We would all love to have a free AAA game every month, but the reality is that's a difficult thing to do, and no amount of foot-stomping by an entitled few is going to change that.
I don't even expect a AAA every month, just an increase to the one sole AAA game we have seen on the service since the launch of the PS4.
Killzone and Knack might seem like easy additions, but you have to ask what's the benefit to Sony for actually doing that? They are a business after all. They could use it to create some good will around E3, or sell some DLC, or to promote a sequel. But there's no point in giving them away for no reason. They gave away Killzone Mercenary on Vita last month which coincided with a slashing of PSTV's price tag. Coincidence? I highly doubt it.
Its easier for Sony to include Killzone or Knack on PS+ than it is for them to include something like Battlefield 4 or Assassins Creed Black Flag for example.
Indie studios have a lot less to risk by being associated with PS+ than big publishers do. Their budgets are much smaller, so they can go on PS+ for a month, receive cash from Sony and perhaps cover some / all their development costs. Whatever they sell outside of that month is profit. Why else would so many of the PS+ additions these days be new-release titles? Look at Secret Ponchos. They said they were a day 1 PS+ title months before release. It make sense for them to do it.
I only ever held off buying a retail game in the run up to the PS+ announcement and still do that now on PS4 (Even though we have had hardly any AAA on PS+ on PS4) but I have completely stopped buying indie games because we get so many on PS+.
Unfortunately not every indie game will go on PS+ so people not buying an indie game due to them expecting that game to turn up on PS+ could be devastating for some of these small developers.
Unless Sony clarify what PS+ is on PS4 I will expect a continuation of the service I received on PS3. A good mix of AAA games, lesser known retail titles and indie / digital only titles. If Sony was to announce PS+ was to become an indie service I wouldn't be too disappointed but at the moment they haven't said that, so leaving me expecting a nice balance of content on PS+. With the exception of PS+ on PS4 following PS+ on PS3 I find the balance of content delivered too heavily focused on indie titles.
If they offered a cut down plus without games for 30 Rather than 39. Would you stick with as it is now or go for a gameless sub ?
Great question Gilly.
For that price I'd stick with what it is but if it was down to £15-20 with no games but it was necessary to play online then I would be tempted to drop down to that sub.
On the note of indie games I have never really been for them as the majority of them I don't enjoy. Having said that I actually paid for two of them last month! :O Home and Titan Souls were bought for £2 and £9 (can't remember precise price of Titan Souls) respectively. Home was a spur of the moment buy based on the blurb and price but is a great game that actually had me interested in what is going on. Titan Souls is a fun puzzle sort of game that reminds me of Shadow of the Colossus.
I would like some "real" games for my money though and thought it was looking up after Injustice appeared but I do have too many games I've paid money for to finish yet so I'm not overly fussed especially with a few more new games around the corner.
I don't even expect a AAA every month, just an increase to the one sole AAA game we have seen on the service since the launch of the PS4.
Its easier for Sony to include Killzone or Knack on PS+ than it is for them to include something like Battlefield 4 or Assassins Creed Black Flag for example.
I only ever held off buying a retail game in the run up to the PS+ announcement and still do that now on PS4 (Even though we have had hardly any AAA on PS+ on PS4) but I have completely stopped buying indie games because we get so many on PS+.
Unfortunately not every indie game will go on PS+ so people not buying an indie game due to them expecting that game to turn up on PS+ could be devastating for some of these small developers.
Unless Sony clarify what PS+ is on PS4 I will expect a continuation of the service I received on PS3. A good mix of AAA games, lesser known retail titles and indie / digital only titles. If Sony was to announce PS+ was to become an indie service I wouldn't be too disappointed but at the moment they haven't said that, so leaving me expecting a nice balance of content on PS+. With the exception of PS+ on PS4 following PS+ on PS3 I find the balance of content delivered too heavily focused on indie titles.
You really haven't changed your expectations, after 18 months?
