Is PlayStation Plus doing more harm than good?

Sony’s PlayStation Plus is undeniably, unquestionably fantastic value for gamers. For the paltry sum of $50 a year (or less, if you shop smart), you can supercharge your PlayStation devices by getting a wealth of relatively new games for free.

Recent additions to the service, such as the excellent Sleeping Dogs and Square-Enix stable mate Hitman Absolution are just months old – and now they’re available to gamers for the cost of nothing. Ron Gilbert’s adventure game The Cave was released at the end of January this year – and that’s already fee on the service’s “Instant Game Collection”

[NYC_Gamer]

It's not doing harm because Sony must have made deals with the publishers..PS+ is good because it offers gamers value for their $50 a year

[HyperBear]

Yeah it is a great deal for Playstation gamers. As long as they continue to be a PS+ member and re-new every year, they get free games, discounts at the PS Store and other exclusive material that non-PS+ members do not receive.

But the author does make a valid in point in that besides physically owning the copy of the game, whats the point in purchasing a retail game when there's a 50/50 shot that it will become free through the PS+ membership in the future?

Edit: @xHeavYx - very well played sir! lol

[xHeavYx]

Can't read the article, too busy playing free games

[Ashlen]

PS+ only offers games that are older. And largely only first party.

How long before (if ever) do you think it will be before Bioshock Infinite or Call of Duty or any game from EA will be on there?

Mostly games that go on there probably benefit the companies who put them on there as much as Sony or the consumer.

Example, Vanquish was put on there right around the time Metal Gear Rising was released. I can almost guarantee the motivation was "Hey lets give PS+ fans a taste of what Platinum games can do".

And they get a bit of money from Sony on an older game and maybe earn some free indirect advertising for there new game.

[UnHoly_One]

"whats the point in purchasing a retail game when there's a 50/50 shot that it will become free through the PS+ membership in the future?"

What's the point in buying something through Steam when it might be on sale for $2.50 a year later?

There are always going to be people willing to pay full price to have it on Day one.

[HyperBear]

@ UnHoly_One

Yeah I know, I was just trying to get across what the author was trying to get at with his opinion.

I personally think it's an amazing subscription initiative and probably the best decision Sony made to combat Xbox Live and still make money off of it, and not totally screw the gamers over compared to Microsoft and Xbox Live. And it's not like every single game in PlayStation's library goes up for grabs in PS+. It's typically games that Sony have partnered or published with, and or games that didn't sell well through retail.

[avengers1978]

@ Ashland I got bio shock 2 for free through plus, also darksiders, street fighter 4, spec ops the line, vanquish, demon souls all free, but that really doesn't stop me from buying games I really want day one at full retail price. It basically means I can try games I might not have played or re get games I already had and traded in towards new games. Your right though its not like every game will eventually be free on plus

[Why o why]

When I hear a developer or studio moan about ps+ ill consider this argument. Never look a a gift horse in the mouth or moan about value especially when ps+ is unique among consoles

[NewMonday]

game sales are also declining on the 360 and they don't give away games with Gold.

IMOO the reasons are:

* gamers holding off buying games till next gen.

* console gemers migrating to PC with the 7970/GTX680 genration

[ALLWRONG]

Only on N4G does paying = free

[lodossrage]

Only at N4G does paying for features everyone else gets free = value so...lol

[Peppino7]

Are articles like this doing more harm than good? Absolutely!

[nukeitall]

Is PS+ unbelievable value? At this point it is yes!

However, is it hurting the industry? Yes, it is! It cheapens the value of games and trains consumers into waiting for games to release for free access on PS+. This can hurt Sony in the long run, when their attach rate for games start taking a beating. Publishers might just favor a different platform.

Keep in mind that game profit are made upfront in the game release cycle, and has a very short tail. This means potentially fewer games made.

Just ask yourself, how often you wonder if a game will hit PS+ and hold off a purchase.

So short term, good for consumers. Long term, very very bad for consumers.

[MikeMyers]

The titles they offer have usually gone through the selling process and are what we call now back-catalog titles where their value has significantly decreased.

I'm a Plus member and think it's great value (even better for Vita and PS3 owners) but the downside to it is they are now announcing free games well in advance which could mean some lost sales. It's not a downside to me but perhaps the publisher. It could also be training people into thinking any game that is just a few months old is not worth much anymore and come to expect all games should be free eventually.

What Steam does is they have blow-out sales. It brings a lot of attention and they often have 1-day sales. It creates an immense amount of activity and generates lots of feedback for games some may have missed. That may mean after the 1-day sale those titles may actually start selling more than they did in the past. Playstation Plus treats these games as sort of throwaway titles and are available for a few weeks. That creates a different mindset to the value of software.

