Rumour: Sony Planning 'Counterpunch' to Xbox Game Pass

Jaffe likes to talk a lot but I kinda like him and - while not at Sony anymore - I'm sure he does remain close with many of those people.

I'll only be in favour of this if it provides a means to access classic games brand new titles being dumped on services like this doesn't sit well with me

My guess? The unification of plus and now. Plus maybe a free way to access some of the 3, 2, and one content from the store they are closing. Consolidation seems like it would save sony some money and organizational headaches, while also providing fans with a much broader service.

Well this doesn't surprise me, they had to do something otherwise they will end up losing the majority of their player base. I don't expect brand new ips to come day one to the service but what I do expect is new third party games to be added day one, all playstation exclusives last gen to be added, new 1st party titles to be added after 6 months like ea access does, ps now and ps plus merger, android/apple cloud app, games to be lowered to £60 and.....sack Jim ryan 😂

Please make it happen

I can't be the only one who feels "online optics" are often given far more importance than they deserve - not just in this case, but generally speaking.

Sure, they matter to a few 'extreme' people and the loudmouthed, pitchfork mobs of Twitter, but sane people and most businesses just tend to ignore those.

They already do have an answer to Game Pass - it's called Playstation Now and it's not that great and isn't available in a lot of countries.

I actually think Sony need to cut their losses with the PS3 games on Now, as this is probably the main reason it's not available worldwide. Do many people really stream those games? I'd imagine it's not huge numbers. That way, they can have a service like GamePass which is download only games and the money they save from paying to have PS3 games they can put towards better PS4/5 games on Now.

I will believe it when it happens. Just merge
PS Plus with PS NOW and make every game downloadable.

I doubt their GP equivalent will provide first party games day one BUT rather these will be added to it after an indeterminate length of time. Games in the PS Collection will be included plus those that aren't currently part of it eg HZD, The Last of Us Part II and Ghost of Tsushima.

Probably add a lot of games from their existing portfolio, do key deals with third party developers and include online play.

Is is too little, too late though? Has the horse already left the stable? The news today isn't encouraging but we'll have to await for further details. A very big summer lies ahead for Sony.

Gaah, can we stop saying 'optics' when you mean the perceived state of a business!
Can't see how it's connected to the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light!

"I’ve said time and again that people who are writing Jim Ryan’s obituary are way premature,"- Shame.
I don't wish him dead obviously! Maybe he could go to XBox and ruin their ecosystem...?

Sounds more like damage control. I really hope that Sony can regain the trust they lost in these previous days, is really a worrying situation if all these reports are true.

I’m going to laugh when all the Sony Gamepass haters sign up to Sony’s equivalent day one and start singing it’s praises haha! It’ll be marvellous, there’s a lot of hypocrites out there.

Sony putting all of their eggs into the success basket actually makes a gamepass alternative financially viable.

Game Pass is good value for some people, mainly parents for their kids. But for me I look at that GamePass library and wonder... What does it have that I want to play that I cant on PS5... Slim to zero because their exclusives are lacking so desperately.
There is maybe the odd indie game I would have a go of to test that I wouldn't risk buying but not at that monthly subscription cost. I think the best game I could find that I'd want to play was RAGE 2.... Years old.

Also the fact they are rented so if you decide to play it 4 months into it's cycle and it vanishes on you, you'd be pissed. Owning games in your library like on PS Plus in the way.

Sony have been removing a lot of excess fat as of late and trimming everything right down.

I think it’s fairly obvious somethings coming..

Mind Pong 99

most likely it will be some other extra service, it will be convoluted and it won't be user friendly, prove me wrong Sony I dare you

@itsfoz They also seem to have been removing the creators of some of their most iconic games too.

@Bad-MuthaAdebisi

lol, if history is any guide...

@LordSteev
I think you nailed it. It's kind of telling that the old PS stores are closing right when these rumors are surfacing.

They need to merge PSPLUS and PSNOW and do something similar to Gamepass! If there were more consoles available right now I think Xbox would be catching up with all the good press they have

It's will probably be as mentioned a merging of Plus and now. Doubt sony will put there exclusives up day one, would be brilliant but highly doubt it.

It is actually pretty simple and I've been saying it for a while.

Combine PSplus and PSnow and charge $99 a year for the whole thing.
Could even grandfather in people who already have PSplus which would be kinda cool.

@SLitz1979

That, and maybe I'm alone here, but the PS Store seems to be acting more sluggish than usual lately. Could that be because big parts of it are 'under construction'? I don't know enough about how it works under the hood to make any claims, but...maybe?

