We are finally at the point were Both Game Pass and "PS Now" are Amazing!

[jman1954goat]

I'm so dang Happy. I've been a Gamepass Fan for Years and a always had a Dream PS Now could reach the point were it was A true peer of Gamepass.

Both services are Awesome at the moment and I think Paying for both has legitimate value because the Catalogs are so strong.

I'm not gonna talk much about Gamepass simple because everyone already knows how good it is. However I am interested in reflection on PS Nows journey.



PS Now started back in 2014 as a streaming service Backwards Compatibility "solution" for PS3 games on PS4 .

The PS Now Library was extremely Big and good even on the Early Days but it was more expensive, games were streaming only and the quality of streamed games were not great in the mid 10's

Around 2018 a year after Gamepass started We started to see PS now improved over the years eventually Landing in it great current state (which is why competition is needed folks)

2018 was when downloadable games were added and they dropped the price to bieng a good deal

By 2020 PS Now was still lacking but I was hopeful for the future

https://www.resetera.com/threads/how-sony-can-improve-ps-now-on-ps5.316987/

In this thread we discussed ways to improve now and 4 Years Later most of those things came true.

Even before the rebrand between 2020 and 2022 more and more Banger third parties Started to come to the platform while High profile First party games hit quicker (but was still limited time only pre 22 rebrand)

The third party time on the service started going from just a few months to a year plus just like Gamepass

Once Mid 2022 came Now was bundled with / rebranded PS Plus Extra/Premium.

At this Point All First Party Games stay in the platform Once they reach it!!!!!

The third party game selection between 2022 and 2024 grew to be stunning with amazing games to play at all times.

Even the quality streaming of old games is the best it's been (not perfect still streaming but stuff is playable)

The Service Feels Like a True Peer to Gamepass and I honestly can't answer definitely which is better.

Gamepass still has an edge do to First part day 1 and More first party day 1 however At any given point Either can be better for you personally depending on your Taste in games and what's available.

Also since there's lot of games on both it's easier for double console owners to get Plus for a few months then switch to Gamepass for a few months and just rotate which sub you want since Both are stellar.


I don't know what the future holds for Gamepass and Plus both will no doubt experience price increases and Quality could take a hit in either over time

However I wanna take a moment to just appreciate how good they are right now in May 2024

 

[CloseTalker]

Yeah, both are solid services now, with each of them trading off month to month as to who I think has the better offerings. PS Plus has been very strong over the past couple months imo, they've had some really standout third party additions and indie day one releases. I also like that PS Plus is including older generation titles, even if the offerings each month aren't always incredible

 

[WhtR88t]

Really wish they'd update the Portal to work with PS Now streaming.

 

[cw_sasuke]

They are, problem is my backlog is even more amazing and you only have so many hours to play games. So cant see myself reupping GP once my current sub end next year.

 

[PlayBee]

I remain extremely disappointed with Sony's handling of legacy titles. And while I understand why they won't put 1st party games on the sub day one or keep them indefinitely, it's still a reason for me to consider GP superior in that regard.

 

[kinoki]

How odd. I was just discussing with a friend how it feels like the era of gaming subscriptions are at their final leg. That we're going to see the wells dry up any day. I think we're at the peak. From here it's all downhill.

 

[RaySpencer]

The PlayStation version is called Game Catalog/Catalogue.

They must not market that well, because know one seems to know it.

 

[ManWithoutTalent]

ps plus/extra is definitely comparable to gamepass wrt third party stuff but the way sony handles emulation of legacy stuff is insulting imo

 

[pswii60]

PS Plus is stronger for third party library titles these days but Game Pass is on a whole other level when it comes to day one indies (and of course day one 1P).

So depends what you want. Plus offers little value to me as I've nearly always played the good stuff already. But can see it offering a lot of value to those who aren't early adopters.

Game Pass also lets me play the games on PC in addition to console, PS Plus doesn't. Which takes Game Pass to a whole other tier of value for me, given I mostly play on PC these days.

 

[Host Samurai]

It's cool that people love it, but it's honestly not for me. I find way more value in something like a Humble Bundle and the ilk. You can quickly build or even migrate your library for cheap and quick if you have a PC. I'll always prefer keeping my games.

 

[hydrophilic attack]

no interest in either service tbh. i like buying games

 

[jman1954goat]

How odd. I was just discussing with a friend how it feels like the era of gaming subscriptions are at their final leg. That we're going to see the wells dry up any day. I think we're at the peak. From here it's all downhill.

Click to shrink...

We may be at the peak but I'm gonna live in the present and enjoy the peak while we're here and not be upset at a future not here yet.

