2022 Game Deals, Subscriptions Etc.

[RIPPA]

Quote

PlayStation’s rumored Game Pass rival codenamed Spartacus has yet to be officially revealed. Bits and pieces have pointed to some of its features and pricing, but nothing has been concrete. And while these details still aren’t concrete since it is still unannounced, a new report has pointed to the service’s possible pricing tiers and set of features.

Games Beat’s Jeff Grubb spoke about Spartacus on his weekly paywalled show at Giant Bomb, Grubbsnax. However, he prefaced his reporting by saying that some of the information he has could be placeholder or outdated, meaning that it might not be 100% accurate by the time it actually happens (if it does). Regardless, Grubb said that it is “getting pretty close to it actually launching” and that by the end of this month or in early March, Sony wants it to hit some internal milestone so it can get ready to launch the service. This lines up with the timing from the initial Bloomberg that stated Spartacus was coming in spring.

He then moved on to the three tiers which he called Essential, Extra, and Premium. While he reiterated that the pricing could be placeholder, he said that Essential was $10 per month and is basically the current form of PlayStation Plus “with the monthly games like you know it today.”

Extra, the second tier, is $13 a month and gets access to the downloadable games catalog. Grubb said that “anything on PS Now that was downloadable will seemingly work here,” presumably meaning a whole host of PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 4 games will be accessible.

Premium is the most expensive, coming in at $16 per month, and comes with the biggest feature set. Grubb said it was “kind of” like EA Play where players get full game trials, but he wasn’t sure if that applies to “every single game that comes out.” He said that it “seems to be implying that,” though. He didn’t know how long said trials were though. For comparison, EA Play gives users 10-hour trials.

This highest tier will also have classic games and streaming (like PlayStation Now), which none of the other tiers have. However, he wasn’t clear on what exactly “classic” means here since there are plenty of PlayStation generations that could be included or omitted. The Bloomberg report from December noted that PS1, PS2, PS3, and PSP titles were going to be offered.

“You also get classic games and streaming,” said Grubb. “None of the other tiers have cloud streaming. You also get classic games. What does classic games mean? I’m sorry, I wish I knew. Some of it is speculation and there’s noise in the signal, basically. I do know that it is a major part of this premium tier, so you have game trials, classic games, and streaming on this premium tier.”

Exact details are scarce, but Grubb’s sources seem to be loosely matching what Bloomberg first reported on, given the three tiers, mash up of PlayStation Now and Plus, and spring 2022 release window. Sony has not spoken publicly about such a service, but Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan told TASS in November 2020 that there was “actually news to come” on some sort of Game Pass subscription, but said news wouldn’t drop that day. Sony also recently began pulling PlayStation Now subscription cards, giving more credence to its existence.

 

[Kevin Wilson]

There is something with those prices that doesn't add up, unless there is a lot more content that is still in flux (or there are big discounts for yearly subscriptions). It doesn't seem to really offer that much more than they do now and certainly doesn't seem to rival what GamePass is doing. People want new AAA titles on the service within a few months of launch which is the main selling point of GamePass I think, not game trials.

[Craig H]

14 hours ago, Kevin Wilson said:

There is something with those prices that doesn't add up, unless there is a lot more content that is still in flux (or there are big discounts for yearly subscriptions). It doesn't seem to really offer that much more than they do now and certainly doesn't seem to rival what GamePass is doing. People want new AAA titles on the service within a few months of launch which is the main selling point of GamePass I think, not game trials.

And it's not even AAA titles hitting Game Pass within a few months of launch. There's more and more AAA titles hitting Game Pass on day and date. If whatever this PSN thing doesn't do that, why would I even bother adding ANOTHER Game Pass like service when I'll just play Game Pass.

More and more, my PS5 is becoming the system that I will purchase a game here and there on if the performance on it is better than the Series X, or it's for Playstation Exclusives. Like with Elden Ring, it performs better on the PS5 so that's what I bought it on. Otherwise that system stays turned off unless my daughter and I want to play some indie games not available on the Xbox.

