Sony may have just unveiled its new PS Plus subscription tiers, but the reality is that there's still a lot that we don't know — especially with regards to PS Plus Premium. The service's most expensive option is attempting to sell itself on promises of backwards compatibility; Premium subs get access to PS3 game streaming alongside a catalogue of PS1, PS2, and PSP titles that can be streamed or downloaded.
The only problem is that we don't yet know what classic games are actually included. At the time of writing, Sony hasn't even teased a launch line-up, or anything of the sort. How many games does the catalogue feature? Are these games enhanced in any way? Do they have Trophy support? None of these questions have answers yet.
Granted, Sony has a few months to relay that information. The new PS Plus tiers launch in June, which gives the Japanese giant time to roll things out bit by bit, as to not overwhelm potential subscribers. But still, it's a bit weird that Premium's immediate sales pitch doesn't feature a taste of what's to come — especially when it's asking for £99.99 / $119.99 a year.
But hey, these classic games look "great" running on PS5 and PS4, according to PlayStation boss Jim Ryan, as per an interview with Famitsu. Hopefully we get to see them for ourselves in the near future!
[source famitsu.com, via resetera.com]
Comments 69
It’s only a couple of months away, I’d at least appreciate a look at the games before I pay!
Oh hey Jim Ryan said they look great, I totally believe him 😂
If they're saying nothing then it's impossible for me to make any decision at this time so it's up to them.
I'm sure they won't look as good PCX2, and I'm not keen to pay for things I already own.
This guy! 😂😂😂 Didn't he say previously that nobody wants to play older games on new hardware because they look terrible.
It was something like that I'm sure. He just can't help but look foolish!
PS3 downloads would have been my top request from the service. ☹️
For $120/year, I wish they would have found a way around having to stream certain titles.
If absolutely nothing else, there's no excuse not to include download options for PSP/PS1/PS2.
Wondering if there will be any of FPS boost-like features implemented or if they’ll just use some kind of resolution upscaling and call it a day.
Persona 4 at the very least
@Ralizah they have said that you can download PS1/2 and PSP games - it's the PS3 games that are stream only
So I will be able to stream Returnal on my PC? Why are they not selling those PS5s?
I'm more interested in the modern game collection. Adding recent games like a Death Stranding and Returnal is the kind of thing that can get me to subscribe.
Hopefully they won't drip feed the releases onto the system like Nintendo do with their online services.
Well with Jim Ryan knowingly being the consummate gamer that he is, as well as enthusiast of all things classic, I see no reason to doubt his input.
Naturally, his being the boss of PlayStation also means there is no conflict of interest in this new statement. Man, what an exciting thing to hear, really - they couldn't have chosen a better mouthpiece for this particular opinion.
@PapaGlitch We'll see. If true, it's an acceptable compromise, assuming the classic library is sufficiently large enough.
Why reveal everything now? They've got 2 months to market it and the sub packages aren't available yet.
@nessisonett Agreed.
Its rare that someone would use the words "a few" synonymously with the word "two".
Perhaps a politician would?
This whole announcement is VERY murky PR IMHO. Already there is some assumptions being made around some of the wording in the original blog post that are concerning to me, but the internet gonna internet I guess.
I mean it seems pretty obvious that they will probably have a blog post or a State of Play that explains this by the time it comes out in June. People just have to be patient instead of make rash decisions or have too big a reaction to the news dropping today.
I'm excited about this new service. I'm either getting the second or third tier.
Streaming PS3 games to PS4 I understand, but sub service only access to the legacy catalogue is the way Nintendo handles it, and I don't like it there either.
I think I'd feel better spending that money on new retro hardware.
I'm only interested in backwards compatibility if I can permanently purchase and OWN the games that I choose. Subscription models may be all the rage (and let's not forget that it's the INDUSTRY who wants it that way), but users have zero control over content or when/if the plug will get pulled from the other side. Give us the option to buy, Sony; otherwise, no deal where I'm concerned.
Could you please don't paint every article with a negative tone? We still don't know jack sh't about the service yet..
Give me a quality HD Radiata Stories port and I'm there day one.
Another thing they are not saying is whether the PS1 and PS2 games are available to purchase by non subscribers.
I hope there's trophy support, I want to make Final Fantasy Tactics my 500th platinum.
Not interested in PS3 games if I can't download them. I never stream them on PS Now as it is, so won't start any time soon. I wasn't a PS1 guy either so not bothered about those games. If I could have some classic PS2 games (would love to play PES again for example) then I may consider it. To be honest though, having tried GTAVC and GTAIII on Now recently, sometimes games are best left to your memory!