Of course what I just said could be a load of crap but it sounded good.

[MysticStrummer]

ALLWRONG's name continues to be consistent with his comments. If the total value of the things you get exceeds what you pay, you are in fact getting something for free. Deal with it, along with other things of course.

[BISHOP-BRASIL]

My only grip with PS+ is that it's not available in all regions (like my own).

[rainslacker]

I think the recent Vita additions were for promoting the Vita among it's PS+ user base. Not a bad way to do things, and it's essentially bundling 4 games with the purchase of the system(sort of). On top of that, the longer someone remains a member of plus, the more Vita games they will have to tempt them to eventually pick up a Vita. Again, pretty savvy. It's like having all those points given to you with your grocery store card...eventually you just keep shopping to get more, and finally you have to do something to use them(again sort of).

That being said, I doubt most gamers are really holding off buying games hoping they'll show up on PS+ one day. A good number of the AAA titles on PS+ are usually put out in the interest of promoting the next installment in a series(Borderlands, RE5, etc). Others are ones that have DLC or micro-transactions attached, so if a game is past it's prime shelf life at retail, it's a good way to drum up extra revenue from users who may have passed in the first place.

Despite the author pointing out some more recent titles added, most games released on PS+ are about a year old, sometimes older. If someone is willing to wait that long for a game, then there is nothing to say that they would have brought it until it went on sale anyways.

Finally, PS+ is great to draw in people who just don't purchase many games to begin with. Sony gets $50 a year, people get a lot of games. Sony wins, consumer wins, publisher wins through more exposure, and possibly DLC/MT revenue.

[MrBeatdown]

@nukeitall

What a load of nonsense.

Almost every single game releases at $60, and any gamer with a brain cell or two knows if they wait a few months, they can get it for $20 cheaper, or beyond that, anywhere from $30 to $40 cheaper. A $60 game for $20 is INEVITABLE, and a serious incentive to wait.

Yet every publisher under the sun uses that model, and they're all doing just fine.

But you think a gamer waiting on the SMALL POSSIBILITY that the specific game they want will be free is somehow going to be a huge problem for Sony, so much so that it will drive business away from them?

Let's recap...

Inevitable, huge, permanent discounts = sunshine and lollipops.
Small possibility of an older game being temporarily "free" = DOOOOOOOM!

Funny stuff. If you're going to try for doom and gloom, at least try to go with something logical.

[tommygunzII]

With PS Plus I have more games than I can play. I didn't buy Defiance even though my buddy did because of the backlog of PS Plus games I have yet to play.

[Jazz4108]

Ps plus also could be looked at as a good thing as it keep so many used games from being purchased and traded. Im sure gamestop hates ps plus.

[Ritsujun]

PS+ subscription:
For only USD 49.99 a year,
you get 65+ PS3/PSVITA/PSN games for FREE every single year at NO extra cost.
I haven't even mentioned other PS+ features.

[JoGam]

Just to add to ur comment....Sony isn't stupid. Its not like they didn't think of every possible problem that could go wrong with Playstation Plus and eliminated it. Sony offering free games is a business model that suppose to entice people to subscribe. Always remember this...... In business, companies will always come up with unique ways to make money and its not always clear to the consumer what that is especially when a company like Sony gives away free games. Just know Sony is making money along with companies involved.

[Salooh]

Lets be honest here.

Games are not free. Why you guys say that?. i paid more then 100$ to get ps+ on both USA and UK. It's like renting games most people don't buy. Which is a good thing but still need to evolve like puting votes to what games we want. It's like you guys asking sony to higher the price by saying all this xD. Rent stores is better then ps+. You guys need to demand more not saying 'wow, free game o.o'' ..

[Why o why]

Evolve...yes but this is ps+'s first gen and look at what its done for sonys brand and their customers already. I think nominating games may be hard to do as deals may not be able to be made for every game out there for varying reasons.

[Rainstorm81]

@feb

It does need to evolve and will next gen, PS+ could become a console gaming version of Netflix...pay a subscription and get access to and instant library of tons of game, add in the discounts betas avatars themes etc & a PS3 PS2 PS1 classics library and I'd gladly continue my ps+ throughout next gen.

I think Sony eluded to something like this during their press conference in feb..

[NukaCola]

PS+ hooks me up and with all I save I throw the extra right back at Sony. I dont wait on buying games so sometimes I miss those extra deals but with all I get and save I couldn't be happier. Got Guacamelee for under $12 bucks. PS+ is incredible.