Of course, not everyone is so lucky to have both systems and so sole PS5 owners may just take what they can get.

[SirSmUgly]

As someone who is not interested in GamePass (I'm old and like to own physical copies of as many games as possible), but who is interested in easy access to PlayStation's back catalog, this sounds fine to me. 

I wish Nintendo would just ask me for fifteen bucks a month to access as much of their old back catalog as they can put up, too. IDGAF about day-and-date games because I'll just pay $60/$70 for the stuff that I am almost certain to like and then wait for discounts/Black Friday on everything else. 

[Kevin Wilson]

3 hours ago, SirSmellingtonofCascadia said:

As someone who is not interested in GamePass (I'm old and like to own physical copies of as many games as possible), but who is interested in easy access to PlayStation's back catalog, this sounds fine to me. 

I wish Nintendo would just ask me for fifteen bucks a month to access as much of their old back catalog as they can put up, too. IDGAF about day-and-date games because I'll just pay $60/$70 for the stuff that I am almost certain to like and then wait for discounts/Black Friday on everything else. 

I am sure there are gamers like you, and I'm not dismissing the idea of having a service that caters to gamers that just want to play older games. I'd enjoy that as well. But PS Now already does that to a lesser extent for $45 to $60 a year and its unclear how many new games they'll be adding that aren't already on the service to make it worth double the price. I just mean if they are doing a big splash to try to rival GamePass, the tiers as described above aren't going to cut it (but I recognize there may still be "more to come" and that's just an early rumor).

I have GamePass, PS Now, and Switch Online so I am very in favor of subscription services as long as they offer enough bang for my buck, but the highest tier better add a boat-load of older games to make it worth being even more expensive than GamePass.

[SirSmUgly]

Sure, I understand your perspective. It looks like Sony's trying to split the baby between

• Nintendo Switch and its NES/SNES and Expansion Pak offerings (and the expansion is way overpriced, IMO, for what it offers - they need to get GB/GBA games up on that tier ASAP)
• GamePass's Day One new releases

Personally, I don't put much stock in PSNow, which is pretty bad in terms of selection when it comes to PS3 and which has no PSOne or PS2 games. If they want to dump it entirely and give a more robust selection of games through this new method along with discounts and game trials, that's cool with me.

The Vita store is still up for now because of Sony fan protests, but Sony probably is ready to just offer PSP and Vita games in this way so that they can finally kill it off (which won't be great, but it is what it is - I think I bought everything that is must-have on my Vita already). And hey, it's much better than Nintendo deep-sixing the 3DS store and putting a load of 3DS games on ice for play or purchase with not even a rumored plan to make them playable somewhere else (especially the digital-only ones - I'm already prepping a FREE RUSTY'S REAL DEAL BASEBALL series of whiny online gamer posts for next year). 

Edited February 26, 2022 by SirSmellingtonofCascadia

[odessasteps]

Bunch of nintendo games on sale later this week on 3/10 for Mario Day. 

[Tabe]

Forgot to mention that Madden 22 is free on Amazon's Prime Gaming. 

[RIPPA]

Bundle for Ukraine (via itch.io)

$10 is the minimum for almost 1000 games, tabletop RPGs, books, comics and soundtracks

Goal is a million dollars - they are 95% of the way there

[Death From Above]

Hell it might be worth it just for Thirsty Sword Lesbians and Baba Is You, never mind the great cause

[supremebve]

37 minutes ago, Death From Above said:

Hell it might be worth it just for Thirsty Sword Lesbians and Baba Is You, never mind the great cause

I scrolled too fast and had a whole lot of questions about the latest version of Madden for a second. 

[Kevin Wilson]

F-Zero X dropping on Nintendo Switch Online + EP in two days:

 

[Death From Above]

One of my favourite racers of all-time, so much fun.

[NikoBaltimore]

Can't wait to play that after work.

