For a long time, if you wanted to play a game, you had to either buy it yourself or borrow a copy from a friend. Now, though, you have more options than ever, including Netflix-for-games services that give you access to a regularly-growing library for a monthly subscription fee.
This innovation in game distribution has recently emerged as another key segment for the top names in the industry to compete in, especially Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation. The respective subscription services of the two publishing giants, Microsoft Game Pass and PlayStation Plus, have drawn many comparisons to each other, which is only fitting, given that they more or less meet the same need: an affordable alternative to play games without own them.
If you are interested in any of the services, you are probably wondering which one is better. The honest answer is neither. Personally, comparing the two would be like comparing apples to oranges. While there are similarities between the two – even some aspects where one seems better than the other, I think it will ultimately affect your opinion, your taste in games and what system you already have.
But after a few months of trying both Microsoft’s PC Game Pass and Sony’s PlayStation Plus Extra, I think it’s worth taking a look at what the two services have to offer and how they compare.
Value for your money
If we are only talking about the price, PC Game Pass in the Philippines is the most affordable option. It only costs P119 per month. PS Plus Extra (US region), on the other hand, costs $15 per month, which is more or less in the P830 range when converted. That’s a huge difference in price. Other regions like Hong Kong offer cheaper rates for PS Plus Extra at about $75 HK or about P530, but even then Game Pass is more affordable.
There is almost no competition between the two regarding price, so it is better to look at the value you get for your money.
Both PC Game Pass and PS Plus Extra give you access to a mix of first-party and third-party releases, including some notable indies. The difference is that Game Pass has a more limited selection of about a hundred, while PS Plus Extra has about five or six times that, depending on the region you subscribe to. I’ll get to the games in the next part, but the numbers favor PS Plus – after all, it’s more expensive.
You can even upgrade your PS Plus subscription to Deluxe (or Premium in some markets) to get more games, including some PS1, PS2, PS3 and PSP favorites. If you are a big PlayStation fan, this is probably your best option. Just expect to spend more on your plan – $18 a month in the US to be exact, which converts to about P1,000 or $85 HK, which converts to about P600.
At the time of writing, Microsoft’s local service has only one tier unlike its counterpart in other markets.
Where Microsoft seems to have an edge over PlayStation is in its approach to day-one games. The former will let you play first-party exclusives on launch day, while the latter will require you to wait a year or two for the game to be added to the service. Day one access can save you thousands of dollars so you don’t have to pay full price for a new game.
Considering everything I mentioned, I think it’s still a toss-up between the two as to which one has the best value for money. If you want more games, go for PS Plus. If you want to save and usually play games at launch, try Game Pass.
Game Library
Okay, this is where the comparisons get trickier. Since PlayStation and Xbox have their own exclusive games, choosing between the two depends on which games you actually want to play.
From a general overview, though, it feels like Game Pass is leaning more towards multiplayer-focused games, while PS Plus prefers story-driven single-player games – at least that’s how it looks to me.
The exclusive offers on Microsoft Game Pass include the hello, gears and forza franchises, together with Sea of Thieves and grounded, to name a few – all of which rely on competitive and cooperative experiences. Then you have offers from third parties such as: Back 4 Blood, Rainbow Six Siegeand Dead in daylight. Your subscription also comes with EA Access, including games like Battlefield, Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare and FIFA.
Sony’s PS Plus library, on the other hand, includes PS5 exclusive versions such as Demon‘s souls and Return, both single-player games with multiplayer components. Other exclusive games are more story-driven games like Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Death Stranding: Director’s Cut, Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut, Until the Dawn, God of War and Days gone by. It additionally includes some third-party hits such as: Red Dead Redemption 2, Check, Final Fantasy Remake Intergrade and the recently released strayed. You also get access to Ubisoft Classic+, which includes most of the Assassin’s Creed catalog, including the latest issue, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.
These are all well-received single-player games that are definitely worth checking out if you haven’t already.
There are, of course, notable exceptions to the rule I just talked about, but if you need some sort of general guide, you can probably follow it. You can check out the full list of games available on each service by visiting their respective websites.
In my case, I’ve enjoyed Xbox Game Pass a little more than PS Plus Extra, just because I already own many of the games available on the latter. Otherwise, I’d probably get more out of my PS Plus subscription, as I spend more time gaming on my PS5 than I do on my PC.
Advantages
When it comes to extras, PS Plus Extra seems to have a slight advantage over Game Pass. In addition to the choice to subscribe at various levels, you get cloud storage for your saved games, access to online multiplayer and features such as Game Help and Share Play, as well as exclusive content and discounts. You also get up to three pre-selected games per month, the same games given to all PS Plus subscribers.
If you upgrade to PS Plus Deluxe, you can even enjoy limited-time trials of certain games, such as Horizon Forbidden West, as shown below. If you like the game enough to buy it, you can load up your trial progress and pick up where you left off.
As for Game Pass, arguably the best perk is the aforementioned day-one access to select games. It also includes exclusive discounts in case you want to own any of the available games from the library and an EA Play membership. Microsoft has yet to bring game streaming to the local market, so for now you’re stuck downloading and installing games to your hard drive.
The future
Both Sony and Microsoft are making great strides in the industry to expand their respective services. The two have raided development studios and publishers left and right in recent years to bolster their respective stables of first-party employees.
Microsoft has completed the acquisition of Zenimax, the parent company of Bethesda, which is behind franchises such as precipitation, elder Roll and Wolfenstein. Nearly the studio’s entire catalog is available on Game Pass, including blockbusters like Skyrim and Fallout 4.
Now Microsoft hopes to do the same with the Activision-Blizzard catalog as it continues to negotiate its takeover offer. If the deal goes through, you can probably expect the Duty catalog to be added to Game Pass, in addition to the publisher’s other properties. That’s an exciting possibility that could make Game Pass’s subscription price even more rewarding than it already is.
Sony has similarly bought out studios and publishers, the most significant of which is its acquisition of Bungie. The deal is particularly noteworthy because it is envisioned that the Destiny developer will contribute to PlayStation’s plans to release more live-service types of games.
It might be safe to assume there will be more multiplayer games in Sony’s lineup in the near future, which is admittedly very exciting. The move could serve as a good distraction between the company’s single-player releases and further filling up the subscription service catalog.
There are also a number of highly regarded PlayStation exclusives yet to be added to the PS Plus catalog, including: Ratchet & Clank: Rift Part and Sackboy: a great adventure. Maybe they can make their way to the service once the revenue streams for these games dry up. Their addition is likely to convince more PS Plus subscribers to upgrade or remain subscribed to the Essential or Deluxe tiers.
If you have a PC as well as a PS4 or PS5, I recommend giving both services a try, even if only for a month, to see which one works best for you. If budget isn’t an issue, having both can be beneficial. For example, I used Game Pass to replay Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegaswhile I plan to use PS Plus to checkout strayed.
Also, ask your friends what system they play on so you can find a game that you can all play together. That’s the great thing about these services: you all have access to the same catalog of games, so it’s just a matter of choosing what you want to play and jumping right in. And if you ever get tired of a game, you can try something different. – Rappler.com
0 Comments