[Rumor] Sony developing game pass competitor; code name “Spartacus “. Merging PS+/Now.

[breakfuss]

I think tides are turning. Since brother duck loves to source Era I attached a recent poll. Keep in mind this place unabashedly leans Sony. You would have never seen these results even a year ago. I couldn't care less if PlayStation shifts their business model but clearly there's a disparity in perceived value between the platform end users. That's what should matter and you know you nikkas is shook when they start putting on their monocles and regurgitating financial earnings. It makes little sense to argue sustainability/profitability in the growth stage when we know they're amortizing investments in content. It took Netflix decades. It took Amazon decades.

I'm sure Sony has the cache with fans (including myself) to ride it out but it ain't going to last. Which is why we're seeing them prepare to make this move.

 

[Gizmo_Duck]

I think tides are turning. Since brother duck loves to source Era I attached a recent poll. Keep in mind this place unabashedly leans Sony. You would have never seen these results even a year ago. I couldn't care less if PlayStation shifts their business model but clearly there's a disparity in perceived value between the platform end users. That's what should matter and you know you nikkas is shook when they start putting on their monocles and regurgitating financial earnings. It makes little sense to argue sustainability/profitability in the growth stage when we know their amortizing investments in content. It took Netflix decades. It took Amazon decades.

I'm sure Sony has the cache with fans (including myself) to ride it out but it ain't going to last. Which is why we're seeing them prepare to make this move.

I’m not really sure what this is supposed to prove. You didn’t even say anything that contradicts anything i said

It’s not an either/or situation, microsoft can be successful with their model alongside sony, nintendo, and steam

Until i see a poll that states most people can live without a playstation in favor of xbox this gen nothing has changed. Everyone here, there and all over the internet will continue buying games on every other platform.

There are PC only users that won’t even open another storefront to play a game for free if its not on steam

 

[Koba St]

I think tides are turning. Since brother duck loves to source Era I attached a recent poll. Keep in mind this place unabashedly leans Sony. You would have never seen these results even a year ago. I couldn't care less if PlayStation shifts their business model but clearly there's a disparity in perceived value between the platform end users. That's what should matter and you know you nikkas is shook when they start putting on their monocles and regurgitating financial earnings. It makes little sense to argue sustainability/profitability in the growth stage when we know they're amortizing investments in content. It took Netflix decades. It took Amazon decades.

I'm sure Sony has the cache with fans (including myself) to ride it out but it ain't going to last. Which is why we're seeing them prepare to make this move.

That’s a hardcore gaming forum. Most hardcore gamers have all three consoles.

 

[winb83]

The big difference is Microsoft is putting all their chips into service now and becoming hardware agnostic. They’re taking the gamble with it because they have the golden parachute backing them, and frankly they have nothing to lose after last gen. Sony doesn’t have to take the loss on the chin right now, they are doing fine, same as nintendo. They don’t have to make ps now + ps plus into some big titan of a service meant to rival gamepass, they just gotta get more people to spend more money on ps plus, which they will.

You’d be surprised at how many people still don’t even know how many games are actually on PS Now and that over 400 of them can be downloaded. Once sony starts marketing Spartacus with the ps now offerings and legacy titles they’ll get the subscribers they need on top of still selling their big games direct to consumer. It’s not an all or nothing bet for sony right now and it wont be for a while and they know that

Sony like Disney is discovering now is going to find out that it's tough to keep a subscription service relevant when there isn't a constant flow of content. Disney+ exploded on the scene and racked up subscribers in the beginning and has since stagnated. You go on Netflix and they probably put out more content in a week than Disney+ does in a whole month because Netflix ramped up to that over years. Not all this content is super expensive hits but it all engages the subscriber base in a way that keeps them subscribed.

You say they don't need to make a service that rivals Game Pass and I say the existence and scaling of Game Pass is a threat to their current model in the same way that Netfilx was a threat to Blockbuster. By the time Blockbuster decided to really take what Netflix was doing seriously and go all in on combating them it was really too late. To me Blockbuster Total Access was far better than what Netflix was offering. I could get movies in the mail and watch them take them to the store and swap them out. Netflix had no physical stores. Hell Blockbuster used to let me swap them for video games too. As soon as I took the movie to the store they shipped out my next movie too. Ultimately a major investor that ran Blockbuster decided he didn't wanna go through the pain of the losses they would incur and gutted the response. The rest is history. The superior service and company lost out.