But how will they mess it up, in their usual Sony trademark way? Only works on a Sunday? Must be used with an Atari Jaguar controller? Or just a simple kick in the balls from Jim for every minute played?

Never saw anything wrong with gamepass, I just feel I wish they would put plus and now together under one umbrella tbh.

I prefer sony focusing on making great exclusives like nintendo rather than chasing gamepass model for their games.

Blah blah stuff blah blah sounds exactly like the rumours Jeff grubb spouts...believe it when I see it.

Seriously though, if a merging of Now and Plus is on the cards, they just need to scrap the Now name altogether - far too many people still think it is a streaming only service, and they name will always be in the shadow of Gamepass because of people's pre-existing opinions about it

I feel if Sony is going to counter Game Pass they would have to make it be a heavy hitter or else it'll just fall to the wayside.

This is what I hope their response to Gamepass is:

1) Integrate PS Plus and PS Now so there are no duplicates given

2) No first party games day of release, that will reduce quality, but have a strict rule that they will be permanently added 2 years after release (I have a large and growing backlog, and so do you)

3) Add a phone streaming service so I can play turn based and story led games outside the home.

4) Create an emulator which also automatically adds trophies to old PS1,2,3 games and have that as part of the service, with all games available in the vault.

5) Start adding PSVR games every month. It’ll mean we can get through a load before the PSVR2 is released should it not be backwards compatible, or will give a big back catalogue to encourage many to get a PSVR2 if it is backwards compatible.

6) Add VITA games to plus again, because it’s not like we can buy them.

I’d give them £200 a year for that.

@somnambulance I'm with you. I don't really get this GamePass hype, I like to actually OWN the games. It's why I don't really care about PS Plus' free games or Now's. I'm playing the game and it feels like I'm on a timer. PlayStation should just focus on what they do best - exclusives. They should be focusing on making exclusives to rival Starfield/Fallout/Skyrim OR GTA/RDR, now those are gonna be system sellers not some goddamn subscriptions.

Playstation now and plus combined to create "playstation access" with playstation nows current line up plus a lot more ps3/vita games added and all last gen first party ps4 exclusives added and new first party games get added after 6 months, and some new third party titles added day one aswell.

£14.99 a month for the subscription service, online cloud storage, online play and 2 free games a month that aren't included with the subscription service (mainly indies)

@Royalblues if Sony will create a Gamepass equivalent. Many naysayers of gaming subscription services in the Playstation community will proclaim it as the best thing ever 🤣

I can only speak for myself but just based on observation, some folks seem like they're too hung up on what MS/XBox is doing.
Can Playstation improve on some things?! sure. But i feel like there's a swell /pressure from the PS fanbase that is clamoring for a response to MS and I don't get it.

If GamePass and playing old games/3rd party titles are so important to you, then just buy an XBox or subscribe to Gamepass and play on your PC.

Sony and MS seem to have different philosophies when it comes to running their video game side of things and maybe that's okay. They don't have to go tit for tat if they don't want to.

I prefer QUALITY over QUANTITY.

But hey, complain away I guess...

Haha I'll believe it when I see it! The way Sony is going these days they'll close PS Now and offer no replacement...

I've said this for a long time now. All Sony has to do is combine PS Plus and PS Now. PS Now has so much potential, but hardly anyone is subscribed to it, including myself. If they combine the two for $60 a year and updated PS Now to be more along the lines of GamePass then that would be a fantastic punch back at Xbox. Will they do it? Who knows.

Return to E3 in some capacity. Give us something like GamePass, hopefully with some level of backwards compatibility. Come up with something new too. I wonder.

Not sure why he would know anything about SIEs Business tbh

Just improve PS Now is it so hard to comprehend Sony?!

@God_of_Nowt my nightmare is slowly becoming a reality. I hope more people begin to realize what they are giving up when they willingly forgo ownership of things and the slippery slope that follows.

See, this is why it's a good thing when there's actual competition in the console space. Microsoft will force Sony to be better.

Hopefully this involves Sony combining their confusing suite of different services into one big overall service. Just turn PS Now, PS+, and the Playstation Collection into one thing on PS5.

It still won't be as good as GamePass, but with the right pricing, it could make PS5 look a lot more attractive. Especially with these $70 games, jesus christ.

Will it be available on non-playstation systems like PC and Android?

If not then why even bother lmao

@strawhatcrew For starters, PS5 owners cannot play PS5 version of cross-gen games on PSNow and it doesn't have a cloud save, unless you have PS+.

I lost all of my save file on a stream only game on PSNow. Sony's customer support told me that I needed PS+, so I can upload my save file on PSNow to the cloud storage and they have no way to recover my save file that was lost. Why do we need to have two services that overlaps games and features such as cloud storage?

