While new consoles are exciting for a lot of reasons, it’s the little changes that can sometimes make the most impact. Obviously newer hardware means stronger graphics/processing power, which translates to better looking games. But user interface and store changes, which perhaps aren’t the most exciting things to come, are still nice to have. With every new console typically comes the improvement of the online services and features offered by each platform, including Xbox Live and PlayStation Plus.
With the PS5 on the way this fall, presumably PlayStation Plus will get the overhaul treatment with the new console generation. PS3 fans were initially skeptical of switching over to a paid online subscription, but PS Plus turned out to be a pretty solid subscription at the end of the day. This currently includes things like two free games every month, some of them major hits in gaming, exclusive discounts, among other things like Share Play and cloud saves. These will all presumably carry over to PS5, but like the console itself, PlayStation Plus will likely get some serious updates as well.
Of course, PlayStation Plus’ primary benefit is the ability to play games online. Obviously that kind of functionality is inherent, so don’t expect any major changes on that front other than better connectivity and reliability. There is one aspect of multiplayer that PlayStation hasn’t exactly had the best track record on that the PS5 could rectify, which is cross-play. Cross-play used to be taboo for Sony and PlayStation, considering how long it took for cross-play to come to Fortnite in 2018. Since then, heavy hitters like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Rocket League have gotten cross-play and are all the better for it. The PS5 would be better off openly supporting cross-play from the get-go instead of a case-by-case basis.
One aspect of online subscriptions that Xbox is handling very well is bundling services and encouraging value. Right now, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is one of the most popular services available to Xbox players because of that value proposition. Players get access to Xbox Live Gold as well as Game Pass for $14.99/month, whereas PlayStation still requires two different subscriptions for PS Plus and PS Now. Occasionally PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now discounts their subscriptions on sites like Amazon, but there’s no official bundle by PlayStation to consolidate the services into one monthly subscription like Game Pass Ultimate.
One of the best perks of PlayStation Plus is the free games, which Sony doles out every month. Each PlayStation Plus subscriber receives two free games for each month so long as their subscription remains active, ranging from the occasional small budget indie game to huge triple-A action games. August’s free games are a perfect example of this, with both Fall Guys and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered available. With PS5, PS Plus’ free games could potentially expand over time with the inclusion of PS5’s backwards compatibility. Plus the continual support of indie titles helps break up the triple-A offerings with up-and-coming new titles as well.
One of the unsung heroes of PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Plus is the ability to utilize Share Play. At the moment, two friends can both share screens to other PS4s, as well as pass the controller over to their friend and play together (just one player is required to have PlayStation Plus for controller sharing). It’s not often talked about, but it is a unique and helpful feature for friends who don’t live close by to play games together, especially in 2020. PS5 could potentially expand the service further, allowing for up to four players to share screens and potentially play co-op games together. The only issue with that would be latency and potential connection lag, but it would be a good expansion.
And of course, there’s always the wild card addition to the service that players aren’t necessarily expecting. Many of the early patents for PS5 stated that originally a mirrorless camera was intended to be bundled with the console, pointing to an expansion of console streaming on PS5. Streaming to Twitch from PS4 is a bit rudimentary, but if some unique features were to be included with PS Plus on PS5, perhaps more players would be inclined to stream from consoles.
On the flip side, Sony could dip its toes further into the game streaming market like Xbox and Google have been doing recently. Sony already has PlayStation Now for PS4 cloud gaming, but perhaps PS Plus users could have access to streaming to Android/iOS devices as well. For now, it’s not likely, as PlayStation is typically pretty conservative about new technology unless there’s little technical or brand risk involved.
Otherwise, any other change to PS Plus will likely be a welcome surprise from PlayStation. Like every new console generation, there’s always something new and unique on the horizon, so perhaps PlayStation players may be in for a treat this fall and/or next year.
The PS5 launches this holiday 2020.
![\"IT電腦補習](\"http://itteacheritfreelance.hk/test/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/logo2-2.png\"){kind=logo}
www.itsec.hk
www.itsec.vip
www.itseceu.uk
Leave a Reply