Watch it be the same games as what the PS3 had with a couple of new additions.
People need to understand the infrastructure of the PS3 means that downloading ps3 games is virtually impossible on next gen consoles. It's something that will haunt Sony for years but it is what it is. Stop asking for it and get over it. What is downloadable is what can be downloaded, and we can't get anything else (except vita, but we all know they have a hidden agenda against that poor thing)
Erh it's two months away obviously there will be more information before it releases.
Surely this retro catalogue will grow nicely over time.
They probably won't say anything for now though because Gods know how hard it must be to track down the licences for some of the older games, and the hoops they probably have to jump through for some of them.
Imagine if they told us a beloved title would appear, and then something falls through before launch and the game is not on the service.
Games like MDK, Loaded, Re-Loaded, Nightmare Creatures. I'd love to see titles like these on the service, and I'll be disappointed because they probably won't get permission to include some of them. That's just how it goes.
Also, with the way the internet reacts to everything Sony does, he's probably just trying to play down the hype a little.
There's lots of time until launch anyway.
The main selling point and they don't even tease us with a Tenchu, Ape Escape 3, God of War from PSP or something like that...weird! I can see them just having the same games they already have on PSNOW because Sony is just like that these days...
@AFCC Tenchu! Aw bless your gloriously nerdy soul. That game still has pride of place on my shelf.
Didn't he say back compat is 'often requested, but rarely used'?.. well at 100 smackers a year you can bet that'll be true Jimmy boy!
@OMGitsLiamT I really wish they'd make PS3 games downloadable on PS4/5 so people stop asking for it. The games won't be playable of course, but finally people will get their wish of downloading those games.
Will they resolve the 50/60Hz issue this time..? PAL PS2 on PS4 had 50Hz PAL games forced into a 60Hz display mode resulting in messed up frame pacing. PS3 could at least output a 50Hz image, so PAL PS1 and PS2 games without a 60Hz mode could run at their original refresh rate. Unless Sony can provide 60Hz versions, they wont look 'great' at all.
Im sure a retro section would slot nicely into an upcoming showcase.
I just hope the selection is consistent between regions. Still annoyed i couldnt play dino crisis on my vita in Europe
@Ristar24 They should simply only add NTSC Games
@IonMagi They could, they did selectively add some back on PS3. RE2 and RE3 were the NTSC versions. After the Playstation Classic and PS2 on PS4 I'm not optimistic they will foresee the issue this time though.
I'd love it if they added trophy support. Even just basic stuff.
I already have PS2 Slim Japan, PS2 Fat USA and PS3 Slim so I can play specific PS1, PS2 and PS3 games in disc without subscribe streaming games service.
As this is a massive launch effort, we’re rolling out the new PlayStation Plus offering in a phased regional approach. In the June timeframe, we’ll begin with an initial launch in several markets in Asia, followed by North America, Europe and the rest of the world where PlayStation Plus is offered.
Does that mean the UK will get this last? Or will everyone have it by June.
@Milktastrophe that would just open another can of worms. Lol but I like your thinking!
Hey Jim, does the original Gran Turismo for PS1 look great on PS5?
These names are confusing and dumb.
Also it should have been just ‘add ons’. I honestly only want the classic game streaming and would forgo the PS4/5 stuff
I'd like to know Euro not pounds or dollars.
Better buy a raspberry pi board and get your psp/ps1 fix. Or just turn your old PC in a emulation station with batocera or recalbox. Still a better offer than what sony is asking.
I’m praying parasite Eve 1 and 2 are available.
Give me downloadable Tenchu and Legacy Of Kain titles and you've got yourself a dead
@Shepherd_Tallon I loved that game as a kid! Was super hard for me at the time bur it was so dope!
I love weird games on PS1 like Vib Ribbon and Incredible Crisis lol
Jim Ryan, famous video game enthusiast, says games "look great". Yeah, ok Jim.
@AFCC If we get games like that on this new service I'd be chuffed. I missed some of those quirky games like Vib Ribbon the first time around.
I'd love to give them a go now.
I bet you anything at all. 20-30 games ps1 ps2 max. Promise of more to come and never happens
If it's just the same PS1 and PS2 titles they had as classics on PS3 I'll be disappointed. There were quite a few for sale in those days.
@Shepherd_Tallon maybe FPS boost on some of them? x) at least the PS3 games could benefit from it...
@AFCC Yeah. Even if that kind of thing doesn't come at the start, if they indicate they could add it later I'd be happy.
