game news PlayStation Plus: Is Sony’s Game Pass a hit with PS4 and PS5 gamers a year later?
It’s been a year since Sony updated its PS Plus! The perfect opportunity to take stock… On this occasion we had the opportunity to chat with Nick Maguire, PlayStation’s World Subscriptions Manager. So is everything OK with the PS4 and PS5 “Game Pass”?
In March 2022, in the face of an incre asingly attractive Xbox Game Pass, Sony entered the arena with Project Spartacus, aka the PlayStation Plus redesign! What to offer PS4 and PS5 users an offer in 3 levels: Essential, Extra, Premium
A very satisfied PlayStation
“We’re very happy with our results,” says Nick Maguire, PlayStation’s global head of subscriptions, during a remote interview… “Since the launch (of the new PS Plus – Editor’s note), we’ve noticed a very strong level of student engagement. “ More than to date 47 million PS4 and PS5 players subscribed to the offer (the same number as in March / June 2022). Sony is thus recovering from a significant decline in subscribers observed last September, the explanations of which are still unclear. In addition, 17% (8 million) have opted for the premium version, the most expensive, and more and more members are PS5 members (this is almost 40 million units).
For Maguire, this excitement stems from several points: the scale of PS Plus, now available in more countries, and most notably the popularity of the PS4 Catalog | PS5 Extra and Premium subscriptions, which he describes as “diverse” and “high quality.” The latter includes more than 400 pieces of software to date, ranging from high-priced action-adventures to family-oriented games – such as Uno, Monopoly.
A two-step strategy
The arrival of great games in this catalog is reflected in the commitment of the players … This year PS Plus Extra and Premium welcomed Horizon: Forbidden West and Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart, Sony exclusives released in 2022 | 2021. “Among the top 10 greatest hits on PlayStation Plus, four games are titles created by our teams,” says Nick Maguire. In terms of hours spent, Ghost of Tsushima has been the longest captivating subscriber ever. The title that has gathered the most players thanks to PS Plus is StrayPS4 and PS5 console exclusivity (externally developed) featuring a cat as the hero, available in the Sony offering from day one.
“We are very satisfied with our strategy. We’re sticking with what we originally planned: the games (Triple-A, ed.) coming out a few months or years later (on the PS Plus)” – Nick Maguire, Global Head of Subscriptions at PlayStation
Of course, keeping track of highly anticipated games is important, but you shouldn’t neglect your blacklog either. As Maguire tells us, Dead by Daylight | Rainbow Six Siege, two very popular online games, have performed “very well” on the PS Plus for a year. For the oldies, only included in the premium offering, The Legend of Dragoon wins the votes.
Streaming in the spotlight
PlayStation is also excited about another thing: streaming… “We’ve seen more people accessing (this feature, ed.) than in the past,” explains Maguire. “You can see that in the premium subscription itself (which brings together 17% of our subscribers)”. An aspect that promises a bright future at Sony, especially with the launch of the “Q Lite”, a portable console 100% dedicated to remote reading. We got some very good news about no download play! Soon exclusively for the new generation, Premium subscribers can stream any PS5 game purchased from PS Store, the same applies to the entire Extra and Premium catalog and the trial versions. A real plus for those demos that no longer need to be downloaded. Everything will be exclusive to the PlayStation 5 and is currently in testing.