game. For $20 on PSNow, I can get the same games INSTANTLY for the month.

How much is Redbox? $2/day? So $14 dollars for 7 days vs. $8 for 7 days via PSNow.

I fail to see how these things are way overpriced. But no, ignore the practical options that are available, and only focus on $5 for 4 hours to yell out "overpriced". If looking at other rental options and seeing similar or lower prices on PSNow and thinking that's good is "blind", well then I'm as blind as Ray Charles in a dark cave in a black hole. The day that $8 for 7 days is overpriced, but $14 for the same time period isn't overpriced, kindly kick me in the nads

edit: and just to correct a prior statement from you, Gamefly isn't $10/month, it's $16 and that's for having 1 game at a time. Are you gonna get a game, finish it, then return it in a week? Well, factor in the 4 day shipping between the two games, and that's 8 days (plus the day or so it takes to ship back to GF head quarters). You're now less than 3 weeks of gameplay time for the $16 you spent. Getting a 3rd game would bring you up to 12 days (remember, include the days it takes to return the games to Gamefly), almost 2 weeks in shipping time (or more). Depending on how long you play a given game, you've rolled over into the next month, meaning you really only got 2 games for $16. So at best Gamefly is equal to PSNow, price wise. In terms of pragmatism, PSNow > Gamefly. You get your games instantly, no shipping times, no queues becomes games are already rented, etc.

I use gamefly and I pay $22 a month for 2 games at a time. I usually finish them in a week and return them and order 2 more. Shipping for me takes 2-3 days at max. I get to play games the same day they launch so that is new games for you. Games on PS now will not be new so that is a huge bummer. I can walk into GameStop or shop at amazon and get most of those games listed on PS now for cheaper and I get to keep them and do whatever I want with them. Also another thing is that PS now is online only.....what if my internet is down? Well guess what buddy?! You can't play those games. I thought you guys hated online only? Same reason why Microsoft was hated on but now suddenly its ok? That irony!
EA's plan sounds a lot better IMO. If Sony does a subscription based deal then it would be better as long as games aren't 5 years old.

Well you must be one lucky person because I almost NEVER get games the DAY they are released on Gamefly. I usually don't get to play them until maybe like a month or two later because it takes forever to get them back. And do your eally go through 2 ENTIRE games a week(that's almost 8 games month GEEZ)? Man you must have a NICE amount of free time on your hands I don't have anywhere near that amount of time to do that lol. And of course we can go get games cheaper if we have the console already to play it on but what about those who don't have the PS3 and only a PS4 that would want to go play some of the PS3 games? Isn't this a good option for them if they don't want to go out and buy a PS3?

As for the last part what you wrote....some people still do "hate" online ONLY....but this here is an option. MS got hated on because the online only  didn't give you another option. That's a big difference and not even close to the same thing. All of us have our different opinions on stuff but let's not just bash something because it is not on the console we prefer or use stuff in the "console wars" . Everything is not for everyong in my opinion and even as a Sony fan I feel that PS Now is not for me but that doesn't mean I would go out and just start taking shots at it just because.....



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deviliscry on 01 August 2014

$6.99 to play and finish a game that i never had play ,,not bad ,



Mr Puggsly on 01 August 2014

I think people are looking at this service the wrong way. If you own a PS3, it makes sense to buy a physical copy instead.

However, if you want to play on a platform that doesn't support PS3 games. You have the option to rent PS3 games at a reasonable price. A lot of games aren't worth physically owning, we just play them once and eventually get rid of them.



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DeadBigfoot21 on 01 August 2014
BMaker11 said:
DeadBigfoot21 said:

I use gamefly and I pay $22 a month for 2 games at a time. I usually finish them in a week and return them and order 2 more. Shipping for me takes 2-3 days at max. I get to play games the same day they launch so that is new games for you. Games on PS now will not be new so that is a huge bummer. I can walk into GameStop or shop at amazon and get most of those games listed on PS now for cheaper and I get to keep them and do whatever I want with them. Also another thing is that PS now is online only.....what if my internet is down? Well guess what buddy?! You can't play those games. I thought you guys hated online only? Same reason why Microsoft was hated on but now suddenly its ok? That irony!

You finish two games in a week? Or are you only playing a little bit of each, then return them and order two more? I want to say that you have a lot of time on your hands. Or maybe you're running through 4 games a month (1 per week)? When you say "finish" do you mean "beat the game" or "I'm bored with this"?