Sometimes you have to incur short term pain for long term gain. Sony should nip Game Pass in the bud right now while it's at it's weakest. What they shouldn't do is come up with some half measure response that dances around the main draw of Game Pass.

 

[Gizmo_Duck]

Sony like Disney is discovering now is going to find out that it's tough to keep a subscription service relevant when there isn't a constant flow of content. Disney+ exploded on the scene and racked up subscribers in the beginning and has since stagnated. You go on Netflix and they probably put out more content in a week than Disney+ does in a whole month because Netflix ramped up to that over years. Not all this content is super expensive hits but it all engages the subscriber base in a way that keeps them subscribed.

You say they don't need to make a service that rivals Game Pass and I say the existence and scaling of Game Pass is a threat to their current model in the same way that Netfilx was a threat to Blockbuster. By the time Blockbuster decided to really take what Netflix was doing seriously and go all in on combating them it was really too late. To me Blockbuster Total Access was far better than what Netflix was offering. I could get movies in the mail and watch them take them to the store and swap them out. Netflix had no physical stores. Hell Blockbuster used to let me swap them for video games too. As soon as I took the movie to the store they shipped out my next movie too. Ultimately a major investor that ran Blockbuster decided he didn't wanna go through the pain of the losses they would incur and gutted the response. The rest is history. The superior service and company lost out.

Sometimes you have to incur short term pain for long term gain. Sony should nip Game Pass in the bud right now while it's at it's weakest. What they shouldn't do is come up with some half measure response that dances around the main draw of Game Pass.

Hmmmm ok, I’m tapped out….lets see what the future holds

 

[bigdaddy88]

I need to play some old school tales and my ps5 arrive this week so am down. better not charge an arm and leg though

 

[winb83]

It makes little sense to argue sustainability/profitability in the growth stage when we know they're amortizing investments in content. It took Netflix decades. It took Amazon decades.

This is my point. Sony isn't just gonna overnight scale PS Now into a legit Game Pass competitor. It's going go take years. It's going to take them rethinking how they handle internal software development and how frequently they release games. Game Pass is still really in it's infancy. If they let Microsoft do this and not respond to it properly because they're not looking to change the status quo they're going to later find themselves scrambling to respond to a full blown subscription service that's properly delivering a constant stream of content.

Disney and Sony are in similar positions. Disney has more valuable IPs than Netflix but they can't produce enough content fast enough and the subscription numbers are stalling causing the investors to get antsy. The most powerful tool Disney has is their movies but they don't wanna cannibalize that and go all in on streaming all the while they're competing against a company that's all in on it.

You can't compete properly with someone that's all in on what they're doing when you're half in and half out. That's why Disney that has the more valuable IPs has to price their service at like $8 while Netflix can charge $18 and get away with it. Disney at some point will have to decide do they protect their legacy business or go all in on the future.

At some point Disney will discover that their attempts to preserve their legacy business will be in direct conflict with that Disney+ business model because these are two opposite directions. One demands the other be subservient to it.

 

[GoldenGlove]

And much like anything that doesn't automatically stick, get hype or generate big revenue Sony let's it lingers around until they abandon it or until someone else shows them the way.

Apple also moves like this

 

[GoldenGlove]

This is my point. Sony isn't just gonna overnight scale PS Now into a legit Game Pass competitor. It's going go take years. It's going to take them rethinking how they handle internal software development and how frequently they release games. Game Pass is still really in it's infancy. If they let Microsoft do this and not respond to it properly because they're not looking to change the status quo they're going to later find themselves scrambling to respond to a full blown subscription service that's properly delivering a constant stream of content.

Disney and Sony are in similar positions. Disney has more valuable IPs than Netflix but they can't produce enough content fast enough and the subscription numbers are stalling causing the investors to get antsy. The most powerful tool Disney has is their movies but they don't wanna cannibalize that and go all in on streaming all the while they're competing against a company that's all in on it.

You can't compete properly with someone that's all in on what they're doing when you're half in and half out. That's why Disney that has the more valuable IPs has to price their service at like $8 while Netflix can charge $18 and get away with it. Disney at some point will have to decide do they protect their legacy business or go all in on the future.

At some point Disney will discover that their attempts to preserve their legacy business will be in direct conflict with that Disney+ business model because these are two opposite directions. One demands the other be subservient to it.

This is why the rumors of Amazon buying AMC before the pandemic hit made since to me.

They could launch another tier to their subscription model that included theater viewings. Then if they wanted, have a schedule for viewings for their blockbuster shows. That would be a long term play tho.

