Shuhei Yoshida: "We believe in the premium release of a title" before subscriptions
But PlayStation Indies boss says platform holder is still experimenting with its revamped Plus service, as shown by Stray's inclusion for Extra users
At GI Live: London today, head of PlayStation Indies Shuhei Yoshida talked about Sony's approach to its revamped PS Plus service and in particular its top tier, Extra.
Unlike Microsoft's approach with its Game Pass service, where most first party Xbox titles come out day-and-date on the subscription service, Sony still believes in the "premium release of a title at launch," Yoshida said.
The previous version of PS Plus had some games going live day-and-date such as Rocket League and Fall Guys, and Yoshida said it did contribute to their success as it helped give these online multiplayer games quick access to a large audience.
But the new multi-tier PS Plus is a different approach.
He explained that the added value is elsewhere for developers and publishers, giving titles an additional revenue stream later down the line in their lifecycle, much like films.
"The new PS Plus has tiers and essentially it’s like the old PS Plus, we still release two or three new games every month and a new tier, Extra, has a catalogue of hundreds of games for people to play. For Extra, our approach [is] we like to help the publishers [with] lifecycle management. I was managing first-party [at PlayStation] so I know that it’s like in the movies — a movie comes out at the theatre first, then goes to pay per view, or a subscription service, or free TV, every time generating new revenue and reaching out to a broader audience.
"In the same kind of way, we believe in the premium release of a title at launch and after maybe six months, or three months, or three years, when the game's sales come down, inclusion into this service, PS Plus Extra, can help introduce these games to new, broader audiences. Some people might have missed these games when they came out and it’s a great chance to play and generate word-of-mouth or if there’s DLC or a sequel going, we can help elevate interest to a broader audience about the franchise.
"So we are encouraging publishers to make use of these services in managing the lifecycle of each title."
Later in the talk, he addressed that subscriptions services are still "kind of experimental for [Sony] at this point," but Stray, which released day-and-date on PS Plus Extra, was a good example of success for both the service and the title.
His comments echoed those of PlayStation boss Jim Ryan, who told us back in March that the platform holder's games could suffer if they went straight into the subscription service at launch.
You can watch the full session with Shuhei Yoshida below:
