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Yes but they can't do this often. Otherwise, PS+ will appear to be a service that push unpopular games to the consumers.
In these "promo", I would think Sony need to cough up bandwidth cost as both parties contribute in kind rather than cash.
I really think that ps+ games does include a good sum of money going back to the publishers, money that they very likely would never have seen without ps+ or a hefty price reduction. Usually there's a new game on the way which makes for good promotion , or there is a healthy amount of DLC for the game.
And the games doesn't live forever unless you keep on paying for ps+.
Follow up post on PS4 WebGL:
https://plus.google.com/app/basic/stream/z12cudsbrmakengkv23cvldatov4vjdid04
https://plus.google.com/app/basic/stream/z12cudsbrmakengkv23cvldatov4vjdid04
As was already mentioned if the install base of PS+ grows the publisher potentially loses money by releasing on PS+ versus retail and digital sales. If 1 Million download your game and Sony paid you a couple hundred thousand you lost big time, if 40 to 50k people download your game its not as big a deal.
Another potential issue is buyer reluctance - we already are seeing lots of discussion from gamers stating they expect to such and such title on PS+ in a few months so they don't intend to buy it.
Sony is going to need to identify new ways to attract publishers to PS+; money ultimately is what will do it but Sony doesn't want to be spending loads of cash each month to subsidize gamers entertainment. A couple alternatives are Sony shares the revenue generated from monthly subscriptions or work with publishers to provide a F2P alternatives that draws players into the game and then has them spending money.
One way I can see this working is if Sony fronts the publisher some cash and the publisher uses this to rework the game to facilitate F2P mechanics and then releases the title on PS+. As we get further into this generation this might be less necessary because developers will start to design more and more titles with F2P alternatives in parallel with the traditional version of the game.
Another alternative would be releasing early chapters of the game, say chapters 1 thru 4 of a 16 chapter title with the rest locked out unless you pay 10 dollars for 5-8, 9-11 & 12-16 respectively. The impact would be similar to a demo but without the time restriction. Essentially a version of episodic content delivery.
Regardless smarter people than me will have to work out alternatives and this issue runs deeper than PS+, there is a big gap between hits and everything else that developers create and their investors pay for. The reality is that at some point its too risky due to cost for developers to take chances. Gamers like to be entertained but they aren't very excited about paying 60 dollars every time they play a new game. They'll do it occasionally primarily with AAA big budget titles that are pretty derivative year after year but the market is much bigger than that.
The movie and TV industry give some clues about what can be done such as a combination of ads, drip purchasing (F2P) - this is essentially what GOT or Walking Dead do each year, you can go online and watch the first episode for free and then your cut off. Hopefully for them you're hooked and will sign up for the cable package that includes the show at that point. Regardless how ever it evolves some new distribution model is bound to become increasingly important bc retail, digital,used games and F2P is not providing enough alternatives, especially for small studios with great ideas but little to know capital trying to get a noticed.
That doesn't imply F2P is the only future though. There is also game subscription/rental model like NetFlix, GameFly. Or cheaper indie style games. Or premium blockbuster type titles that publishers make clear will not make it into PS+ in the near future.
The movie studios play with assorted rental and purchase models all the time. Game publishers may be able to do the same if they want to rope casual and core gamers in.
The movie studios play with assorted rental and purchase models all the time. Game publishers may be able to do the same if they want to rope casual and core gamers in.
Revenue != profit.
And how do you get 30 million subs on a platform that's moved 1 million units so far?
That's pure speculation. You can rest assured that games don't go free on PS+ until they have already wrung basically 100% of sales out of retail, you think sony + gang are stoopid and haven't thought of this until this forum came along and told them?
Like someone else said earlier in the thread, PS+ free games are comparable to steam blowout sales, they generate interest in DLC and sequels and things of that nature. You're no longer going to make much money out of the main game, so in order to make it available to more people you dangle it in front of peoples' faces cheap-cheap or for free.
