Bloomberg is reporting that Sony will reveal its new Spartacus subscription service as soon as next week.

[Instant Vintage]

I'm not even going to get excited, as I'm sure it's going to be as bare bones as possible.

I wonder what they are going to do for folks who have multiple years stacked, like me.

 

[Det]

Not much new info aside from announcement next week.

 

[Disco Infernal]

Hoping for something better than GTA+, not confident it will be. I got six years locked for PS+ already, so if this is good I hope they make it easy to transition to it.

 

[rude]

Doubt Spartacus is going to magically run PS3 games natively.

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I thought that was what it was. nvm then.

 

[Helix]

 

[Tmespe]

I have very low expectations and I'll still probably be disappointed.

 

[NotVeryFriendly]

Excerpt from Terminal

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Going to be really interesting to see what sort of extended demos they mean here and if it's still the up to date plan:

> Documents obtained by Bloomberg last year showed the most expensive tier will also give players access to extended demos and the ability to stream games over the internet.

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If this is something exclusive to the most expensive tier, it reads to me like it might be their alternative to giving the game free day one (e.g.might be a time-restricted demo of a game day one) but I wonder how the last year has changed things.

That might not be compelling in the current marketplace (depending on how expensive that tier is versus the others).

 

[SoulsHunt]

I want news on new games but well, curious.

 

[Tora]

Definitely interested. I wonder if they'll offer introductory pricing

Your Horizons and GT7's don't interest me but I wouldn't mind demoing them if not to just appreciate the graphics haha

 

[Lobster Roll]

Not optimistic on this, but I'd be happy to be proven wrong.

 

[NowhereFaded]

Just paid for a year of plus. Here's hoping I can upgrade for a discount.

 

[Dust]

Please don't be priced outta ass and please don't phone this in Sony.
Also anyone expecting Game Pass copypaste will be disappointed. Expect PS+ but with PS Now catalogue offering.

 

[a Master Ninja]

All I care about is if this brings actual native backwards compatibility alongside it or just streaming of PS1/PS2/PS3 games.

 

[Man Called Aerodynamics]

Way more excited about the potential return of classic BC support than whatever minor reconfiguration/rebranding they're making to PS Now.

 

[zombiejames]

My hope is that while they won't have day-one releases, first-party titles will still show up on the service after a certain amount of time like EA Play. I think that would be a good compromise.

 

[Heliex]

Been holding off on renewing PS plus or PS Now for a year's worth for a while. I'm hoping this is worth the wait.

 

[ghostcrew]

My guess is people will be decently disappointed if they try to compare it directly to Game Pass, because Sony is not going to put their AAA single-player $70 retail games on Spartacus day one.

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The comparison to Game Pass that id like isn't even Sony's games, it's regular day one third party stuff and plenty of games every month (well, more than the four games a month we get with PS Now). I want Sony to be throwing money at indies the same way Xbox does.

That's what would make it 'Game Pass-like' for me. I think we've all realised that Sony won't put their stuff in their day one.

 

[ShadowGP]

Οκ time to add one year of Plus before the news hit.

 

[DC5remy]

will it have Xbox Game Pass on it?

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Shame on you. But good one.

 

[ZeroNoir_]

Please launch in Latin America. How we haven't gotten PS Now yet is baffling.

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get an USA account. We LATAM are 6th tier to them

 

[ghostcrew]

I thought that was what it was. nvm then.

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I mean it might do! I don't think there's been any hint of that though. I'd love to be wrong.

 

[Det]

The comparison to Game Pass that id like isn't even Sony's games, it's regular day one third party stuff and plenty of games every month (well, more than the four games a month we get with PS Now). I want Sony to be throwing money at indies the same way Xbox does.

That's what would make it 'Game Pass-like' for me. I think we've all realised that Sony won't put their stuff in their day one.

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Throw in a few million GT7 credits a month. Semi-joking but that may something they do with all the live service games planned.

 

[vivftp]

I have Plus till 2025 I think. Hopefully I won't have to pay a single dime for Spartacus.

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That'll likely get you tier 1 of Spartacus. You'd likely have to pay more for higher tiers

 

[Helix]

Shame on you. But good one.

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I'm just looking out for a good deal is all

 

[PlanetSmasher]

The comparison to Game Pass that id like isn't even Sony's games, it's regular day one third party stuff and plenty of games every month (well, more than the four games a month we get with PS Now). I want Sony to be throwing money at indies the same way Xbox does.

That's what would make it 'Game Pass-like' for me. I think we've all realised that Sony won't put their stuff in their day one.

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Yeah. I still think folks will probably want to meter their expectations. I just don't see Sony wanting to give up the software sales revenue for new games the way Microsoft is willing to do just to get eyes on their service.

My guess is it will mostly be games that have been out for a year or more and then the occasional day-one third party launch due to an exclusivity deal. If I'm wrong, cool, but I think the safest expectation is to assume Sony's offering will not be as focused on new content as Microsoft's is because they frankly don't need it to be.

 

[Zebesian-X]

Matching Game Pass will be very hard, so curious what Sony's plan is with this thing.

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It won't be able to match Game Pass but I think there's still a lot room for it to offer people value, despite the lack of 1st Party day one content.

We'll see what they do with it.

 

[gabegabe]

This is horrible for the industry, it'll destroy games as we know. Sony will turn God of War, The Last Of Us, Horizon to GaaS to keep people subbed to it. It's terrible news.

/s

 

[Noppie]

My guess is people will be decently disappointed if they try to compare it directly to Game Pass, because Sony is not going to put their AAA single-player $70 retail games on Spartacus day one.

