Sony’s PlayStation Plus continues to be a focal point for gamers, both for its offerings and recent developments. With new games arriving in September, there’s buzz, criticism, and speculation about what lies ahead for the platform.
According to a leak from the regular Dealabs user Billbil-Kun, a new lineup of games are coming to PS Plus Extra this September.
Notably, the list includes Nier Replicant, the remake of the once lesser-known action RPG that garnered attention after the popularity of Nier Automata. Also included in the leak is the strategy-meets-visual novel game, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, the latest title in the Star Ocean franchise, Star Ocean: The Divine Force, Civilization VI, Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2, and the indie puzzle game, Unpacking.
EXCLUSIVE
🚨 PS Plus Game Catalog additions 🚨Here are the headliners of the next batch of PS Plus game catalog for Extra & Premium members
⌛️From Sep 19th#PlaystationPlushttps://t.co/COHWCEllxa
— billbil-kun (@billbil_kun) September 11, 2023
This leak, if true, brings a substantial addition to the PS Plus library. However, these games aren’t universally accessible to all PlayStation Plus subscribers. Only the Premium and Extra tier members can get their hands on these titles, setting them apart from the Essential games, like Saint’s Row, which are available for all.
While the inclusion of these games is a win for gamers, there’s a shadow of price hikes looming overhead. Just recently, Sony increased PlayStation Plus subscription prices by a substantial margin, with prices for 12-month subscription plans across all tiers going up significantly. This has ruffled the feathers of many in the gaming community, leading to doubts about the value proposition of the service, especially in light of its main competition, Microsoft’s Xbox game Pass. The new offerings, while not inherently bad, don’t justify the price hike.
It certainly doesn’t help that the announcement comes shortly after the revelation that the price hike makes the PS Plus economically unviable in certain countries like Turkey and the fact that the earlier PS Plus Essential lineup left much to be desired.
We’re still genuinely curious about the lack of inclusion of remasters of Baldur’s Gate 1 and/or Baldur’s Gate 2 nor Larian Studios’ OG pair of CRPGs, Divinity: Original Sin or its sequel, Divinity: Original Sin 2. Although Baldur’s Gate 3 is headed to the Xbox (with concessions) later this year, the GOTY frontrunner was a pseudo-exclusive to the PlayStation 5 for a time, seeing a huge bump in sales.
While it’s impossible, Sony may want to reconsider adding first-party games to the more expensive tiers of the PS Plus, even if they aren’t the latest titles, if only to provide a clear value proposition.
Make no mistake, the price hikes weren’t unjustified. Inflation, the increased costs of operation, and Sony’s target profit margins as well as investments for additional research, presumably to improve the company’s PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 emulation efforts, were bound to affect its pricing.
The Xbox Game Pass had already increased its prices earlier, even removing its cheapest trial offer in an effort to pad subscriber numbers ahead of Starfield’s launch – this seems to be working, by the way, so Kudos to Microsoft for taking the risk.
But, while several factors affect the price increase outside of the common narrative, being that of corporate greed, this hasn’t stopped users from voicing their discontent, as they should. At the very least, Sony could do more to add value-added services to the PS Plus. Case in point, Sony, which owns the anime streaming platform, Crunchyroll, could bundle it into the more expensive PS Plus tiers.
As for the actual added PS Plus Extra and/or Premium content for the month, most, especially JRPG fans, are happy. In particular, Star Ocean’s inclusion in the PS Plus roster is a treat given that it’s a recent title. Still, the consensus is that the subscription price leaves a sour taste. Still, as with all things gaming, tastes are subjective. While one gamer doesn’t see the value in the new offerings, another might be ecstatic with the lineup.
In all, September’s PS Plus lineup is a reminder of the gaming industry’s constant evolution.
Whether it’s debates over pricing, the actual worth of offered games, or the anticipation of what might come next, one thing’s certain: The gaming community remains as passionate and engaged as ever.
Sony is reportedly planning to hold a showcase later this month. Finally, a leak suggests that a PlayStation 5 port of the GOTY contender, Horizon Forbidden West, is in development.
