PlayStation’s Jim Ryan: Our games may be affected if they go directly to PS Plus

When a new platform or service is announced, the focus is inevitably on what is missing rather than what is there.

Sony New PS Plus Subscription Offers Enjoy online multiplayer access, hundreds of PS4 and PS5 games, live streams, legacy titles, and gaming experiences. But what it doesn’t include, unlike its main competitor, are new first-party games that launch into the service at the same time as they go into retail.

“We feel like we’re in a good virtuous circle with the studios,” explains Jim Ryan, CEO of PlayStation, where investing is successful, which allows for more investment, which makes more success. We love this course and we think our players like that course.”

continued: “[In terms of] Putting our own games on this service, or any of our services, when they are released… As you well know, that’s not a path we’ve taken in the past. And it’s not a path we’re going to go down with this new service. We feel that if we were to do that with the games we make at PlayStation Studios, this virtuous cycle would be broken. The level of investment that we need to make in our studios will not be feasible, and we believe that the additional impact on the quality of the games we make will not be something gamers will want.”

Ryan’s opinion on this is not limited to Sony. Most AAA publishers are reluctant to put their latest games on subscription services. The counter argument is that by putting your latest titles in PS Plus or Xbox Game Pass, you are likely to expand your audience. Overnight, your new version could have tens of millions of players, and if your game includes other forms of monetization, the potential for revenue is huge.

And even if your game doesn’t have microtransactions, Xbox believes subscriptions — along with streaming — are key to finding new console players.

Ryan’s perspective is a practical one, and PlayStation’s current position on this subject is entirely subject to change.

“The way the world is changing so rapidly right now, nothing lasts forever,” he tells us. “Who would have said even four years ago that you’d watch an AAA PlayStation IP roll out to PC? We started that last year with Horizon Zero Dawn, then Days Gone, and now God of War – a very polished PC version and the fulfillment of that game.” [We’ve had] A huge critical success and a huge commercial success, and everyone has made their peace with this happening and they are completely comfortable with it. I look back four years and I think no one would have expected that to happen.

“The way our publishing model works now [putting new games straight into PS Plus] Does not make sense. But things can change very quickly in this industry.”

“So I don’t want to set anything in stone at this point. All I’m talking about today is the approach we’re taking in the short term. The way our deployment model works right now, doesn’t make any sense. But things can change very quickly in these industry, as we all know.”

Other than what PlayStation isn’t doing with the new PS Plus subscription options, it’s worth talking about what they’re doing He is Action.

At the most basic level, it combines the subscription services of PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now, which total 50 million subscribers. 75% of PS Now subscribers also subscribe to PS Plus, so it makes sense to bundle the two services together. And for those 75%, they’ll find their overall costs come down.

Looking at the prices in general, there are three levels for the PS Plus. PS Plus Essentials is identical to today’s PS Plus and priced the same ($10 per month), the PS Plus Extra adds in the PS4 and PS5 game library ($15 per month), while PS Plus Premium includes all of that plus gaming experiences, streaming games and a host of PS1, PS2, PS3, and PSP games ($18).

Compared to Xbox offerings, the PS Plus Premium tier carries a high monthly cost. However, the annual price is where Sony has been competitive.

“It’s a fact – for our services at least – that the vast majority of people sign up with a 12-month subscription,” Ryan explains. “More than two-thirds of our subscribers are this way. And that’s an area of ​​value proposition that we’ve looked at very intently. And what we’re offering is that for a 12-month subscriber, and that’s the vast majority of people, the PlayStation Plus Extra monthly subscription price would be $8.33. PlayStation Plus Premium is going to be $9.99. We think, for what people are going to get, this is a great value proposition. And it’s an offer that wouldn’t be possible if we were to put our studios’ games into service at launch.”

Sony may not offer its latest releases, but there are still some popular PS5 titles in PS Plus Extra and Premium, including Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Returnal. But outside of first-party games, Sony says “every major publisher” is on the service, and the conversations continue just fine.

“Whether it’s indie games, big games, or things that celebrate our heritage…all kinds of games,” says Ryan. “We’ll get all of that, and hopefully the lineup that ticks all kinds of boxes.”

Spider-Man Miles Morales is one of the big games joining PS Plus Extra and Premium

The Premium option is more of a specialist level. Among its biggest advantages is the collection of old games.

“It’s obviously not for everyone, which is why it’s in the premium class,” says Ryan. “But there are people like me who have been around forever, who have played those games and loved those games for 20 years. Or maybe it’s the people whose parents are interested in these games and want to try them for themselves. Once we can share the set with the world, we think there will be a lot of interest in the that. “

Broadcasting is also in the premium tier. Again, like retro, it’s not for everyone, although Ryan expects it to become a more important part of Sony’s business in time.

Sony feels they’ve done a good job with the PS5 so far. Aside from the manufacturing challenges, it has a well-received console, especially the console. Its exclusive games have fared well, albeit with some delays, including recent releases of Horizon Forbidden West and Gran Turismo 7. The only element missing from their services, and that’s what this new PS Plus offering is designed to handle.

However, even if it doesn’t attract new customers right away, there is an existing audience of 48 million PS Plus subscribers to persuade them to upgrade, including those in countries where PS Now wasn’t available at all.

“It’s about approximating the view that we have,” Ryan explains. “With platforms, there is rarely only one thing that really makes a platform attractive. It is a combination of many things. And having a really solid service offering definitely helps.

“Obviously within our existing audience base we have an opportunity to attract PlayStation owners who are not currently PlayStation Plus subscribers. The additional opportunity is 48 million PlayStation Plus subscribers and get them to switch to Extra or Premium. And our task is made somewhat easier by the fact that They are current PlayStation Plus subscribers, so we have a very close relationship with them on many levels.”

“I don’t think we’ll see [games subscriptions] Go to the levels we see with Spotify and Netflix”

The video game subscription business model is a growing one. Xbox announced in January that it has more than 25 million Game Pass subscribers, and that number continues to rise. What’s not clear is the ultimate potential of all of this… Is it likely to become the dominant paradigm in games like music and television? Ryan is not convinced.

“The underwriting has certainly grown in importance over the past few years,” he concludes. “PlayStation Plus subscribers have grown from zero in 2010 to 48 million now. We expect, for our services, that we will see further growth in subscribers.

“But the gameplay is very different from music and linear entertainment, and I don’t think we’ll see it go to the levels we see with Spotify and Netflix.

Some of the live service [games] Those that have proven successful these days, and I’m not limiting this comment to console, are effective subscription services in their own right. It is largely designed to meet the needs of a gamer who loves any game to spend hours and hours on, month after month after month. This phenomenon of a live service game… that has, in large part, fueled the massive growth in the gaming industry that we have seen over the past 10 years. I think this trend towards live services will continue, and if you’re looking for a model in our entertainment category, which supports continuous engagement over a long period of time, arguably live services games fit that bill better than a subscription service.

“But it’s all about choice. There are clearly many millions of people who would be happy to subscribe to PlayStation Plus. We’re offering them that option on the platform, and we think we’re offering a choice that’s greatly improved with the changes we’ve made. Likewise, if people want to play Fornite, Call of Duty or FIFA, and getting their constant involvement that way, that’s okay too. Nobody is obligated to do anything.”