There has been 168澳洲🐽൩幸运5开奖网:a lot of excitement about the recent PS+ Premium reveal, the sort of Game Pass competitor that's actually more of a Nintendo Switch Online competitor, and with good reason. There will be over 400 PS4 and PS5 games at launch, although since there are around three PS5 games, it's basically 400 PS4 games, plus an as-yet-unknown number of PS1, PS2, PSP, and PS3 games. I'll be going to bat for a couple of my favourites in the coming days, but amidst all the buzz, there are two details worth examining. First, there will be 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:no new games at launch, but I already mentioned that gaping hole in Sony's strategy when I compared it to NSO. What also came out today though is that the platform will feature limited game trials, a feature that sounds good on paper but has never really worked in reality.
There are three tiers to Sony's new program, and the most expensive tier will include these limited game trials. If you're not sure what a limited game trial is because of the marketing jargon, they're demos. Usually, they start at the beginning of the game and give you X amount of hours of access, or access until you hit Y plot point. Ideally, your progress then converts into the main game should you choose to buy it, meaning you won't need to repeat it. EA Access used to offer something similar, often a few days before the game launched properly. With EA Access though, it wasn't so much a trial as a little taste after you'd already ordered. It was that first sip of wine the waiter poured. Technically, you can still send it back if it's not to your taste, but no one really does that.
PS Premium's trials are different - they are bona fide 'try before you buy' demos. Only, it's not before you buy, it's after you've paid $17 a month for the opportunity. Demos have mostly gone away in the modern era. Games have a lot more moving parts and are usually not playable until right up to release - many times during a review period we get several patches that help whip the game into shape, and it's likely publishers would not want to give a bad impression of their game by letting the general public see the review builds. Once a game is out, though? There is little to stop developers from letting us try out a few hours before we dive in.
Previously, we might have given studios the benefit of the doubt. After all, demo disks aren't a thing anymore, so it would be a download. Would the demo require a 100GB install which houses the entire game, but locked it off after four hours? Would there be a separate demo download file, and if so, how easy would it be in the digital age to have progress move across? I was prepared to give developers a chance. But now it seems letting players try before they buy is easy... as long as they give you $17 first. Sure, there are other things included, and I think until we see the library in full, it will be difficult to gauge the value objectively, as well as the thumb on the scale that a cherished but forgotten PS2 gem being included leads to an inflated subjective value. The price is what it is and I can't say whether or not it's fair yet - but I can say I don't think it's fair that only top tier subscribers should be able to try out a $70 game before offering up the cash.
Then there's the lack of clarity over how this works exactly. First party titles only? Every game that launches on PS? Every game on the subscription service, meaning only games that are free anyway? Imagine what might have happened if Cyberpunk 2077 had been offered on a try before you buy basis. Many would have trusted CDPR anyway, but those sensible enough to go for a test drive would have avoided the whole refund shenanigans. CDPR even began to offer a free trial to current-gen console owners after the release of its long-awaited upgrade.
There are some other flaws with the system - it's not Game Pass, it has only revealed a handful of its allegedly deep roster, some titles will be streaming only - but the worst part about the trials is they're not a flaw. They're just being executed extremely poorly. Game demos matter more than ever now as we move towards the digital space and video games now have no resale value. Bringing them back is a great idea. Bringing them back for $17 a month and only for certain games you're already paying for stinks.
