Sony's Making Desperate Moves Because Of Xbox
The 2020 console wars have officially begun now that both PS5 and Xbox X have been released worldwide, and it seems that Sony's CEO is fighting to pull ahead by hinting at a possible new Playstation feature.
In an interview with Tass, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment Jim Ryan was asked how the company plans to respond to Xbox's Game Pass. Ryan answered mysteriously with the reply: "There is actually news to come, but just not today." The monthly subscription service from Microsoft offers a catalog of more than 100 games for Xbox players, including PC and Android mobile, and the Game Pass Ultimate offers all these things plus Xbox Live Gold, as well as an EA Play membership.
The thing is, Playstation already has a subscription service: PS Now, which has been a feature on consoles since the Playstation 3. The cloud service allows players to stream or download over 800 games for a monthly fee. Sony also offers the Playstation Plus, a service that includes multiplayer gaming, store discounts, and two monthly games. Meanwhile, PS5 owners get access to several free games with the PlayStation Plus collection.
A recent article by Tech Radar compared the benefits of an Xbox Game Pass versus the Playstation Now subscription, and each service has its pros and cons. According to Tech Radar, PS Now has far more games, including big hits like The Last of Us, but it takes a while for big name AAA titles to be released, while Game Pass offers more exclusive day-one launches like the upcoming Halo: Infinite. The subscription prices for both services are the same, although Game Pass offers a 20% discount on purchases of its monthly downloadable game offers.
So what news could Sony's CEO be referring to? What features are yet to come in the future of Playstation online streaming? PS Now has more games available than Game Pass, but Xbox's Game Pass Ultimate offers a bundle that includes both Game Pass and Live Gold for $15.99. Meanwhile, PS Now and PS Plus are currently only available as separate subscriptions for $9.99 each. Maybe Sony has plans to offer their own bundle deal which includes both services in the future?
Sony is tight-lipped at the moment, but it is likely that they will have something new to announce very soon. In the meantime, Jim Ryan told Tass that he relishes the challenge of a Playstation/Xbox rivalry. "For me, it's great that there's competition," he said. "I think it makes us work harder. It avoids us getting complacent. It's great that the consumer has a choice. I think that's wonderful. We're happy and we're proud with what we have."