These people are a tiny minority. You've had the same people saying for years that they'll wait for steam sales and 75% rebate before they'll buy New Game X, and PC game sale revenues are still higher now than they have been in a very long time.
Until PS4, PS+ was pretty irrelevant for most people. I for one, never bother, in spite of the good offers. My feeling is that PS+ will be a lot more relevant in conjunction with the PS4, so 30mil subscribers is not impossible in 3-4 years.
As for PS+GOLD - I would love to give Sony 20$ every month if the grant me access to their whole library of games (PS1 to PS4) for as long as I pay the subscription.
EA charging £8 more for download titles on PS4 than the same game on XB1.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...ost-an-eye-watering-63-from-playstation-store
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...ost-an-eye-watering-63-from-playstation-store
Silent_Buddha
Legend
I wonder if this is due to the popularity of the PS4 in Europe/UK. If you know most gamers wouldn't even think of getting the Xbox One, why not charge them a premium. Sure you might lose a few sales, but potentially more than make up for it with the premium. On the Xbox One they might be expecting a significantly smaller install base in the UK compared to the PS4 so lower the price to get as many sales as they can.
It's about the only thing I can think of. Especially when the price for DD games is exactly the same between the consoles in the US, AFAIK. And not surprising if you consider that install base in the US is likely to be much closer than in the UK/Europe.
Still seems a bit bizarre though.
Regards,
SB
Gradthrawn
Veteran
Never attribute to malice what could easily be attributed to incompetence.
Incompetence may potentially be too strong a word in this case. I know there is a general disdain for EA by a great many people, but this may simply be a honest mistake that hasn't been corrected yet in the run up to launch.
My guess is this will get corrected - there is no reason for the £8 difference.
@Buddha - PS4 is indeed more popular in EU, but UK is actually Xbox teritorry...
What I dont understand indeed is that there is no difference in price between DD and retail. I dont see why they are not willing to charge less for the DD, taking in account that there is no middleman retail chain involved and no cost for the physical media. Plus - you cant resell the DD...
@Buddha - PS4 is indeed more popular in EU, but UK is actually Xbox teritorry...
What I dont understand indeed is that there is no difference in price between DD and retail. I dont see why they are not willing to charge less for the DD, taking in account that there is no middleman retail chain involved and no cost for the physical media. Plus - you cant resell the DD...
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Billy Idol
Legend
Is it possible to gift games in PSN, similar to Steam?
Sony can't sell games below RRP without upsetting stores - and they still rely on sales through stores....
But, there's a possible PC parallel.
- most PC games are downloaded from Steam.
- Steam mostly sells games at RRP.
- resellers can sell games below RRP, for download through Steam.
Maybe the amazon shop will have the freedom to re-sell games below RRP?
Silent_Buddha
Legend
The problem there isn't just EA, if you read the article.
EA - PS4 games are 8 pounds more expensive and DLC is 3 pounds more expensive.
UBIsoft - PS4 games are 3 pounds more expensive.
So, it'd be weird if it was just a data entry error. Perhaps if there is enough of an internet rage explosion, EA and UBIsoft will remove that premium.
Even more bizarre if there isn't a price premium on the physical retail versions of those games. So perhaps it really is incompetence on the part of Sony with the pricing in their store.
Regards,
SB
The demand for DD is simply too low on consoles and as log as it stays this way they won't lower the prices.
I wonder why demand for DD is so low then...
Sony is the middleman. DD is about becoming the primary retailer not eliminating the middleman.
The infrastructure doesn't come free and it provides value through convenience. Its not like you can lose a title and go to Game Stop and get another copy. 100% availability 100% of the time is also not a reality in traditional retail.
Its all about maximizing profits as Sony is a business. Maybe the model will change but thats dependent on how the market will react. And there is nothing to say that the console market is anything like the PC market.
Furthermore, Valve doesn't have to maintain a relationship with other retailers. Sony may be giving preference to outside retailers during release while providing an DD sales opportunity post release after enough time has past where the DD sales don't affect retailer sales.
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