There will probably be a value proposition, but people expecting a one to one "Game Pass, but Sony" will be pretty frustrated with what they offer.

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I'm not even thinking mainly on first-party. With game pass, I've been able to try out more indie games than I've played before. The aspect of being able to approach a broad range of games like demo's, try them out with a decent line-up of day one releases (again, not necessarily first-party as I really don't expect that from Sony) and a solid line-up of third party games is what makes Game Pass worth it to me.

I'd at least hope for that to be a thing, to a certain level. Not sure what Now has to offer in it's current form though, so that might already be a thing and including that with Plus could make for a solid service IMO.

 

[mute]

Just give me access to my PSone classics you cowards.

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Not expecting this at all, honestly

 

[Hyun Sai]

 

[platocplx]

Yeah. I still think folks will probably want to meter their expectations. I just don't see Sony wanting to give up the software sales revenue for new games the way Microsoft is willing to do just to get eyes on their service.

My guess is it will mostly be games that have been out for a year or more and then the occasional day-one third party launch due to an exclusivity deal.

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This service will always be complementary to their traditional stuff imo. I don't ever see them moving far away from the traditional stuff just to hedge their bets on this stuff, but it allows them to have something they could pivot to in the event they see things change imo.

 

[Turkoop]

 

[BringBackSonics]

Interesting to see what it looks like.

 

[Glio]

I hope their sources are right this time.

 

[Precious Tritium]

All I care about is if this brings actual native backwards compatibility alongside it or just streaming of PS1/PS2/PS3 games.

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It will be streaming for PS3 no reason to expect anything else.

 

[TheJollyCorner]

I'll be so fucking pissed if PS1/PS2/PSP classics are locked behind the most expensive tier and/or I don't have access to the digital classics I paid for back in the PS3 era. I just want to play the PS Classic version of Suikoden II and RR4 without having to drag the PS3 out.

Spoiler

That's totally what Sony is going to do, isn't it? :(

 

[Alienous]

I'm excited to see how shit this is.

 

[WillySJ3]

get an USA account. We LATAM are 6th tier to them

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Less than that 😐

 

[Bradbatross]

The most important thing for the service will be the quality of games they add every month, because the other reported/rumoured features will not keep people subbed long term.

 

[PlanetSmasher]

This service will always be complementary to their traditional stuff imo. I don't ever see them moving far away from the traditional stuff just to hedge their bets on this stuff, but it allows them to have something they could pivot to in the event they see things change imo.

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That's kind of what I mean. Right now, Sony doesn't need the userbase injection of "LOOK GUYS FREE DAY-ONE AAA GAMES!!!!!!!!" that Microsoft has been using as a trojan horse to convince people to buy Xbox consoles. For Sony it'll be more "hey you want to play some stuff you missed? subscribe and you can try it for free!" - Sony still WANTS that upfront cash from new first and third party software sales in a way I feel Microsoft has built their current strategy around NOT getting.

But in the event things change markedly, Sony can always start launching AAA new games day one on the service. They won't do it at first and they won't do it unless they have to, but starting the system this way gives them a nuclear option they can lean on in an emergency.

 

[canderous]

Be interesting to see if the rumors are true that the top tier costs more than GPU, and if so how they will justify that. I hope it's good.

 

[Trigger]

I'm down if it means I can play more of my older stuff.

 

[Casa]

Feels kinda dumb that Jason keeps calling this a Game Pass competitor with what info he's reporting it offers. It's just setting up people for disappointment when the service doesn't feature THE main appeal of Game Pass.

 

[Richietto]

I can't help but feel this service will be a massive disappointment.

 

[Trup1aya]

A decent offering here would be a entry point for me into Sonys ecosystem.

I'd be quite happy if i could experience both Xbox and Sony's next gen offerings w/o needing their hardware.

But I'm skeptical Sony will do much to make this worthwhile

Feels kinda dumb that Jason keeps calling this a Game Pass competitor with what info he's reporting it offers. It's just setting up people for disappointment when the service doesn't feature THE main appeal of Game Pass.

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I'd say consumers and media would be making this comparison anyway, so if it doesn't stack up well against GP, then any disappointment people feel would be on Sony.

 

[TheJollyCorner]

All I care about is if this brings actual native backwards compatibility alongside it or just streaming of PS1/PS2/PS3 games.

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I don't know jack shit about the tech, but would PS1 games even be possible with native BC since the PS5 doesn't have CD-reading capabilities?
Or are we thinking 'native discs + emulation'? I don't know how any of this works, lol

 

[Dyle]

But what will it be called?

Playstation Plus Pass
Playstation Plus + Now
Playstation Now+
New Playstation Now+
New Playstation Plus Now
New Playstation Super Ultra Turbo Championship Edition Alpha Plus Now + New Funky Mode Featuring Dante from the Devil May Cry series and Knuckles

 

[TingfrmNongPradu]

I have low expectations for this honestly.
Sony and value are not two words I'd put together right now.
But who knows? I'll definitely keep an open mind, however.

 

[gifyku]

If this is like Disney+ with Sony games coming to the service within six months, I am in. As an exclusives machine, my PS5 is sitting unused especially since GT7's launch fiasco. (Have to hop back in after the latest update though.)

My guess is they will also have some decent third party games not on Gamepass

 

[froginhotwater]

I have a feeling it will include some first party offering but only free demos for now e.g. like they started to do with Sackboy etc. My most optimistic self would like to see some neat day 1 indie drops too.

Just paid for a year of plus. Here's hoping I can upgrade for a discount.

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[insert gif of Jim Ryan laughing] - no but seriously I did the same, so hoping we'll be able to as well.