[sinjonezp]

The value lies in the reality. A gamer can still play online without paying a fee. With the subscription, you get offers to play betas early, free games and content that covers the value you pit in within three months. So how is that harm? Everyone's thoughts.

[Apollosupreme]

Playstation Plus is all about keeping customers. Give them so much content that it would hurt to hop the fence into Microsoft's or Nintendo's backyard.

[freezola75]

Ya know it's funny to see this article and others like it..

I am not gonna give this site any hits regardless of the "valid" points raised..

Here's why, they will be among the very same sites complaining that Sony is jerking the gamers with no games or nothing free if there wasn't such a thing as Plus.

No other console manufacturer has came REMOTELY close to what Sony has offered it's user base with PS Plus.

It's so silly.. smh

I am 1000% enjoying my PS Plus!! I cannot count the massive amount of games in my library now (digital but so what?), thanks to it...

I have renewed my Plus until June 2014 and I do it around tax time so that I can do the full year. I have had it since it came out and if I couldn't afford that, then I'd get a $20 PSN card every 3 months.

I love Plus and now it's on my Vita yo.. Gravity Rush, Uncharted: GA, NGS+, Wipeout (just to name a few they have plenty more!),and OMG look at all of the discounted games available and at your disposal.

Look, Plus is far from a rip off (for those of you that think so).. they said you'd get access to betas and look at all of the ones we've had so far!

I am truly stoked for Plus and I am interested in how or if they will be incorporating this into the PS4 at some point..

Peace

ADDENDUM:

Do you remember about a couple months ago Sony was offering a free mobile game every Wednesday during the month a February?

You didn't need PS Plus membership to get them either. Granted they were mobile games, but you could also play them on your Vita...

Look, wake up guys, these console makers wanna make money above all. This we know.. But only Sony seems like they wanna make sure that they're committed to their user base by offering games games and more games free and at discounted prices and a fairly inexpensive programs such as plus.

Most of us paid $500-$600 for these consoles and it's only right that gamers get something for their hard earned investment. To me it was a way of saying thanks for your commitment to our product.

[FamilyGuy]

It's doing harm in the sense that I've lost interest in buying games because of it. Having this back catalogue that is ever growing is stopping many of my possible purchases.

The Last of Us, Dragon's Crown, FF14 ARR and South Park: The Stick of truth (if it ever comes out) are pretty much the only games on my radar left before the PS4 comes out.

[IAmLee]

Yeah, it's causing loads of harm...
all these free games are clogging up my memory.

[Donnieboi]

Yeah the deals they make are in accord with the publishers. Look at how we got Demon's Souls free just 1 week before the announcement of Dark Souls 2. That was no coincidence. It was a clever way to stir up interest in their sequel. So publishers win, and so does Sony and gamerz (well except for xbox and nintendo fans, but that's not Sony's problem)

[g2gshow]

listen numb nuts (if it applies )

it's better then paying for basic accsec just to play the apps you already paid for or buying Full games on xbox live arcade an not being able to access them because you're xbox is not online.
or try to make you buy the same game over again after a few years due to license agreements or what ever b.s answer the operator make's up on the fly... like they did with xbox orignal Ninja Gaiden Black

people will say any thing just to have something to say keep being lazy an shut up

talking about what's good go talk about the services that are bad

[Monkeysmarts]

Better than paying $50 just to play online, that's for damn sure.

[Sharius]

well, i win, so why should i care, sony have their own way to negotiation with the publishers, and they are business company not just some charity ground

[iGAM3R-VIII]

How, it is a pretty great deal, especially when you compare it to Xbox Live

[alessandro10]

doing harm only to the XBLG that "service" its being expose.....

[MasterCornholio]

If anything it harms Microsofts image by making their online subscription service look like a scam.

IMO

Motorola RAZR i

[Salooh]

It is a scam..

[the worst]

Games with free online for $50 a year
just to play online for $60 a year
yall do the math

[Rhythmattic]

Discounts or not...
That be fact.
+1

[DarkZane]

Although Sleeping Dogs and Hitman Absolution mentioned in the article is Europe only. North America didn't get this. Well, not yet anyway, I expect it to happen in the future.

[dangert12]

I've had playstation plus twice, amazing quality service well worth the money!

But for me I'd rather not, when I spend money I like to keep stuff, though I am happy it allowed me to try out sleeping dogs and square enix gained a fan in me through that well with that ip atleast if we see a sequal hopefully we do on these consoles or the younger brothers which are soon to be released plus...I just like to own what I buy so will really invist in plus, but it is worth it

[Neko_Mega]

Ok, hows it doing harm? I mean, its not like Call Of Duty is being offer free.