 

[breakfuss]

This is my point. Sony isn't just gonna overnight scale PS Now into a legit Game Pass competitor. It's going go take years. It's going to take them rethinking how they handle internal software development and how frequently they release games. Game Pass is still really in it's infancy. If they let Microsoft do this and not respond to it properly because they're not looking to change the status quo they're going to later find themselves scrambling to respond to a full blown subscription service that's properly delivering a constant stream of content.

Disney and Sony are in similar positions. Disney has more valuable IPs than Netflix but they can't produce enough content fast enough and the subscription numbers are stalling causing the investors to get antsy. The most powerful tool Disney has is their movies but they don't wanna cannibalize that and go all in on streaming all the while they're competing against a company that's all in on it.

You can't compete properly with someone that's all in on what they're doing when you're half in and half out. That's why Disney that has the more valuable IPs has to price their service at like $8 while Netflix can charge $18 and get away with it. Disney at some point will have to decide do they protect their legacy business or go all in on the future.

At some point Disney will discover that their attempts to preserve their legacy business will be in direct conflict with that Disney+ business model because these are two opposite directions. One demands the other be subservient to it.

100% agree and that Disney comparison is spot on. Sony's beloved IP have gone largely uncontested for a minute so it's obvious why they move the way they do. Look at how long it took them to even get PSN going and in a competent state. I still fukk with my PS5 but I've noticed it's become a very intentional thing. I play its exclusives or games that do something with the dualsense and that is it. My gaming and spending habits have mostly changed this gen and it's crazy to see. That's the point people are also missing. Playstation may have a larger userbase (just off the strength of penetrating international markets) but the engagement of each is something entirely different. GP is a game changer. I just hope Sony's response isn't some half-measure.

I’m not really sure what this is supposed to prove. You didn’t even say anything that contradicts anything i said

It’s not an either/or situation, microsoft can be successful with their model alongside sony, nintendo, and steam

I'm not saying it's either/or. I'm not pining for a single platform to dominate like it's the 90s and 2000s. I'm saying Sony's current value proposition is not very good in comparison to Microsoft's and this upcoming pivot illustrates that.

That’s a hardcore gaming forum. Most hardcore gamers have all three consoles.

Yea I get that. The poll was meant to illustrate a) the growing change in era's attitude towards Xbox and b) how owners of both feel. If you read the replies in there it's a lot of people saying how the XSX is their daily driver and the PS5 has become the secondary console.

 

[The Plug]

If my PS3 purchases are transferable i'd be down for tier 3

Better to not be hopeful, we know sony doesn't care about the PS3.

 

[daze23]

I think it's clear that streaming and subscription services are what consumers want

 

[winb83]

I think it's clear that streaming and subscription services are what consumers want

Even beyond that is if Sony could grow a streaming service to say 50 million active subs paying $10 a month that's $6 billion a year in revenue. Their total revenue for digital and physical games in 2020 was $6.42 billion. Thing is that $6.42 billion is going to include what they made from third party licensing fees as well as their own games. That subscription revenue is just Sony's service alone generating that. The third party licensing fees would be on top of that $6 billion figure. It begs the question of what's the cost to produce that revenue and how long does it take them to scale the service to the break even point for what they're doing now?

This is a company that sells 100 million consoles at least in a generation. That's simply converting half of those console buyers into subscribers to that service. There's also still going to be people that don't buy into a subscription service that choose to buy the games as they always have.

 

[Lord Beasley]

I think it's clear that streaming and subscription services are what consumers want

subs and downloading is okay, but consumers shouldn't want streaming right now. that 10$ a month balloons when you add in everything else you're streaming. ISPs sneak and make you pay for unlimited data because you need an "ultimate" pkg (unless you're in an area with google fiber )

 

[Leasy]

Can't believe Sony Ponys arguing about a subscription service and day 1 games like it is not going to benefit the consumer. This is fanboyism to the fullest degree and none of you dudes work for Sony. Everything is going subscription base because it is guarantee profit for the holders. Microsoft Office is Sub based, Netflix, Disney Plus, Xbox Gamepass, Cable Television and the damn Internet.

Sony got you dudes believing Triple AAA games will suffer from subscriptions is the dumbest bullshyt I have read and seen on the internet. Like Bethesda Todd Howard said, Subscription base offers the opportunity to present games or ideas that doesn't rely on budget constraints or failure. This is the future and Sony is being left behind like Blockbuster, Kodak and other companies who failed to get up on the times.