On 3/8/2022 at 10:56 AM, RIPPA said:

Bundle for Ukraine (via itch.io)

$10 is the minimum for almost 1000 games, tabletop RPGs, books, comics and soundtracks

Goal is a million dollars - they are 95% of the way there

I got this the other day and already downloaded Superhot since I meant to play it all this time.  But aside from the two DFA mentioned with how varied the list is I'm down for any other recommendations.

[Casey]

7 hours ago, NikoBaltimore said:

Can't wait to play that after work.

I got this the other day and already downloaded Superhot since I meant to play it all this time.  But aside from the two DFA mentioned with how varied the list is I'm down for any other recommendations.

I’ve bought CrossCode twice, once on PS4/PS5, and then the physical version of the Collector’s Edition. It’s a really good game. GoNNER, Sundered, 2064: Read Only Memories, Baba Is You, Celeste, Jotun… shit, all of that plus Superhot is easily worth $10.

Edited March 12, 2022 by Casey

[NikoBaltimore]

Thank you kindly. My wife watches a lot of Let's Play types on YouTube so she's familiar/interested in a good chunk of them too. For $10 it's not only an incredible steal but also for a very great cause. You love to see it. 

[Death From Above]

Yeah Celeste is can't miss

[RIPPA]

I just discovered that Tunic was put on Gamepass and I know what is gonna start eating into my Destiny 2 time

[Craig H]

On 3/12/2022 at 12:37 AM, Death From Above said:

Yeah Celeste is can't miss

Celeste I think is one of the greatest games ever. Not just for the gameplay, but the narrative. I never thought a game would bring me to tears at multiple points, but that game did it. I really strikes a chord with my daughter and myself as we both have varying degrees of issues with anxiety and depression.

And I also just learned today on the Nextlander pod that Tunic is on Game Pass. I already went to the app on my phone to download it to my Xbox.

[Zimbra]

Heads up that today is the last day for that itch.io bundle for Ukraine.

I bought it even though I bought and still have not touched the giant bundle they did in 2020 for the BLM protests.

[Tabe]

Humble Bundle has released their own Ukraine bundle.  $40+ for 122 items.  Much bigger names than the itch.io bundle.  PGA Tour 2k21, Metro Exdous, Max Payne 3, Sunset Overdrive, Fable Anniversary, Spyro Reignited Trilogy, and more.  Included in the bundle is Nex Machina, which is GREAT.  It's a modern take on Robotron: 2084 and has an INCREDIBLE soundtrack.  Most of the stuff is games but there's also books, a Unity tutorial course, and game assets.

Edited March 18, 2022 by Tabe

[Death From Above]

4 hours ago, Tabe said:

Humble Bundle has released their own Ukraine bundle.  $40+ for 122 items.  Much bigger names than the itch.io bundle.  PGA Tour 2k21, Metro Exdous, Max Payne 3, Sunset Overdrive, Fable Anniversary, Spyro Reignited Trilogy, and more.  Included in the bundle is Nex Machina, which is GREAT.  It's a modern take on Robotron: 2084 and has an INCREDIBLE soundtrack.  Most of the stuff is games but there's also books, a Unity tutorial course, and game assets.

I only got about 10 hours into Satisfactory before the whole Elden Ring cycle took over my life but people really better not sleep on that game, it's so good.

[Zimbra]

Satisfactory rules but it's also an extremely slippery slope from "Haha, setting up conveyor belts is fun" to "I created all these excel formulas to load balance my oil production perfectly."

[Death From Above]

6 hours ago, Zimbra said:

Satisfactory rules but it's also an extremely slippery slope from "Haha, setting up conveyor belts is fun" to "I created all these excel formulas to load balance my oil production perfectly."

I want to stream the game at some point and make the most chaotic, inneficient factory possible just to troll people.

[Tabe]

If anybody wants my extra Steam keys for 911 Operator and Nex Machina, let me know.