I'M SPARTACUS! I'M SPARTACUS! I'M SPARTACUS! (Schreier says Sony prepping Spartacus to take on GamePass)

twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1466820186011541504

Last edited by jawa_ on Fri Dec 03, 2021 5:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.

This could be good... and I hope it is... although I worry that Sony will put out something a bit half-arsed in comparison to Game Pass. PlayStation Plus + PlayStation Now + Something Else could be expensive. We'll see!

Edit: The *highest* tier "could" include PS1/PS2/PSP games? Don't think I'd pay top dollar for that.

I'm guessing highest tier will include first-party games and, I hope to god, a better line up of titles than the service has been delivering for a good long while now. Otherwise, rolling PS Now and PS+ up into one new sub ain't gonna be much of a difference.

Bloomberg wrote:When it launches, expected in the spring, the service will merge Sony’s two existing subscription plans, PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now. Currently, PlayStation Plus is required for most online multiplayer games and offers free monthly titles, while PlayStation Now allows users to stream or download older games. Documents reviewed by Bloomberg suggest that Sony plans to retain the PlayStation Plus branding but phase out PlayStation Now.

Bloomberg wrote:Details on Spartacus may still not be finalized, but documentation reviewed by Bloomberg outlines a service with three tiers. The first would include existing PlayStation Plus benefits. The second would offer a large catalog of PlayStation 4 and, eventually, PlayStation 5 games. The third tier would add extended demos, game streaming and a library of classic PS1, PS2, PS3 and PSP games.

Hmmn. Tier pricing is gonna be interesting.

Jason Schreier wrote:This new service, expected in the spring, will likely retain the "PlayStation Plus" branding. Don't expect Sony to include its big new games day one like Game Pass does, but the expectation is a stronger offering than PlayStation Now

Sounds like a slightly better PS Now, not a competitor to Game Pass but a step in the right direction.

I really hope they try and outdo Microsoft on price.
I managed to get loads of half-price deals on gamepass and then upgrade to ultimate for £1 to give me 3 years of super-cheap gaming.

Yeah this won’t be a competitor for GamePass, more just an amalgamation of the services they currently have. The issue is, by the time they add the big first party Sony games to these services they have been on sale so much most people will own them already.

Can't wait to see how they'll manage to strawberry float this up.

Extended demos reminds me of the patent Sony have which states players can try a game without having to load it.

Didn't Sony recently buyout some anime streaming company and will they incorporate that I wonder?

Gemini73 wrote:Didn't Sony recently buyout some anime streaming company and will they incorporate that I wonder?

Good shout - Crunchyroll, IIRC. Only thing is, I'm thinking that, with Sony pricing, Online access + PS4 games + streaming + PS1/PS2/PSP games + Crunchyroll will be something like £64.99 a month :dread:

.

jawa_ wrote:
Gemini73 wrote:Didn't Sony recently buyout some anime streaming company and will they incorporate that I wonder?

Good shout - Crunchyroll, IIRC. Only thing is, I'm thinking that, with Sony pricing, Online access + PS4 games + streaming + PS1/PS2/PSP games + Crunchyroll will be something like £64.99 a month .

Still cheaper than their PS5 games :slol:

Not optimistic this will be a good reorganisation. Three tiers and the bottom one still won't be any cheaper for online only...

I’m cautiously optimistic that it’s a step in the right direction. Even including PS Now into the PS+ price would be really good.

I'm Abacus!

Oh, got it wrong.

Anyhow, I don't see how this is any sort of competitor to Gamepass, if it's just online play plus a bunch of old games. If anything it's just like Nintendo Switch online.

And that's swearing.

I'm so wary about these subscription schemes that the big three console manufacturers are aiming for. If it were an "optional" thing then fair enough, but making them a must for online gaming and even transferring game saves from one system to another is just a pile of pony, IMHO. All three are looking to "upsell" (ggnh!) so that, over time, we pay more each month almost without realising.

I just want to play online and have access to game saves; there must be plenty more folk who aren't so interested in the game renting that the companies are now pushing?

(For clarity, I am not saying that Game Pass is bad value :-) ).

Buffalo wrote:I’m cautiously optimistic that it’s a step in the right direction. Even including PS Now into the PS+ price would be really good.

Not a chance of that happening, unless they change the offering by dropping the Plus games altogether and you only get what’s on PS Now.

jiggles wrote:
Buffalo wrote:I’m cautiously optimistic that it’s a step in the right direction. Even including PS Now into the PS+ price would be really good.

Not a chance of that happening, unless they change the offering by dropping the Plus games altogether and you only get what’s on PS Now.

Not entirely unlikely - PS+ games are more often than not ‘neither nowt nor summat’ as they say up here.

jawa_ wrote:
Bloomberg wrote:When it launches, expected in the spring, the service will merge Sony’s two existing subscription plans, PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now. Currently, PlayStation Plus is required for most online multiplayer games and offers free monthly titles, while PlayStation Now allows users to stream or download older games. Documents reviewed by Bloomberg suggest that Sony plans to retain the PlayStation Plus branding but phase out PlayStation Now.

Bloomberg wrote:Details on Spartacus may still not be finalized, but documentation reviewed by Bloomberg outlines a service with three tiers. The first would include existing PlayStation Plus benefits. The second would offer a large catalog of PlayStation 4 and, eventually, PlayStation 5 games. The third tier would add extended demos, game streaming and a library of classic PS1, PS2, PS3 and PSP games.

Hmmn. Tier pricing is gonna be interesting.

PlayStation +
PlayStation ++
PlayStation +++

I'M SPARTACUS! I'M SPARTACUS! I'M SPARTACUS! (Schreier says Sony prepping Spartacus to take on GamePass)

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