I'm not sure how they could clarify the service, as they'd be foolish to make promises there aren't able to keep re: ratios of titles. As far as I see it the deal is very simple - you get 6 games a month spread over 3 formats. That it. I'm not quite sure what else there is to add. If people are going to get upset that the game they've chanced 55p on isn't a AAA boxed title then I'm afraid I've got nothing sympathetic to add.
As for "it's easier" for Sony to add their own titles I don't quite buy that. When an outside publisher allows games into PS+ they get paid to do so, there will be some companies eager to get their stuff on there for various reasons. Sony's PS+ team won't be able to add a SCE title just because they feel like it, they will have to go through all the same negotiations and cost/benefit analysis internally as anyone else.
When PS+ first started I thought it was awful and said so in this very thread IIRC. Then came the IGC, which felt crazy generous at times. Finally, as the service spread to more formats, with no increase in price I might add, it's settled into something a little more sensible.
One upshot of using indie titles is that many of them are cross platform, the result being that PS4 owners get 5 games to play for May. And yet, somehow, people wanted Knack instead.
How about saying PS+ on PS4 is a service providing indie games ;-) Rather than just trying to hope people forgot that once this service used to offer AAA as well as indie games.
If they offered a cut down plus without games for 30 Rather than 39. Would you stick with as it is now or go for a gameless sub ?
I certainly get £10 worth out of the titles on PS+.
If Sony offered a gameless version of PS+ for under £20 though I would consider taking the cheaper option as I find myself playing less and less PS+ games and don't get anywhere near as excited each month as most of the content is a let down.
I don't care if the games offered is AAA or an indie - I am not that shallow. All I ask is that they are good. I seem to remember them promising games with a review score of 70% or over.
I have enjoyed the Indie games we have been offered so far. Valiant Hearts, Never Alone and Transistor are all much more fun than the ailing Assassin's Creed series. The Order and Destiny were a disappointment and probably wouldn't qualify for the service. Did Knack qualify either?
The only other games they could offer atm would be Dragon Age or Bloodborne and neither will be on Plus for the forseeable.
Yes but these indie games retail for what £5-£10 and we're paying £40. The problem I have is we've been basically forced into having a PS+ subscription to play online, something that I've hardly done. Lets see how many people would keep ps+ if they dropped the online element!!
By now we should be getting at least what was promised at the very start ie DriveClub. If not they should be giving us some AAA titles or at least games which were full priced nearly a 2 years ago. Black Flag, Kill Zone, Knack, Need for Speed, Fifa 13, COD etc, I can't see that these games have any real monetary value any more.
I can also see that in the future these will appear on the Now TV set up, something else which sony will charge for. So they have little use in giving them to us through PS+.
I'm not saying the indie games are crap etc, but come on how much do you think Sony are paying for them, I'll hazard a guess at peanuts, they probably help the developers on the technical, marketing side in the exchange for a limited run on the PS+, with the added bonus that any future DLC, Maps etc will be sold and already have a nice user base installed.
Yes but these indie games retail for what £5-£10 and we're paying £40. The problem I have is we've been basically forced into having a PS+ subscription to play online, something that I've hardly done. Lets see how many people would keep ps+ if they dropped the online element!!
By now we should be getting at least what was promised at the very start ie DriveClub. If not they should be giving us some AAA titles or at least games which were full priced nearly a 2 years ago. Black Flag, Kill Zone, Knack, Need for Speed, Fifa 13, COD etc, I can't see that these games have any real monetary value any more.
I can also see that in the future these will appear on the Now TV set up, something else which sony will charge for. So they have little use in giving them to us through PS+.
I'm not saying the indie games are crap etc, but come on how much do you think Sony are paying for them, I'll hazard a guess at peanuts, they probably help the developers on the technical, marketing side in the exchange for a limited run on the PS+, with the added bonus that any future DLC, Maps etc will be sold and already have a nice user base installed.
