PlayStation Plus announcement day is always good for a laugh, but we doubt that anyone who has to handle Sony's social media accounts is smiling right now. Following today's Plus reveal - you can see the full list of August's games through here - PlayStation fans have grabbed their pitchforks and taken a good old stab at the company, bombarding the Japanese giant with disapproval.
At the time of writing, August's Plus reveal trailer on YouTube has around 59,000 views and 6,500 dislikes compared to 800 likes. Needless to say, it's not the kind of ratio that Sony's PR department will want to see.
Elsewhere, the company's being flooded with complaints on both Twitter and Facebook. Some disgruntled users have even taking to hurling abuse our way, so we'll quickly take this opportunity to reiterate that Push Square isn't actually affiliated with Sony or PlayStation. Thanks for your concern, though.
In any case, we suppose that such a backlash was inevitable. July's offering wasn't too bad, with Furi and Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell going free on PS4, and August's offering seems pretty weak by comparison - at least at first glance. Still, we reckon that Sony's going to have to reevaluate the service sooner or later - we can't be having this every other month, can we?
Comments 71
To be fair I'm quite keen to give Rebel Galaxy a go. Just think it's bad form to give us a game a second time round, that being Retro/Grade. And it wasn't even that good. Must be other games they can give rather than recycle, surely?
So what's new, Sony could give out a pot of gold and people will still complain. It's because of Plus I was able to get Dark Souls 2 and Soma for less then £20 but people forget that aspect of the service.
Not surprising really - I know one of those 'dislike' votes were mine but I didn't go as far as bombarding Sony's facebook or twitter with abuse.
I don't know how much they pay attention to dislikes etc - doesn't seem to make any difference because the PS+ games haven't shown any sign of improving despite the added income PS+ must generate now its compulsory for online gaming!
@BAMozzy Recent months have been better, last month especially.
In fairness the only reason why I have plus is because online and cloud storage. At this point the free games are just rewards, kinda like a credit card.
@adf86 Not from my point of view!!! Last month wasn't great at all in my opinion. If you enjoyed them - great! However I wouldn't waste the time downloading or the HDD space on them!
For me its not about the game, after all when I signed up, I knew that I will get random games.
The real problem with this month is Retro/Grade. People working for Sony never lost an opportunity to remind us that, they will never give a game second time, but they did it. They have to change the game!
PS. I FORGOT THE CAPS LOCK!!1!!
There needs to be a cheaper lite subscription options for just ps4 multiplayer. I agree sony needs to reevaluate igc
Rebel Galaxy is pretty damn good if you enjoy games revolving around space combat, trading and upgrading. It's pretty damn addictive.
I'm looking forward to trying out Rebel Galaxy and Yakuza 5 so I’m happy.
I don't know why people are complaining they get Yakuza 5. That right there makes it a good PSN month.
No matter what games people get they never seem to be happy. We have had indie titles, Triple A titles, new games, old games. Its not just about the games you get to play online as well and get discounts on other titles throughout the year. For what the service costs its a great deal. You do not even need to pay the full price if you shop smart you can save between £5-£7 if you run with the offers at the right time and buy a year in advance. Whatever the games are I see them as a bonus to the games I have already got.
Can't win all the time!
@KratosMD (In this case, video games are opinionated, meaning you can't just write to Sony: "Hey, give me better games")
Reason that keeps coming up is because the overall quality of PS+ games have been barely mediocre, and it seems like the majority of them are indie games. so obviously triple A titles are off the table for a while but Sony needs to find a way to get more desirable titles in.
I think they should just stick with the voting like they did with broforce, that worked out really well! and it's cool to know you have a direct impact on PS+ also if they had a silver tier & gold tier PS+. For example, silver was just games/online sub and the gold was games and playstation vue sub. That would def cause a spike in PS+ ownership, what do you guys think?
I know I'm firmly in the 1% minority here, but I'm really pleased! When RG came out I read about it and for some reason thought it was a free game ala Warframe/Neverwinter etc, and was gutted when it wasn't, so it's a nice surprise.
As for Tricky Towers, I need more local multiplayer for pre-drinks at mine and stuff, and I just watched the Playstation Access team play it on YouTube and it looks like cheap, angry, frustrating, tense half hour fun. Which is right up my street!
@Neolit I'm kicking myself for missing that... Don't even remember when it was on plus smh
What @WebHead said. Give us a cheaper option for online play only. I would go for that option!
ABUSE AT SONY! Am I doing it right?
I actually don't think the games are that bad. I don't mind paying for the online service the free games are just a bonus but I suppose Sony set the expecation in the last gen on delivering big AAA games and they've miss managed the message this gen. There are also games like killzone SF where it's almost strange why the haven't been ps plus games.