It does suck that there aren't new [PS4] games on PSNow, but the purpose of PSNow is "backwards capatability" on PS4, coupled with being able to play games without necessarily having the particular hardware. You need a PS3 to play PS3 games, right? Well, if I already have a Bravia, it's not so bad dropping $8 to get a game for a week, instead of dropping $100+ on a PS3 and then whatever used price the game is. Not to mention, it's still in beta. We don't know if new games will be available or not. But I'd say it'd actually be in Sony's interest to do so. Say you put the new CoD on there. $25 for 90 days (the most expensive I've seen on PSNow so far). People play that game for a year, til the new one comes out. That's $100 for one game. Are you thinking "well, people could get done with it and then not rent again. They just enjoyed the game for less than half the MSRP. Sony loses out there"? Well, sure. But they also won't be able to sell the game and cut into dozens of sales due to the secondhand market. So it balances out. Either you pay the full $60 for a game at retail and do whatever you want with it (which ultimately would cut into Sony) or rent and not cut into Sony, but get to experience the game immediately, for cheaper. Looks like a win to your benefit in both scenarios to me.

And I think walking into Gamestop or going to Amazon to buy games is irrelevant here, don't you think? I mean, if owning games you got from the store is your preference, why talk about rentals?

And you can get new games in a timely manner if you're lucky and order before all the millions of other people thinking the same thing. Anecdotal evidence, but my buddy cancelled his Gamefly sub because he never got the newer games, when he was actually interested in renting them. He'd have to either wait until the queue had space available (which could take weeks, you know, with no late fees and people keeping games as long as they have their sub) or settle for some game he wasn't really looking forward to. I'm not sure how often that's the case, but that's my personal experience with the service.

And PSNow is a streaming service for content that's online. It is inherently internet based. That is no way comparable to buying a game and having mandatory check ins for it. Popping Madden into your XBone isn't internet based. The false equivocation you've made here is like getting mad at Netflix because my internet is down. It's up to me to make sure my internet works. Different story to tell me I can't enjoy my offline entertainment without being online.

Yes I finish my games to 100% complete on the SP side. I usually only rent SP only games or games that do have a MP mode but I am not interested in the MP. Last week I rented ryse and tomb raider and finished them in a week and returned them. This week I will rent sniper elite 3 and wolfenstein because I want them for sp only and don't wanna spend full price on them. Anyways please keep it short next time as this isn't an essay. 

PS now is online only hands down. If your internet is down you simply can't use the service.....that defines only one in my book. Again I can find these PS now games for cheaper and not have to deal with any lag or be afraid of my internet being down. A monthly subscription sounds a lot better IMO.



BillyBong on 01 August 2014
DeadBigfoot21 said:

I use gamefly and I pay $22 a month for 2 games at a time. I usually finish them in a week and return them and order 2 more. Shipping for me takes 2-3 days at max. I get to play games the same day they launch so that is new games for you. Games on PS now will not be new so that is a huge bummer. I can walk into GameStop or shop at amazon and get most of those games listed on PS now for cheaper and I get to keep them and do whatever I want with them. Also another thing is that PS now is online only.....what if my internet is down? Well guess what buddy?! You can't play those games. I thought you guys hated online only? Same reason why Microsoft was hated on but now suddenly its ok? That irony!
EA's plan sounds a lot better IMO. If Sony does a subscription based deal then it would be better as long as games aren't 5 years old.

what is the issue really?  Do you realize that PSNOW will benefit those that don't own/will never own a ps3, but would love to play the games on a compatible device?  Have you also ever rented anything ever?  the pricing is fine other than the $3 for 4hrs.. one can assume, it will only get better once out of beta.  a subscription im not sure will truly work for a service like this, considering the amount of games from different publishers this service is offering.

So sure.. go walking into a gamestop or online at amazon and buy a game cheaper than you can rent it for on a system you do not have.. oh wait.. how would you play it?  ding ding ding.. that's what this service offers.. access to a whole world of the playstation catalog without having to actually buy a console.  for ps4 owners that never owned a ps3.. same thing.  access to a catalog of games you would of never got to experience.



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BMaker11 on 01 August 2014
TheBlackNaruto said:

As for the last part what you wrote....some people still do "hate" online ONLY....

Dude, what he was talking about was literally not even the same thing as what PSNow is. He wants to call us "hypocrites" because online content is.....online?? "Always online" meaning you have to be online to play an offline game and "always online" meaning you need to be online to play a game that streams online is the biggest apples to oranges comparison I think I've ever seen on this site.

I'm not gonna get mad at World of Warcraft because my internet is down. I am gonna get mad at Minesweeper if I can't play when my internet is down.