Gilray: I Wouldn't Suggest Devs To Put Their Game On PS+ At Launch

"Our full interview with Oddworld's Stewart Gilray, CEO of Just Add Water. He talks about PS4, Xbox One, Kickstarter and even the PS Plus program."

[nicksetzer1]

Ummmm .... duh. Although, Ps+ is a good way to gain a larger audience for your game while also making guaranteed money. (From Sony)

[kaiserfranz]

It's probably good for the brand in the long term, but unlikely to be very rewarding in terms of money.

[minimur12]

Thats all fine and dandy, but there's always the chance your game will get below 70 on meta and not qualify for PS plus, and also annoying the fans that bought it day 1, which is a shame to be honest

But yeah, day1 is a bad choice, in terms of money but in terms of audience its a brilliant plus.
I wouldn't have bought Outlast, resogun, contrast, mercenary kings. And there's probably quite a few ps4 owners out there that are in the same boat as me

[WalterWJR]

minimur how does Sony know a launch ps+ game will get above 70 metacritic score? Do you think they have crystal balls over at Sony.. the 70 score statement is fud.

[minimur12]

@walter

The only games that hasn't had any reviews atall before it was released was Resogun and Contrast, if I'm correct, Outlast, Don't Starve, Mercenary kings were all on PC previously, so there meta score was above 70 from that platform.

[SilentNegotiator]

"duh" indeed. PS+ is good for getting additional sales after the launch time is well past and sales have slowed down, not launch when there's lots of people ready to buy.

[nicksetzer1]

Exactly my point, bad choice at launch, but great after (especially for smaller devs) as it gives exposure to a larger audience and guaranteed income from sony. (for being on PS+)

[fr0sty]

It's a great option for new developers who are trying to make a name for themselves. Don't Starve was one good free PS+ game that really helped to boost its popularity. Over a million downloads. Now, they can release DLC for it and already have a massive install base which will lead to higher sales. Plus any future titles they release already have a good track record behind the studio which will also positively impact sales.

It isn't as much of an instant cash-in as it is an investment.

[rainslacker]

It's really hard to say since no one here really knows how much Sony gives to these devs to release it on Plus when it's new. To my knowledge it doesn't happen often. Resogun being the most recent, but that was published by Sony.

[Derekvinyard13]

I wouldn't do this strictly based on money reasons especially if I were a new dev

[WeAreLegion]

Plus can be great exposure for your company, especially if you've built a quality game. However, you're obviously not going to make as much money as you would from just selling it.

However, DLC might be a good compromise there. I have bought DLC for most of the PS Plus games.

[rdgneoz3]

Still waiting on the DLC for Resogun and Outlast, not sure if Don't Starve is getting any in the future. The program is a great way to get exposure for devs that aren't well know / first game. They may not make as much as if they sold it normally, but they do get money for each download.

[WeAreLegion]

Don't Starve just got DLC on Steam, so I imagine it will be coming to PS4 soon.

[svoulis]

I feel the exact same way. The model they use is obviously in place to promote a game whilst allowing users to opt in on the DLC if they choose to. I did it for Borderlands 2 and a few other games.

[iceman06]

Exactly, this is a risk vs. reward scenario in the greatest sense. If you don't have a ton of exposure already, then Plus might be the best way to insure that you get something for your efforts. Also, if your game is already coming from the PC side and you are just looking to increase your profile on consoles, then Plus might be a good option. However, if you are established and have a name, like Oddworld, you probably wouldn't put your game on Plus right off the bat. The great thing about Plus is that even if you don't have it as an option on day one, there's a chance that it could be offered down the road.

[WeAreLegion]

Props to World's Factory for not using something from this paragraph just to get more hits.

"Actually that is NOT what he said. I spoke to Lorne afterwards and what he meant when speaking to that guy was that budgets, schedules and perceivable differences would narrow, NOT that the Xbox One performance is improving to align with PS4, that is just physically impossible. The PS4 has MORE COMPUTE units, and faster memory and a whole bunch of things, that would make that physically impossible to happen."

[MasterCornholio]

Makes sense.

[Ausbo]

UMMMMM. They already made a story on that excerpt last week

http://n4g.com/news/1486236...

[SpiralTear]

I know that Contrast had a lot of trouble financially when it launched as a PS4 IGC game, so I can understand Gilray on this. Oddworld could be a bit more successful, since it's a more established franchise, but there's still a big risk in putting a game on PS+ IGC so early.

I think it's best to let the release stand alone for a while, maybe with a discount down the line, before letting it loose on PS+.

[_FantasmA_]

I still don't see too much of a drawback. Just offer it for a limited time if you're worried about profit. Give it on Plus for a week so people can try the game out, and then offer on sale %50 or more the second week then go back to full price after that. Everybody wins.

[Predaking77]

PS Plus has never been intended for launch games I think he doesn't get it. PS Plus is great for after that. If it wasn't for PS Plus I would has never played Outlast, Starve, Mercenary King and others.

[Skate-AK]

Been waiting for this game. Loved Oddworld since I was a kid.

[TitanUp]

if i was a developer i wouldnt want my newly released game being on ps plus.