That is the very reason why PS Plus/Games with Gold has been bad for gaming in the long run, I assume you haven't bothered to buy any of those games in the hope that they will appear eventually. How many other people are doing this and which games are they holding out for?
I spent £40 on Driveclub (£20+£20 season pass) and I have played it more than every other PS4 game combined, imo it's the best game on PS4 and I'm so glad I didn't wait for the PS plus version, sometimes you just have to bite the bullet.
Also spent £7 on Killzone which I haven't got round to finishing yet but what I have played is well worth the money paid for it.
Need For Speed was an impulse purchase in one of the sales and it is absolutely terrible so you really don't want that.
I don't wait for things to appear on plus, I've already bought about 30% of the games that have appeared on plus recently but I don't regret buying them (most of them) because I played them when I wanted to.
I got killzone with my PS4 bundle on release, and have played and finished Black Flag. I tend to use PS+ to try games that either I missed first time around or games that I wasn't totally convinced by like Knack etc.
I personally think that we should be given the full version of Drive Club or I can see someone trying to sue Sony for miss selling the PS4 when it launched. What's annoying too is they give us the PS3 version of a game but not the PS4 version, why not both, or are they hoping because of the smallish library of games on the PS4, people will buy a one year old game.
I can see PS+ turing into a marketing tool, releasing games on there, just as a sequel or DLC etc is released.
Yes but these indie games retail for what £5-£10 and we're paying £40. The problem I have is we've been basically forced into having a PS+ subscription to play online, something that I've hardly done. Lets see how many people would keep ps+ if they dropped the online element!!
By now we should be getting at least what was promised at the very start ie DriveClub. If not they should be giving us some AAA titles or at least games which were full priced nearly a 2 years ago. Black Flag, Kill Zone, Knack, Need for Speed, Fifa 13, COD etc, I can't see that these games have any real monetary value any more.
I can also see that in the future these will appear on the Now TV set up, something else which sony will charge for. So they have little use in giving them to us through PS+.
I'm not saying the indie games are crap etc, but come on how much do you think Sony are paying for them, I'll hazard a guess at peanuts, they probably help the developers on the technical, marketing side in the exchange for a limited run on the PS+, with the added bonus that any future DLC, Maps etc will be sold and already have a nice user base installed.
£40 divided by 12 (months) divided by 6 (number of games per month) = 55 pence per game. I would say that is fantastic value for money, particularly if you own all three systems.
Yes I did say it's great value if (and it's a big if) you own all 3 or even 2 of the systems. But honestly how many PS4 only owners that don't play online think it's value for money.
Yes I did say it's great value if (and it's a big if) you own all 3 or even 2 of the systems. But honestly how many PS4 only owners that don't play online think it's value for money.
You don't necessarily need to own all the systems to get value. 5 out of the 6 games available this month work on PS4.
Yes I did say it's great value if (and it's a big if) you own all 3 or even 2 of the systems. But honestly how many PS4 only owners that don't play online think it's value for money.
I have no idea but over the past year I've enjoyed a decent amount of games on PS4 -
Stick It To The Man - £15.99
Pixeljunk Shooter - £9.49
Velocity 2X - £12.99
Injustice - £54.99
Oddworld - £14.99
Valiant Hearts - £11.99
Never Alone - £11.99
£132.43 to buy those games today, not too shabby for £40 and that's just the games I personally enjoyed.
There are many people who criticise PS plus but if they actually took a step back to see what they were getting for their money I'm sure they would be surprised.
If, like myself, you have a PS3/VITA even better as there have been a few crackers on those platforms too.
Yes but these indie games retail for what £5-£10 and we're paying £40. The problem I have is we've been basically forced into having a PS+ subscription to play online, something that I've hardly done. Lets see how many people would keep ps+ if they dropped the online element!!
By now we should be getting at least what was promised at the very start ie DriveClub. If not they should be giving us some AAA titles or at least games which were full priced nearly a 2 years ago. Black Flag, Kill Zone, Knack, Need for Speed, Fifa 13, COD etc, I can't see that these games have any real monetary value any more.