Most of the games are old or didn't do to well one sells and as for the big Sony titles. Well I think Sony wanted to make it more better and more reason to be a plus member.

[delboy]

No, not only older games, if it were only older ones I would quit my subscription.
Don't know is it doing harm, but I definitely buy less games that before, everyone does.
With ps+ I always have something to play, if I'm lucky and they release games I didn't already played.
Don't care about ps+ discounts, because I don't buy digital, physical only for me.

[TheRealHeisenberg]

The only gripe I have is that some of the free games available in Europe were not available in the US. I have only been a member for just short of a year so maybe I missed them. Overall value packed service though.

[b_one]

its making harm in xbox users butts... #dealwithit

[grassyknoll]

Actully it's good for everyone: Gamers get loads of cheap content, Sony has a loyal following & makes money from subscriptions, publishers can put on games that have dlc or a sequel coming (probably the best form of advertising!) & developers remain in business & cut deals with Sony.

I hate bloggers (obviously not a journalist) who feel it's unnatural for gamers getting to good a deal, we should be f**ked royally & be happy about it!

Story Quality: WTF?

Like this website: No.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

It's obviously doing more harm than good because it's a good thing

o_O

[cero55]

ive enjoyed tons of games i would have never gave a chance because of plus.it works out because if i liked the game i will purchase a sequel.

[Why o why]

100

[josephayal]

I gladly pay my $50 to SONY

[extermin8or]

My wallet says it's not-end of.

[kingPoS]

If anything ps+ brings to my attention titles I would of otherwise glossed over. Games like Outland, I must run and Closure. Heck! I even bought House of the Dead 3&4 because they were easier than Demon Souls. lol

My only regret is that I... I ca... I can't stuff anything larger than a 1tb HHD in my ps3. ;_;

[Welcome2Die]

If PS+ is doing harm, then I can only imagine what Xbox Live Gold is doing...

[4lc4pon3]

I have always owned a playstation. I started with the Phats, Grabbed a Slim and when the super slim came out I sold my slim and got the super slim. My Super Slim came with 1 year free PS+ and I get many free games.

Score 1 for the Sony team Love it

[thebudgetgamer]

Things like this happen, I remember when I bought my 360 one week later there was a bundle with two games and some other stuff for the same price as my Elite.

[jay2]

No, it's OPTIONAL! you can PLAY GAMES ONLINE FREE, or in some cases if it's pre-owned by a pass for like £5....... you're not paying £40 a year to play games online, XBL's doing the harm but the sheep will pay their ISP's then again to play 99% of games they could for free online.

[Veneno]

Ps+ is just a good thing all round. Gamers get to try games they would have never played and a dirt cheap price, devs and pubs games get played by those that wouldnt have tried their games. And Sony gets good mileage out of all the digital games just sitting around on the store doing nothing.

FFS people quit whining

[GABRIEL1030]

Playstation Plus is the best product in videogames ever, for sure¡
For only 50 USd you could get 30 or more games for PS3 and Vita..

This amazing concept is good to the to the player because you dont need to spend money in expensive games, I obtained AAA games like Street fighter, Bioshock 2, Infamous 2, Demon's Souls, Borderlands, The cave, Tekken 6, Uncharted, Gravity Rush, Wipeout HD and more games that cost almost 400 USD¡ and a lot of Time Trials like Mass Effect 3 and Bioshock Infinite . The publishers receive money because Sony pays the value of the game and the Sony itself because if You are "Plus" you could be tempted to buy games with incredibles prices, I bought Assasins creed 2 for only 9 USD. This month the amazing promotion of Borderlands 1 and 2 for only 20 bucks you cant resist. Far from inhibit of buy games, "Plus" incentivates the adquisition of games at good prices, saving money to the publishers, fighting the piracy and creating a great community of gamers.

Good, pretty and cheap.....

"Plus" I love You¡

[Kantankoras]

Yeah, no.

These studios are still getting paid. Boxed copies are still being sold. PS+ does not offer every game released to be on it's service, and you can see that most of the must have games never go there - so it benefits people who spent a lot on development but don't expect Call of Duty returns at retail.

And because it's subscription based, it's raking in tons of money for Sony, on a monthly basis.

It's a win/win/win, because if it keeps growing, Microsoft will either perish or have to change their service just to look honest in this business.

Not only that, but it opens up a window for new styles of game delivery - episodic content, in the vein of TV shows. It's like Netflix for games, and it's a steal of a price if you ask me.

