Following on from the reveal that subscription services PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now will be combined into one and expanded in June, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan has been speaking about the decision to offer extended demos of new triple-A games instead of brand-new PS5 games right off the bat. Ryan explains that Sony doesn’t wish to break its “virtuous cycle” of quality releases and make its big games suffer in quality.
Speaking to GI.biz, Jim Ryan explains that he feels Sony is “in a good virtuous cycle with the studios where the investment delivers success, which enables yet more investment” and so on. Ryan adds that he believes “gamers like that cycle” and is worried that by offering new first-party titles on the rebranded PS Plus, the quality of the games will decrease.
Ryan claims that if PlayStation was to offer its new games on day one on PS Plus Premium, the “virtuous cycle will be broken.” He explains that “the level of investment” needed to develop its games “would not be possible… the knock-on effect on the quality of the games” Sony makes “would not be something that gamers want.”
While Jim Ryan also says that putting triple-A first-party titles on PS Plus Premium is “not a road [PlayStation will] go down with this new service,” he admits that “nothing is forever” and that PlayStation’s thinking can change in the future.
Don’t expect to see titles like the upcoming God of War Ragnarok on PS Plus Premium when it releases, at least, not straight away. Sony could change course on its decision, but for the foreseeable future, we’d bet on having to wait a good while before brand-new first-party games are available on the subscription service.