Yakuza 5 and patapon are good although I bought yakuza at launch, not sure about the rest, definitely better than some months.
Meh, i live with whatever Sony gives us. Some months are great, others don't pertain to my interests, but I'm not gonna go and rage about it on social media and Youtube.
really, what do people expect? me? i'm happy to give rebel galaxy a try. except, isn't that a bit like No Man's Sky? In a 2d plane?
Are people forgetting that Sony will be giving Rebel Galaxy, Yakuza 5 and Patapon 3 for free?
bunch of spoiled brats, boohooo they don't have a game I want so I'm going to jump up and down like a 4 year old kid because I didn't get the game I wanted for free waaaaaaaaaah waaaaaah boooooo hooooooo. pfft
I did delayed 1 month my return to PS+ after this line up!
And by the way, you guys should be affiliated of Sony/PlayStation department!
The Retro Grade thing is cheap and bad move by Sony.
I really don't mind the indies and smaller games, I swear I try every one of them and I don't finish them ONLY because I have a huge backlog of games that I spent money on...
But this Retro Grade thing made me rage, man...It feels so cheap!
..... all they have to do is give us GOOD GAMES!! Not 5/10 or 6/10 games. Anything that gets an average of 85% plus on Metacritic would do fine for me (yes, Metacritic is a decent way to decide if a game is for you or not!!) Its game after game of below average, bargain bin crap we seem to be getting. Theres 100s of PSP classics for Vita if your ever short of quality, PS3 obviously has its bases covered and PS4 has tons of good smaller games too!! Each month should be a no-brainer!!
This month's offering is pretty poor but people need to chill... I don't really care what games are given to use as part of the subscription, if they offer a good game then it's bonus if not, no probz.
I don't rely on the IGC for my game library and would feel sorry for some one who does.
I don't like refering to them as 'free games' though because they are just playable games that are included in the price of the subscription and obviously, non playable if you end your subscription.
Honestly, even going right back to the start of Plus, I'm not sure there has been a game I've really loved or even played to completion.. I usually know what games I'm going to get months before launch, I'm hardly gunna wait around 12-36 months for a potential plus release. It also doesn't seem the particular indies I go for tend to come up as free offerings on release, either, and for the sake of less than a cinema ticket I'm happy to buy those at launch too.
For me it's all about the discounts and network play
@sonicmeerkat @SoulsBourne128 @Tasuki
Yup, Yakuza 5, a game that sits over 80% on metacritic last I looked, makes this an instant win. Anybody throwing a tantrum over this is an imbecile. These crybabies should dust off the PS3, sit down, shut the hell up, download Yakuza 5 and enjoy.
@Tasuki only good if you have a ps3 though, dont forget that
@Gamer83 not everybody has a ps3 to dust down though. Its a win if you have one but pretty awful if you dont. Dont get me wrong the games dont bother me as i have a massive backlog of games i have purchased, because they are the games i want to play. But if you only have a ps4 this month is a bit shabby for the games on offer
@Mrskinner
Well, what do people expect? They're not going to make recent hits like Ratchet & Clank or Uncharted 4 'free' this soon. And if they put something like Killzone or Assassin's Creed IV people will still b*tch because they 'already have those.' It's a can't win situation for Sony. I will say maybe some better indie games could be chosen but for the bigger-budget, high-profile games it simply isn't realistic to demand two each month.
What? Yakuza 5 and Patapon 3 are mighty fine in my book! I guess the ps4 offerings are not that cool (don't really know these games) but overall nice month...much better than many others for me at least.
This month is just bad, previous month is way better with good new indie game (furi) and good dlc (saint row goh). Previously only game with good metacritic score (70 and up) that given to psplus user, now it's random.
I hope sony just cancel ps3 and psvita free games and focus on giving free good game for ps4 and ps vr instead.
@Gamer83
There is no problem in putting games like Killzone in the PS Plus. On PS3 everything was fine with the games, almost no complaints. Look to XBox Gold, almost no complaints and MS allready gave some AAA titles like AC Black Flag.
Sony must be clear about what they want with PS Plus. Is it now only for earning money or do they still, like on the PS3, surprise us with the titles people want.
Could somebody please explain this Retro/Grade thing ? , I have no idea what people are talking about !!!
Personally, I like PS Plus more for the discounts. Any games are a bonus - I mean Soma, with PS Plus discount for £4 is pretty great in my book.