I can also see that in the future these will appear on the Now TV set up, something else which sony will charge for. So they have little use in giving them to us through PS+.
I'm not saying the indie games are crap etc, but come on how much do you think Sony are paying for them, I'll hazard a guess at peanuts, they probably help the developers on the technical, marketing side in the exchange for a limited run on the PS+, with the added bonus that any future DLC, Maps etc will be sold and already have a nice user base installed.
Driveclub is in no fit state to be added to plus yet. Not when every server update presents another problem and the fact that the servers die every time there's a double fame weekend and the like. Don't get me wrong it's a brilliant game when it's working and well worth the money and the season pass, but anyone holding out for plus will be in for an extremely long wait and probably have to wait until the userbase has evaporated to make it stable enough to open to the masses.
E3 is coming soon so there's bound to be some temptation thrown our way over the summer with the odd AAA. It's not like there hasn't been anything good lately, they had Infamous First Light at the start of the year and the PS3 is still being looked after really well, along with plenty of varied and interesting indies in recent months. I don't mind the indies if they're Brothers standard, at least the 8bit and 16bit obsession they had going for a long while last year seems to have abated.
I have no idea but over the past year I've enjoyed a decent amount of games on PS4 -
Stick It To The Man - £15.99
Pixeljunk Shooter - £9.49
Velocity 2X - £12.99
Injustice - £54.99
Oddworld - £14.99
Valiant Hearts - £11.99
Never Alone - £11.99
£132.43 to buy those games today, not too shabby for £40 and that's just the games I personally enjoyed.
There are many people who criticise PS plus but if they actually took a step back to see what they were getting for their money I'm sure they would be surprised.
If, like myself, you have a PS3/VITA even better as there have been a few crackers on those platforms too.
But that works out to less than 1 game a month, of those only 2 are Published titles as opposed to indie, I personally think it's a poor showing.
This month there's is €78 worth of games for a €4 sub, or
£61.40 for a £3 sub.
If you only have a PS4 then you can take €10, or £8 off the total.
There's bound to be something there to justify spending the £3.
There is... But as someone who was originally won over to the PS+ service by the retail games on offer I still find the lack of retail games on offered on PS4 disappointing even though the indie games offered provide value for my money.
It would be like if I subscribed to Sky Sports for Football, Cricket and Rugby, then Sky dropped the Football and increased the amount of Cricket and Rugby. I would enjoyed the increased amount of Cricket and Rugby and still get value from my subscription but I would be left disappointed that Football was no longer been offered. Especially if Football just disappear without any official change of direction for the service.
I like PS+, I like the indie games but I am disappointed at the lack of retail games on PS4.
But that works out to less than 1 game a month, of those only 2 are Published titles as opposed to indie, I personally think it's a poor showing.
I couldn't care less whether a game is independently published or not, if it's good it's good.
It's pretty unrealistic to expect Sony to pick the games based on individual users preferences, there are always going to be months where there's nothing for me but I accept that, that might be the month that you love. ;-)
This month I already own Guacamelee, Unfinished Swan and Murasaki Baby. If I was getting them for the first time this month then I'd be very content with my £3 worth of games.
Looking forward to trying out the others but it's no big deal if they are rubbish..
Comments
I don't even expect a AAA every month, just an increase to the one sole AAA game we have seen on the service since the launch of the PS4.
Its easier for Sony to include Killzone or Knack on PS+ than it is for them to include something like Battlefield 4 or Assassins Creed Black Flag for example.
I only ever held off buying a retail game in the run up to the PS+ announcement and still do that now on PS4 (Even though we have had hardly any AAA on PS+ on PS4) but I have completely stopped buying indie games because we get so many on PS+.
Unfortunately not every indie game will go on PS+ so people not buying an indie game due to them expecting that game to turn up on PS+ could be devastating for some of these small developers.