@OMGitsLiamT
They could do it if they tried and spent the money.
The fan community has built an emulator for the PC (RPCS3) that has 70% compatibility and the games that are fully playable actually run better than they did on the original PS3 hardware. And they didn’t have access to source code. They’ve had to basically make educated guesses and a bunch of trial and error. And new games are being added to compatibility list all the time. They are even capable of emulating games that heavily used the SPEs, like the Uncharted titles.
Sony has access to the original source code for the Cell’s instruction set, there are still plenty of developers at SCE who know the Cell like the back of their hand, and they have resources that the fan community could only dream of. Hell, the PS5 (the target hardware for an emulator) even has a coprocessor that operates similarly to the way the Cell did; the Tempest audio engine. It works on the same principles as Cell (one big multi thread processor core that manages several other small single instruction cores) and Cerny even spoke about how they based its design on the Cell. It doesn’t mean that someone could just run PS3 processor code on it, but I’m sure it could be levied to emulate the PS3’s SPE units to make emulation easier to accomplish and take a load off of the main AMD CPU, since it wouldn’t be needed for audio processing for PS3 titles.
The reason they won’t do it is because they don’t want to invest the time and money. They are afraid that relatively few users would take advantage of it. But they could certainly make it happen if they wanted to and the PS5 could easily emulate the hell out of the PS3: it has the raw power to do it plus the Tempest could be levied to accelerate SPE functions in hardware.
@TheRedComet I can see why Sony won't do it though because yeah is it worth the time and money if so few care, many of the big hitters have PS4/PS5 remasters or remakes as well. The reason MS invested heavily in it was to make them look good, they had to find ways to combat the PS4 and so they did. I wish Sony would try to get PS3 games on PS5 as i would kill to play Infamous 1 and 2 again as well as MGS4 but i do get it why Sony won't do it.
@TheRedComet i don't know why people don't understand this , its not happening , its like 0% ever going to happen. would i want it happen? sure i would love to be able to pop in my ps3 disc and play it on the ps5. but im not going to sit around for something i know that won't happen. it's why i still have a ps3.
@twitchtvpat
I agree, it won’t ever happen mainly because gamers probably won’t ever use it. Sony would immediately regret spending the money.
Even with my PS5, I only have a handful of PS4 games I play. Right now that’s solely Dead or Alive 6. The majority of my active library is PS5.
BC is one of those things where people beg for it, but the stats don’t lie. People tend not to use it. Because of a little thing called time. You only have so much time to game, unless you’re a kid on weekends. Most gamers are adults with jobs. I work 50 hours per week plus I have other stuff I have to do when I’m off.
So even though I’d like to see it, it is something I would only use once in a while. If I’m going to spend the hours on a game, I want it to be a game that was designed for my 500 dollar console. I imagine many gamers have the same issue.
@WallyWest
As much as I loved the PS3, there’s not much I want to revisit from the era. Pretty much MGS4 and Killzone 3. Issue is that I’m pretty sure Sony wouldn’t spend the money reactivating the multiplayer servers for KZ3. And that’s all I really want to do again.
@TheRedComet i hear you , i wish more time for games , don't get me wrong i enjoy playing games still , i still try to put a small time aside for gaming. but it doesn't hold my attention like it used to. games like horizon take me forever to finish.
My decision entirely rests on what kind of lineup the classics have.
They'll probably save the reveal of the initial lineup for a State of Play or Showcase, right before the June launch.
Jim Ryan is completely clueless so his opinion on how great the games look is irrelevant.
This is the guy who tried to stop the sale of PS3 games last year... Clearly to make way for this subscription service.
Everyone who owns some PS3 era PSN games should be allowed to use the PS Now versions at absolutely no cost.
At least tell us what the games are so I know what I’m not spending my money on
I must say that Forza and Halo also look great on Xbox X. Nintendo proved multiple times that it’s the games that matter. Not the hardware, Ps vita was running circles around 3ds but still failed bad
Here's hoping that the "remaster via asset swapping" patent is at play here - as an option.
Jim would do well to use the launch to poke some fun at himself for the GT2 comment he made a few years ago.
Isn't it just games that are available on PS Now? I don't know what's on ps now, as I've never gotten it, but assumed it has ps3, ps2 and ps1 games.
@Snake_V5 UK is in Europe. So if they say it'll come to Europe, then we'll get it too.
Jim Ryan: nobody wants to play older games on new hardware because they look terrible , nobody wants backwards compatibility on ps5 .
Remember that comment ????
But here we are .....bare that in mind
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