Some people really have wool over their eyes when saying things like GamePass is just a bunch of old games. The thing that I love about GP is that it ISN’T just a bunch of old games. There are so many new games releasing day one on GamePass. Great new indies that I may never have been introduced to, first party games and even big third party games like Outriders, Octopath Traveler and The Show 21.

I would even like if PS Now had new indies on it. But they don’t. It really is older games.

And they tried to address it this month with Avengers and Borderlands 3 but then shot themselves in the foot by not allowing the PS5 versions.

So you want people to upgrade to next gen but then make your subscription service not even have a single PS5 game?!?

I have both consoles and like both for different reasons. But don’t fool yourself into thinking GamePass is just a bunch of old games no one wants to play anyway. That actually is a more accurate description for PS Now.

@awp69 Many people in the PS community assumes that Gamepass only have old games, but the most of the games they wanted to be added to PSNow are already on Gamepass. Every month you would see Fallen Order, Hellblade, Nier Automata, Doom Eternal, Outer Worlds in their wishlist.

I actually think this article highlights a big problem and that is Sony has become reactionary at best, and complacent at worst. The idea that they don’t owe people who have spent hundreds on a new console with them is insane as well.

@God_of_Nowt I agree with your comments completely, I am not in the games industry myself so don't have your knowledge but it is happening in front of our eyes. This is the reason I still buy everything physical it might cost more but the alternative is just of no value to me as a collector. I do the same for CD's and movies but it makes some stuff hard to get these days which is frustrating and I miss out on so many indie games because they don't release physical editions which is fair enough BTW it saves smaller companies loads I am sure.
I am curious though if this is why there has been the price hike for this generation to try and push people to digital or subscription model?

@strawhatcrew people are hung up on what Microsoft are doing because Sony aren’t doing anything. There has been nothing out of them since the ps5 release.

Not that this isn't true, but having discovered his youtube channel over the last year after being a longtime fan of (some of) his games, Jaffe talks out of his bumhole

About buying bluepoint already sony.bluepoint is the g.o.a.t 👑 .king .gamepass likevin sonys camp.thats not the issues now.wheres ps1.ps2.and ps3 games.aquire new studios thats the issues now.word up son

Just keep ps+ as it is...keep the psn store how it is..thats my personal preference as in "My personal preference"..in all honesty so long as i can purchase bargains and still play online i couldnt really give a monkeys at all...let the xboxers have their game pass...sony does not need to be microsoft nor do we need them to be..

@Mince Most third-party games on GP stays in the library for a year but it can vary, while the games on PSNow last between 6 months to 3 months. Even Days Gone only stayed on PSNow for only 3 months and then it becomes a PS+ game for the second time around.

Jaffe is dead wrong; Sony and Jim Ryan DO owe somebody — namely, the people who invest in PlayStation through console and game purchases, as well as investors in the company.

@LordSteev do you think they will increase the price? I wouldn't pay more.

Phil Spencer and co have pulled off one hell of a uppercut on Sony with GamePass. Before anyone jumps on me here this is the best thing that could happen for Playstation at a time where high profits have been rolling in and there's been a general stagnation in terms of services for us the customers.

It may be something like Nintendo Switch Online, but with a back catalog of PS1, PS2, PS3, Vita, and some PS4 games. Maybe they'll find a way to bring back some of those old sports games, but I can wish.
And how many times can the writers here use the word optics? Get a thesaurus.

And thus the future of gaming as an exclusively digital medium is decided. Bet the next Switch comes with a lot more storage.

Jaffes streams are hilarious , Says it like it is just because he was a Sony employee at one time he isnt afraid to rip into Sony and call them out on things .

@LiterallyDoNotCare

I don't know. If they do combine everything, I think a reasonable price would be $9.99 a month. Not quite as expensive as GamePass, but it shouldn't be, because in the near future, Microsoft is going to have more AAA studios making more AAA games than Sony.

@LordSteev I worry more about the yearly. Don't want to pay extra $60 for something I won't use.

@tomassi If Sony wants to compete with Gamepass, they have to keep the PS3 games and streaming service. Gamepass offers streaming, downloads and classic games from previous Xbox generations.

@TheArt You can continue to pay per game if that’s the way you prefer to play. Others who want to subscribe to a game service can do so too. We can have both.

@LiterallyDoNotCare

Yeah, it'd be nice if they offered a few different packages/price-points. In my dealings with Sony, though, I've come to the conclusion they don't always put the customer first. In fact, if you want to see how much they love you, just read the small print on the return policy at the PS Store. I did, and it's a real buzzkill to see exactly how little they think of us end users.