 

[Sangetsu-II]

I just platinum the Ratchet and Clank Trilogy with cloud streaming, never experienced lag. Started Ratchet Deadlock, my plan is to keep playing all the games on cloud streaming just because it's so fluid.

 

[Nameless]

Had these existed back when I was largely relying on buying used and trade-ins for console gaming it would have been a massive boon for sure. Now, between my own digital library being bigger, better, and curated specifically for my tastes + the number of ways to get ultra cheap games to keep on PC, the value in digital rental services/"instant libraries" just isn't there for me.

The only real exception being Day 1 GP for situations like Hellblade 2 where I want to play at or around launch, but I'm not quite sold to the point where I'm willing to purchase it outright for full price on Steam.

 

[Chippewa Barr]

Yeah I'm honestly having a great time with both subs - Game Pass Ultimate a little more than PS Plus, but both are awesome.

A sub works perfect for me since:

• I rarely ever replay games (unless endings are vastly different)
• I historically always bought first party games (Game Pass saves me money here)
• my backlog is MASSIVE already (by the time I get to playing a "new" AAA title it's usually on PS Plus)
• get to play PC games as well through Game Pass

I spend $350 CAD/year for GP Ultimate and PSP Extra and it works perfect. TONS of games I would be buying regardless. I used to spend WAY more than $350 a year on JUST first party games between Sony and MS (and even more when bringing in Nintendo) so this saves me a ton. I buy, play, beat my PS5 games, and then immediately resell them for almost retail so that's nice but I'd rather not have to go through that everytime and just get them on a sub.

Had Premium for a time, but only really used the PS5 streaming so dropped down to Extra. If they ever beef up their classics and (pls god) do day 1 Sony releases, I'd bump up immediately - would be perfect for me.

Don't even get me started on Nintendo's sub...that thing is an untapped gold mine that I simply can't believe they aren't exploiting.

 

[Reckheim]

gamepass is great cause it includes day one games, can't say I have any interest in Sony's offering.

However once my gamepass sub expires I wont be re-subbing. I'll just go back to using it as a rental service.

 

[Pankratous]

I'm still annoyed they had to change the branding of PlayStation Now because even like 3 years later, people didn't know you could download games. I liked it.

 

[ThatsMyTrunks]

At this Point All First Party Games stay in the platform Once they reach it!!!!!

Click to shrink...

Horizon Zero Dawn will be pulled from PS Plus later this month, adding to rumors of a potential PS5 remaster announcement

Is a PS5 remaster reveal coming?

www.techradar.com

 

[starblue]

My PS Plus Premium is expiring next month and I won't renew. I prefer to just buy the games im interested.

 

[Lotus]

I gave Extra a try for a year, but rather embarrassingly didn't make much use of it, also it's a real bad combo with Game Pass due to choice paralysis lmao, if I were to ever go back to it it'd probably just be for a month or so. The strongest aspect of it is probably that it seems to be a little better in adding JRPGs compared to Gamepass (, but I haven't bothered to seriously compare the two, it's just what I noticed at a glance from past months.

Game Pass as well, definitely not as enamored by it as when I first got into it, but its offerings are still pretty dope, the biggest highlight so far this year for me being both P3 Reload and its $35 DLC, all for "free". So long as it keeps the Day 1 releases it'll always be better as far as I'm concerned, but I agree Extra/Premium has been pretty good nonetheless.

I'm not sure I'd keep Game Pass once it ends, there's a hard reality I had to face where despite the obvious savings, my time and energy is way more limited than I thought it would be. I guess it's obvious in hindsight, but yea, you really gotta be a specific type of person to truly maximize the value of either service in the long term.

That said, my subscription is going to go for another 3 years, so it's not like I have to think about it for quite awhile. Also kudos to the Microsoft Rewards program, where even with its recent nerfs I can continue to rack up points and use that to pay for more Gamepass in the future if I wanted to.

 

[Hasney]

My PS Plus Premium is expiring next month and I won't renew. I prefer to just buy the games im interested.

Click to shrink...

Same. I realised that I less you have day 1 games, a sub isn't for me.

 

[G_O]

Every game I've ever played on series x is game pass

and now I'm about 50/50 on PlayStation.

im loving the services and often waiting for games to arrive on them instead of buying

 

[msdstc]

huh? Is this a paid post or something? They're not even in the same stratosphere... not to mention the PC aspect of gamepass. I just subbed to the top tier ps sub for a game night recently just for a month to see how it was and I was shocked at how anemic it was for the amount you pay. Not to mention the last few months with hellblade this month, COD in a few months, pal world day 1, and more.

 

[StrykerIsland]

The best part is I've discovered a number of games I love that I likely would never have tried otherwise. That said, I'd much prefer that every game just get a playable demo and just let me buy my games outright. I despise subscribing for something I may or may not use at any given point throughout the year.