As I have stated before, I don't buy PS+ for the games and see them as a 'bonus' but that doesn't stop the 'bonus' feeling very disappointing. For those that bought into PS+ during the PS3 era or even those who came from the PS3 to PS4, it could feel a lot worse. On the PS3, PS+ gave some great games, many of which were AAA quality and not that 'old'. You didn't have to pay for online either so PS+ was purely optional. If you compare the 'value' directly, PS+/IGC offered a lot more to PS3. For those coming from the XB360, depending on when you had Gold, PS+ could be in a couple of ways. If you had Gold before GwG, then the IGC games could be viewed purely as a bonus, if you joined after GwG, they could still like a bonus, but still be underwhelming as Gold did/does tend to offer a AAA 'classic' and a indie game.
Of course you can't please everyone all of the time. There is a big chance that a number of people will not be happy regardless of what games are on offer. No way will we see a big AAA game being offered free at release so there is a chance that a number of people could own a AAA offering if offered.
Looking back at the 360 GwG, which often offered 'classic' AAA games, I didn't mind seeing games I owned. Gears of War for example had a big influx of players when it was offered, meaning the MP was full, I could complete some of the campaign co-op achievements with friends because they now had it. I am sure that if Sony offered Killzone (for example), even though I own the game, I could get 'value' from that again as the MP would be busier. I am sure there are a lot of people that have bought a PS4 that don't own a copy or unsure of buying it because of its age and potential lack of players in MP. AAA games 'could' generate income too from additional DLC sales too. I know that games like Killzone for example may not be as 'expensive' now as something like Furi but offers a LOT more and actually showcases the PS4 too. Even if people do own AAA offerings, it still raises the profile of the PS and PS+
As I said, I buy PS+ because I have too to play the games I want. If I was sitting on the fence about PS+, not too bothered about online game, the 'free' games would more likely have the opposite effect and stop me from buying PS+. Compared to what MS offer to XB1 owners, I am sure I would be more tempted by Gold - 2 XB1 titles - quite often at least 1 AAA release, 2 XB360 games, again with a number of AAA releases and if these have online components, these are playable across both generations together (XB360 and XB1 gamer in the same lobbies - not separated by console). Now I know Sony don't offer BC and that PS+ could be 'good' value IF you own and still game on a PS3 and Vita as well but I do think they could do a lot better.
If Sony were to offer a cheaper 'Silver - online only' option or a 'Gold - online and free games' then I wonder how much revenue Sony would lose yearly as all those gamers that opt for the cheaper option. If it was £10 a year cheaper, and half opt for that, that's over 10m gamers - £100m a year!
You can argue you get to save money from sales but often the Digital price isn't a saving on the cheapest retail price on AAA games. Yes you can pick up some indie game for small change - save an extra 10% by being a PS+ member, but a few months later, its offered as a free game anyway - or has been!
@MinerWilly Retro/Grade was a PS Plus game 4 years ago. It's not a bad title but those like me who already got it through this subscription service are only getting 5 games instead of 6. It's pretty poor form, not like they couldn't find some cheap throwaway PS3 game instead.
The only other explanation I can think of is that because Europe get the same as NA now perhaps Europe got it because NA never had it before?
My ps plus has run out, and I was going to rush out and buy it but I'm in no hurry after seeing this lacklustre lidt,
@Tasuki The Yakuza 5 reveal is somewhat muted for me as I picked it up when it briefly was mislisted as free in the store a few weeks ago. At the time I saw it as a bonus for last month's Plus freebies, so seeing it again (officially, this time) makes it feel like less of a bonus. But I can see what happened was a mistake and I can forgive that.
But what I, and many others are rightfully pee'd off about is the recycling of a game that was given away four years ago as a new offering. Sure maybe others weren't a member of Plus back then, but the most loyal who were there from the start are a game down this month. I mean does this set a precedent where games previously received from 2012 will be cycled out again as "new" freebies? It's a terrible practice.
In all honesty, out of sheer principle, I don't think I've ever been as disappointed in a Plus refresh as I have been with this month's.
@Chunky_Droid Thanks Chunky , had no idea it was a game ! I thought people where saying it to mean something completely different . Need more coffee.
To many sony Fanboys here the games are ass accept it the only good ones were saints row, broforce and Gone home all the rest were just awful
People want variety, for every AAA game (Saints Row GOH) there's about ten or more indies slapped on the service, which wouldn't be so bad: if indies looked a bit different from each other.
Alternatively, they could do away with the Greatness Awaits slogan.