Subscription services is only a cheaper alternative to play games. It doesn't take away your ability to purchase the games you want. it actually saves me from buyers remorse.

@Robinsad ...
and MS has done what? talk about GamePass ad nauseam and put a trailer out for a Perfect Dark game that probably won't come out for another 2 years or more and Halo Infinite isn't out either.
I don't follow XBox coverage religiously so I'm probably missing something, but i'm quite sure i'm not missing anything mind blowing.

@BrainHacker sure, that's a fair gripe. that sucks to lose save files. although it has been known for a while that you'd need PS+ to do cloud saves (i think)...but i suppose that is certainly something Sony can address.

@Robinsad they don't owe us anything in this arena though... I bought my PS5 so I could play more of the great games that Sony have released over the last few years. They don't owe us any news on a response to gamepass. If anyone bought a PS5 expecting Sony to deliver a ganepass alternative then I would argue who is insane. They've given us the line up of games and keep adding them. Yes they are being quiet at the moment and it seems to be frustrating people but they owe us s**t.

Too many entitled gamers recently... what happened to the good old surprise!?!?

@strawhatcrew It's just doesn't make sense to me that I needed to pay for another service to ensure that my save file will not be corrupted or be lost on a stream only game.

@LuckSource Japan Studio. And the knock on effects, as Clap Hanz + Japan Studio = Everybody's Golf. That's now appearing in all but name on the Apple Arcade, not the PS for the first time in 4 generations.

@Alpha_Pulse This is probably the reason why many people are compelled to buy both PS5 and XSX. They bought the PS5 for the exclusives and the XSX for Gamepass. Wouldn't it be great if your chosen gaming platform can provide all the things you want or need?

@LordSteev I never wanted to return a game. That could've happen with c2077 tho. Was close.

They are so full of SH**. that answer to gamepass is already out. It's called RENTALS. Someone get blockbuster back in the biz!!!

@BrainHacker 100% I have both and have 3 years of gamepass but don't seem to want to use it. I think I sit in the category of gamers that think gamepass is a great idea and good value but ultimately I know what I want to play which is why I end up buying games on my PS rather than browsing gamepass.

@Alpha_Pulse I have Gamepass on PC but IMO PS exclusives are still the best single player games in the video game industry right now. I can never put down a PS game once I played it, however it's nice to have a cheaper way to play third-party games when PS exclusives are still months or years away.

To counter MS they should make all the previous or the majority available on that service!

@BrainHacker I agree. It seems the outlets and harcore fans have the idea that only one method if playing games can exist where both can coexist. People who want to buy games will continuento buy games and those who like the sub option will go with gamepasd or ps now or whatever.

I don't see why anyone should care. Sony and their partners have made some of the best games on console for awhile. Game Pass is Microsoft's answer to that, with a hint of buying as many studios as they can. With or without a subscription service like games pass, Playstation has been killing it. Now that their forced to hand over a game, which I'm BETTING MONEY WAS INVOLVED, everyone and anyone seems to throw a fit. Keyboard warriors will say whatever they want....... Just to name a few exclusives (present and past) HZD 1&2, TLOU 1&2, SpiderMan 1&1.5, Uncharted 1-4.5, GOW 1&2 etc.

@Omniicron just because gamepass exist it doesn't mean you can't buy games you really like, and you do so with 10 to 20% off.

And to me, I've been playing 90% of the time on the Xbox nowadays just because it offers much more option for much less. Games tend to stay there for much more time than people seem to believe, most games stay there for almost a year, some stay for much more, most games you play, you play only once and never go back.

Xbox has spearheaded the plans to normalize subscription services in gaming. I still guarantee you that Microsoft will again raise the price of gamepass once they have a nice healthy audience and Sony will follow suit because this is what everyone keeps telling us we want.

"Sony has is planning"

@editor

I only stream my now games. Why does everyone here say no one does it? On PS4 I downloaded the one's I wanted great textures on but ps3 and below games are made for streaming.With PS5 STILL having limited space issues I stream everything now.

@ATaco that much is obvious. They can't keep buying studios the way they are and release those titles for GP without eventually hiking the price.

It's all about the hook then the squeeze. It's basically the Uber and new tech startupa that haemorrhage money for years model.

@Omniicron “Also the fact they are rented so if you decide to play it 4 months into it's cycle and it vanishes on you, you'd be pissed. Owning games in your library like on PS Plus in the way.”

You own the games you get on PS+? I actually thought they went away after you stopped the sub. Thanks for the head’s up! I never got around to Shadow of Colossus remake before my sub lapsed and just assumed I didn’t have access to it anymore. Checking it out today. Thanks!