Unless Sony clarify what PS+ is on PS4 I will expect a continuation of the service I received on PS3. A good mix of AAA games, lesser known retail titles and indie / digital only titles. If Sony was to announce PS+ was to become an indie service I wouldn't be too disappointed but at the moment they haven't said that, so leaving me expecting a nice balance of content on PS+. With the exception of PS+ on PS4 following PS+ on PS3 I find the balance of content delivered too heavily focused on indie titles.
Great question Gilly.
For that price I'd stick with what it is but if it was down to £15-20 with no games but it was necessary to play online then I would be tempted to drop down to that sub.
On the note of indie games I have never really been for them as the majority of them I don't enjoy. Having said that I actually paid for two of them last month! :O Home and Titan Souls were bought for £2 and £9 (can't remember precise price of Titan Souls) respectively. Home was a spur of the moment buy based on the blurb and price but is a great game that actually had me interested in what is going on. Titan Souls is a fun puzzle sort of game that reminds me of Shadow of the Colossus.
I would like some "real" games for my money though and thought it was looking up after Injustice appeared but I do have too many games I've paid money for to finish yet so I'm not overly fussed especially with a few more new games around the corner.
You really haven't changed your expectations, after 18 months?
I'm not sure how they could clarify the service, as they'd be foolish to make promises there aren't able to keep re: ratios of titles. As far as I see it the deal is very simple - you get 6 games a month spread over 3 formats. That it. I'm not quite sure what else there is to add. If people are going to get upset that the game they've chanced 55p on isn't a AAA boxed title then I'm afraid I've got nothing sympathetic to add.
As for "it's easier" for Sony to add their own titles I don't quite buy that. When an outside publisher allows games into PS+ they get paid to do so, there will be some companies eager to get their stuff on there for various reasons. Sony's PS+ team won't be able to add a SCE title just because they feel like it, they will have to go through all the same negotiations and cost/benefit analysis internally as anyone else.
When PS+ first started I thought it was awful and said so in this very thread IIRC. Then came the IGC, which felt crazy generous at times. Finally, as the service spread to more formats, with no increase in price I might add, it's settled into something a little more sensible.
One upshot of using indie titles is that many of them are cross platform, the result being that PS4 owners get 5 games to play for May. And yet, somehow, people wanted Knack instead.
How about saying PS+ on PS4 is a service providing indie games ;-) Rather than just trying to hope people forgot that once this service used to offer AAA as well as indie games.
I certainly get £10 worth out of the titles on PS+.
If Sony offered a gameless version of PS+ for under £20 though I would consider taking the cheaper option as I find myself playing less and less PS+ games and don't get anywhere near as excited each month as most of the content is a let down.
I have enjoyed the Indie games we have been offered so far. Valiant Hearts, Never Alone and Transistor are all much more fun than the ailing Assassin's Creed series. The Order and Destiny were a disappointment and probably wouldn't qualify for the service. Did Knack qualify either?
The only other games they could offer atm would be Dragon Age or Bloodborne and neither will be on Plus for the forseeable.
By now we should be getting at least what was promised at the very start ie DriveClub. If not they should be giving us some AAA titles or at least games which were full priced nearly a 2 years ago. Black Flag, Kill Zone, Knack, Need for Speed, Fifa 13, COD etc, I can't see that these games have any real monetary value any more.
I can also see that in the future these will appear on the Now TV set up, something else which sony will charge for. So they have little use in giving them to us through PS+.
I'm not saying the indie games are crap etc, but come on how much do you think Sony are paying for them, I'll hazard a guess at peanuts, they probably help the developers on the technical, marketing side in the exchange for a limited run on the PS+, with the added bonus that any future DLC, Maps etc will be sold and already have a nice user base installed.
That is the very reason why PS Plus/Games with Gold has been bad for gaming in the long run, I assume you haven't bothered to buy any of those games in the hope that they will appear eventually. How many other people are doing this and which games are they holding out for?