[sdplisken]

plus is worth every penny and then some

[tiffac008]

How can the offerings being made on PS+ be bad? If your a gamer who hasn't purchased some of the games currently on offer, then you would probably try them out to get your moneys' worth out of the subscription and if you happen to like the games then it would probably get you to buy into the franchise and that means new customers for the developers and publishers.

[hkgamer]

The IGC of PS+ is just part of it. PS+ discounts is where Sony makes alot more money. Basically gets people to buy crap that they didnt even want...

[gano]

i dont like the fact that vita games come with no instruction manual at the
full price at retail.
plus is awesome, no question.
foresight honesty: enticing into dl only for cheaper.
double for plus extra cheap! Great jeebus.
So hard to say.

[profgerbik]

You realize Vita games have manuals digitally right?

When you first open a PS Vita game, there is a manual icon. At the top where you normally update a game, click that and it will give you a full digital manual of the game. They are far better and much more detailed than paper manuals, plus cheaper and don't use paper.

Maybe you knew this and just want manuals for collections or something?

[gano]

cant be cheaper.
they cost the same without one.
but u are right it collective, thats y u by the physical copy.

[sherimae2413]

now even the ps plus is being downplayed by this so-called game journalists?!
how absurd.....-_-

[profgerbik]

Hell no PS+ has gotten me interested in games I never even thought I would like and because of that I have bought more games because of it.

Along with my PS3 the Vita this year for me has had the most games bought for it.

[Bladesfist]

This is like the people who believe steam sales are bad for the industry because gamers buy less at launch even when Valve show how much more they make when a game is on sale. It is most likely the same with Sony. Virtues last reward is pretty interesting.

[tubers]

I'd be sure to ditch my PS VITA today if it weren't for PS+.

[Picnic]

I got The Cave on day 1 because it's a Ron Gilbert game and I wanted to reward him for never spending a penny on the original Monkey Island games even though I had them.

It's a great game. Many might think it's oddly structured but I think it's so clever how it's done. Pick any 3 characters out of 7 (making at least 3 playthroughs necessary to see every story)

[nix]

i really need to get Plus for myself. there's a promo running which gets me 3 months extra. damn.

[dmonee]

I have a question? Where is sleeping dogs
Free for plus members? Is it not available
To US subscribers? This argument can either way. I will admit, having a ps plus subscription, has definitely governed the amount of game purchases i've made over the last year. But so has redbox as well. You can make more
Of a case
That redbox is worse, because your playing games at
Launch. I would believe games like hitman and sleeping dogs, while good games, may not have sold as well as the developer hoped,
Therefore by making the game available for free, you can play it, but our responsible for purchasing any DLC for the game. This way the developer can rake up some cash off the backend. Kind of like buying a face or a leg razor, then purchasing the expensive blade replacements after that. Now, where do i need to live to play hitman and sleeping dogs for free

[medman]

You can't please some people. Offer them an awesome service that offers far more than the competition at a competitive price and they still find ways to be miserable over it. The reason they offer these games (with the publishers consent) is because sales have slowed to a crawl and by offering them free, they know people will download and perhaps purchase items via micro transactions, therefore earning the companies some money on titles that have run their sales course through traditional methods. Stop moaning and enjoy the games moron.

[5eriously]

I wanted to say "No comment" but then I just had to add "Only stupid fools would think so" therefore I did not even click on the link to the article. What a stupid and idiotic notion.

[ThatsGaming]

I have not bought a game on the PS3 since PS Plus was released. I used to buy every exclusive game the day it was released, but now I see no reason when it will eventually make its way to plus.

So, from me, Sony is losing money overall because all pay for is my once per year plus subscription.

[EffectO]

Yup,no need to buy PS3 games.Just pay subscription and you are fine.

[plaZeHD]

Yes it does harm Sony, but not the consumers.

[HonestDragon]

Tomb Raider was only being considered unsuccessful because Square Enix said so and had unrealistic expectations for their games. They want Call of Duty numbers. Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Sleeping Dogs, Hitman: Absolution, and Tomb Raider all sold well, but not enough for Square Enix. Playstation Plus isn't hurting the industry, unrealistic expectations from publishers do.

[Orionsangel]

Before the free retail games I was a little skeptical, but now I think it's worth it.

[SnakeCQC]

no ones forced to use it with the online function of their games held at ransom

[Ragthorn]

It's not doing more harm, because it is a fantastic service that a lot of people (including myself) are digging. The free games are awesome, especially with the exclusive content we get. What did Xbox give with their Xbox Live Gold? All I got was access to my online service, even though I'm paying for internet already.... lol