Sony need to rename their crap for a start. How is anyone supposed to know what "PlayStation Now" is from the name? "Gamepass" is pretty obvious in comparison.

@Juvenlast That's too Goddamn high price.

@Hypnotoad107 Yeah, you own the game for the entirety of your sub. It's in your digital library for good, while subbed.
Gamepass you rent the game for 4 months. It's not yours and no matter whether you are subbed or not, it vanishes.

You pretty much can't do anything online without PS Plus (which is *****, but same for both consoles), so who doesn't have it? Your games dont vanish while you are playing them though.

@Hypnotoad107 They come back as soon as you are subbed again. Unlike Gamepass.

Like I say, it is good value for kids who bounce from indie game to indie game. Older people who just want the latest greatest titles day 1... it's not for them.

Oh yeah just what everybody wants on PlayStation a $180 a year subscription service!!! NO. What has Game Pass done for Xbox. I have looked hard at Game Pass. Not once have I thought gee I need to run out and buy a XBox and Game Pass! I am more then happy with my PlayStation and its low cost 2 services. Don't screw up PlayStation Plus!

@JohnKarnes Not everybody wants it, but I’m sure a lot of people would welcome it. Just because you didn’t see anything for you on GPU, doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty there for others. GPU has mad the Xbox my primary machine for the time being. For $100 a year, I have access to tons of great games. They aren’t all 3rd person cinematic adventure games, so if that’s all you want to play, it probably isn’t the service for you. I still have my PS5, and I have no complaints. But until R&C and Horizon comes out, I’m just letting my son play on it, while I play a ridiculous assortment of games.

@JohnKarnes You can get 3 years of Gamepass Ultimate for only $180 by converting Xbox Live Gold to GPU. CDkeys sometimes sells GWG for only $35.

@Hypnotoad107 Playstation Now has a ridiculous assortment of games with over 800 games, that twice as much and Game pass.

Sony also given PS5 owners the PS Plus Collection it's good for all of 2021. Long as you can snag a PS5 this year your good. They are PS5 Only.

Batman: Arkham Knight
Battlefield 1
Bloodborne
Call of Duty Black Ops III Zombies Chronicles
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy
Days Gone
Detroit: Become Human
Fallout 4
Final Fantasy XV
God of War
inFAMOUS: Second Son
The Last Guardian
The Last of Us Remastered
Monster Hunter: World
Mortal Kombat X
Persona 5
Ratchet & Clank
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Until Dawn
In march the gave out 10 more indies for Stay at home play.
Abzû
Enter the Gungeon
Rez Infinite
Subnautica
The Witness
Astro Bot Rescue Mission
Moss
Thumper
Paper Beast
The two list are yours to download & keep forever! reguardless of membership. For PS4 owners and PS5 owners. This does not include the 3 games per month you can get with PS+ GamePass Ultimate with no discounts cost $180 a Year. While PS+ and PS-Now combined cost $118 with no discounts! At full price I like that PS+ and PS-Now are NOT combined given everyone the choice of one the other or combined by subscribing to both. Btw I got my last Year of PS+ for $29.99!

@BrainHacker Will Microsoft lock it down so you can take that offer only once? Or will they end the all the offers anytime soon? At some point you going to get stuck at posted price $180. There are now conversion tables I think GWG is no a longer month for month conversion.

@JohnKarnes the conversion is still 1:1. If you never have an ultimate before, you will only pay $1 for the conversion, but the succeeding conversion will be $15 (one month of ultimate).

A healthy market is cyclical

Like Nintendo online where you can play SOME Nintendo/snes games, playstation will follow suit and release SOME PS1, 2, 3 games. Or a more limp wristed attempt, and just combine ps+ and psnow.

@kingv84 pretty sure Gamepass doesn't offer streaming, merely downloading. NOW can't offer downloading of PS3 games, and the streaming quality is average or, depending your country non-existant, so I'd cull them entirely and open it up to all countries. It might just be my OCD though that thinks merely PS4/5 downloads is less messy.

@tomassi GamePass does offer streaming. Doing proper research is important. https://www.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-game-pass/cloud-gaming

@kingv84 My son has an XBOX and he 100% can't stream games to it.

@tomassi Did you even check the Xbox Cloud site? Yes, the streaming part is not yet available on Xbox, but it is available on Android devices and soon to PC via the web browser. So, Xbox GamePass does offer streaming.

@kingv84 I know, I just don't really care because I don't play on my phone and I don't have a PC. The big question is, if you can stream on those two systems, why can't you stream the games on XBOX? I don't know why you'd want to, but the option would be good, seeing as Now offers it (albeit pretty badly).