I spent £40 on Driveclub (£20+£20 season pass) and I have played it more than every other PS4 game combined, imo it's the best game on PS4 and I'm so glad I didn't wait for the PS plus version, sometimes you just have to bite the bullet.
Also spent £7 on Killzone which I haven't got round to finishing yet but what I have played is well worth the money paid for it.
Need For Speed was an impulse purchase in one of the sales and it is absolutely terrible so you really don't want that.
I don't wait for things to appear on plus, I've already bought about 30% of the games that have appeared on plus recently but I don't regret buying them (most of them) because I played them when I wanted to.
I personally think that we should be given the full version of Drive Club or I can see someone trying to sue Sony for miss selling the PS4 when it launched. What's annoying too is they give us the PS3 version of a game but not the PS4 version, why not both, or are they hoping because of the smallish library of games on the PS4, people will buy a one year old game.
I can see PS+ turing into a marketing tool, releasing games on there, just as a sequel or DLC etc is released.
£40 divided by 12 (months) divided by 6 (number of games per month) = 55 pence per game. I would say that is fantastic value for money, particularly if you own all three systems.
Well worth 55p.
You don't necessarily need to own all the systems to get value. 5 out of the 6 games available this month work on PS4.
I have no idea but over the past year I've enjoyed a decent amount of games on PS4 -
Stick It To The Man - £15.99
Pixeljunk Shooter - £9.49
Velocity 2X - £12.99
Injustice - £54.99
Oddworld - £14.99
Valiant Hearts - £11.99
Never Alone - £11.99
£132.43 to buy those games today, not too shabby for £40 and that's just the games I personally enjoyed.
There are many people who criticise PS plus but if they actually took a step back to see what they were getting for their money I'm sure they would be surprised.
If, like myself, you have a PS3/VITA even better as there have been a few crackers on those platforms too.
Still trying to charge me £9.99 for this so just be careful in case you confirm it without really looking at it like I almost did.
Still showing as 9.99 via the console.
Free if you buy it from the web based store though and then go to download list on your console
£61.40 for a £3 sub.
If you only have a PS4 then you can take €10, or £8 off the total.
There's bound to be something there to justify spending the £3.
Driveclub is in no fit state to be added to plus yet. Not when every server update presents another problem and the fact that the servers die every time there's a double fame weekend and the like. Don't get me wrong it's a brilliant game when it's working and well worth the money and the season pass, but anyone holding out for plus will be in for an extremely long wait and probably have to wait until the userbase has evaporated to make it stable enough to open to the masses.
E3 is coming soon so there's bound to be some temptation thrown our way over the summer with the odd AAA. It's not like there hasn't been anything good lately, they had Infamous First Light at the start of the year and the PS3 is still being looked after really well, along with plenty of varied and interesting indies in recent months. I don't mind the indies if they're Brothers standard, at least the 8bit and 16bit obsession they had going for a long while last year seems to have abated.
But that works out to less than 1 game a month, of those only 2 are Published titles as opposed to indie, I personally think it's a poor showing.
There is... But as someone who was originally won over to the PS+ service by the retail games on offer I still find the lack of retail games on offered on PS4 disappointing even though the indie games offered provide value for my money.
It would be like if I subscribed to Sky Sports for Football, Cricket and Rugby, then Sky dropped the Football and increased the amount of Cricket and Rugby. I would enjoyed the increased amount of Cricket and Rugby and still get value from my subscription but I would be left disappointed that Football was no longer been offered. Especially if Football just disappear without any official change of direction for the service.
I like PS+, I like the indie games but I am disappointed at the lack of retail games on PS4.
I couldn't care less whether a game is independently published or not, if it's good it's good.
It's pretty unrealistic to expect Sony to pick the games based on individual users preferences, there are always going to be months where there's nothing for me but I accept that, that might be the month that you love. ;-)
This month I already own Guacamelee, Unfinished Swan and Murasaki Baby. If I was getting them for the first time this month then I'd be very content with my £3 worth of games.
Looking forward to trying out the others but it's no big deal if they are rubbish..