PARIS, August 27 (EDITIONS/Bénin Actu) – – – –
The renewed monthly subscription service of Sony for its consoles, PlayStation Plusdebuted in Spain on June 23 with three new levels: Essential, Extra and Premium and two months later we have a verdict for the most advanced subscription.
The most advanced subscription mode is PlayStation Plus Premium (PS Plus Premium), which includes all the benefits of Essential and Extra, plus access to demos of new games and 340 additional titles from PlayStation originale, PlayStation 2 (PS2) PlayStation 3 (PS3) et PSP.
At PortalTIC, we had the opportunity to test PS Plus Premium for several weeks. The first impression of this renewed service is that Sony has responded to its direct competitor in the desktop console market, Microsoftwith a model that appealed to the heritage of the Japanese company.
Sony’s response comes following the current CEO of PlayStation, Jim Ryanadmitted at the end of March, in an interview with the Games Industry portal, that it is not able to compete with the Xbox Game Pass in terms of new gameplay.
This explains the predominance of classic titles from its early consoles, including the PSP, its first take on handhelds. On paper, PS Plus Premium presents itself as an alternative for those who particularly like retro games that appeal to Japan’s footprint in the industry.like the PS5 tech demo, Astro’s Playroom.
Nostalgia comes with an asterisk in the case of the PS3. PS3 titles are the only PS Plus Premium titles that must be played entirely via streaming. Cloud gaming requires a good internet connection. Additionally, this process involves compressing titles, which can lead to loss of quality along the way, and often increases latency, which slows player reaction time.
Since these aren’t current titles particularly geared towards online competition, this toll isn’t too high a price to pay. Heavy Rain is one of the best examples since it is one of the most popular PS3 games which is, precisely, purely narrative in nature.
The experience of pleasure from this title and others has remained intact, encapsulated and protected from the passage of time. The streaming did not, in our case, weigh down any aspect: from the graphics to the loading times. At no point did we notice any difference between streaming and local play.
GAME DEMONSTRATIONS ARE USEFUL, BUT NOT ENOUGH
Access to demos of new games is another exclusive benefit of PS Plus Premium. This function allows the user to enjoy a title for a specific period of time, which can be one or two hours, depending on the case.
Sony offers us here one of the rare concessions in terms of playable novelties. The user appreciates the temporary exclusive access to certain titles. to decide whether to buy them or not.
This feature is useful to enrich the user experience and the shopping process. However, it is insufficient since it includes for the moment only 13 titles, which, moreover, vary according to the regions.
STRAY, THE ONLY GAME AVAILABLE OUT OF THE BOX
Stray, the title developed by BlueTwelve Studio and published by Annapurna Interactivehas been the only game available on PS Plus Premium and Extra since launch day so far.
It is not yet known if Sony plans to do the same with other titles. Either way, the company has made it clear that it has no intention of following in the footsteps of Game Pass, so its heft… shouldn’t be particularly important.
OTHER ADVANTAGES OF THE SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE
Beyond these exclusive advantages, PS Plus Premium offers, like the Essential and Extra subscriptions, other advantages, some of which were already present in the previous service.
One of them is “online” multiplayer, the performance of which depends on the quality of the user’s connection. Another element is the possibility of storing up to 100 GB of data in the cloud, which favors the use of the Internet. cross-play and continue a game started at a friend’s house.
Game support is also still present in this revamped service, although it remains exclusive to the PS5. This feature is useful for those who lack patience or are overwhelmed by a challenge, especially in puzzle and platform games.
To this end, Sony provides us with a series of cards containing clues, both written and visual, on how to progress through a level. They are a useful aid, but are still only available in certain games, comme Marvel’s Spider-Man, Sackboy et Stray.
The PS Plus Collection is also exclusive to the PS5 and is present in all three subscription modes. This is a compilation of 20 PS4 games such as Days Gone, Detroit: Become Human, and God of War from 2018 that particularly resonated in the previous generation.
This initiative can be particularly useful for those who did not own a PS4 but did own a PS5, and at the time it was a relief for the catalog of the new console in its first months of life in the face of a lack of new titles. It’s not a problem anymore, that’s why the PS Plus collection has lost interest as a proposition..
Premium and Extra also include the catalog of Ubisoft+ Classicswith titles from the French developer and distributor, such as Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Watchdogs et Far Cry 4among others.
All three tiers of the renewed PS Plus also maintain the monthly games that Sony “offers”. The user can still access them to download them, but they must have an active subscription to the service.
A SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE THAT IS MORE ABOUT NOSTALGIA THAN NEW
Sony’s new PS Plus retains the features of the previous service, such as games of the month, but improves its catalog by including more playable titles in the Extra and Premium tiers.
Sony has been smart in revamping a service that looks more to the past than the present, because its heritage allows it to do so. However, this is still not a solid proposition. for the user who wants to have access to the latest news.
The inclusion of initiatives such as game demos in PS Plus Premium is appreciated, but their implementation remains insufficient, as is that of other proposals such as Game Aids.
All in all, the revamped PS Plus is more of a nostalgic than innovative subscription service. A proposal designed more to retain than to attract new subscribers without compromising the viability of Sony’s business model.