Overall I'm happy with my PS Plus subscription - I get plenty of good games, I like playing online and there are some good discounts to be had. It doesn't stop August from being a pretty weak lineup though. I'm not throwing my toys out of the pram or anything but it is disappointing compared to July - with the exception of Yakuza 5. They need to get some consistency, more than anything, and really that applies to the PS4 offerings more than anything else.
personally i think we shouldn't get free games with PS+
if a game is worth playing its worth buying
Tricky Towers looks pretty neat. I'm glad to see the puzzle game get a spot on the big-ish stage again. To be honest, the other games announced don't look great, particularly Rebel Galaxy, but I think it's just as okay as most other months. I'm sure a lot of people along with myself would like some more AAA releases on PS Plus but I'm not unhappy with what we're getting, and I don't see the point in getting angry. They're giving us variety, at least, and people need to give Tricky Towers more of a chance. Woulda loved to see Hyper Light Drifter on there though, I think that would have been a good move.
This month is a disaster however there are bigger fish to fry in this industry :/
Sony really needs to run a poll each month so the community can pick from a few options. That way if a game is selected that a person doesn't care about, they can blame the community instead of Sony.
They did run a poll at least once before (Action Henk vs Broforce vs Android Cactus). Why not do that all the time? Give us a choice, give us a voice.
I'm delighted.
Rebel Galaxy - great review on this website go and read it and you will want to play it!
Patapon - always intrigued me but not enough to buy, so a great shout.
@XurAgentofthe9 I agree they should give you a option no games or sales at € 40.
@wittypixel So you want more for it seems. I think silver with nothing and gold with everything.
The selection of games this month is among the worst, nevertheless I'm good with the Rebel Galaxy. AAA games cost $40...70, so I'm wondering how somebody could ever think that Sony would give you such games for $50 per year.
Most of the dislikes probably come from people who made an impulse buy on an indie game (rebel galaxy), realized it sucked, then realized they couldn't do the steam thing where you get a refund, and now have wasted $20 on something they could've got for free if they had just played the games on their damn backlog.
@KratosMD I agree we shouldn't insult Sony. But people are tired of the mediocre games. I do think rebel Galaxy could be a good game based on reviews. I just think Sony really either don't care what we think or they have their hands tied to what games they can give away. I think its a no care attitude specially when PS3 gets yakuza 5 and we get a unknown titles. It's like ps4 was made to experiment with its customer base with indiestation. I like indie games but not that much.
Ultimately we are getting our $50 worth from Ps+ overall but mostly from psn sales and not from most games I wouldn't pay for that are given to us for free.
Yeah, August's free games are garbage, but they've had some really good ones in the past. Oh well, hopefully next month will be better.
You pay $50 a year for 12 months of "free" games and some people still complain? No one appreciates the value of a dollar anymore
I honestly think the only free game I've played for longer than 10 minutes was Infamous first light. I got my ps plus so I could play Destiny and for my kids to play Minecraft. I look at the free games as what they are an added bonus. Most don't really appeal to me but oh well. What I really would like my money to go to is fixing their online infrastructure so PSN isn't down for every major holiday.
Yes the games have been disappointing on ps4 compared to ps3 but what really annoys me is when folk say they're free, do I not need to maintain my subscription to pay these games. So in effect im only really renting them for a monthly subscription. Sony could combine psnow with plus for an extra couple of quid, it would certainly be more of an attractive proposition
Yeah, they're really not "free". Complementary is a better word
why not give ps4 owners every month one of the ps2 ports instead of 2 bloody indie games.
Last month Fury is AMAZING
This month I excited to try Rebel Galaxy
I am happy with them, so are many more in the comments. A lot of this is from online multiplayer having to pay to play online now. They don't want the games they want online free. They will attack anything about PlayStation Plus.
@fairliedaft
Yeah, agreed. It's was a fun game and more than worth £7 when I got it. An absolute steal for free
@javman05
Yeah, it's the same as Sky Movies and Sports isn't it? You can't watch what you recorded and paid for, when you are no longer ~currently~ paying for it. It's a bit cheap, but in the real world, are you going to go back and play games 12 months later when you have a stack of new titles to play? Anything I would want to go back and play, I'd happily pay for.
This selection doesn't really seem very much better or worse than another other of late, IMO. But if it's true that this is the second time Retro/Grade has been on Plus, that DOES go against their former promises and is a bit of a low blow.
First Solution - I would much rather have 1 AAA title offered for Playstation Plus, but it can only be played for that month, once the month is up the title is no longer valid but it can be bought at a discount price, this is seems a much better idea than being offered rubbish games that i get to keep for my duration of plus and never even bother to download.
Other Solution, let me opt in for a cheaper version of plus with added games options.
I'm actually really happy this month, Yakuza 5 is a great addition and the Tetris Tower thing looks like a ton of fun. I'm a huge Tetris fan so I would have bought this for sure anyway so it's nice to get it for 'free'.
Nothing for me, will try em though I suppose the last couple of month's have sucked, I was kinda excited for Furi but that didn't last long and then we've had Crap outta Hell, basket ball and a walkingsim........ Still I don't pay for the free game's I pay to play online.
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