Games With Gold Vs. PlayStation Plus For June 2014
The Games with Gold Vs. PlayStation Plus battle continues and both sides are continuing to ratchet up their offerings in order to entice gamers to their individual consoles. The June offerings for Games with Gold have brought Xbox One owners into the fold and PlayStation Plus has solidified what gamers can expect month to month for each of their 3 active platforms.
The Games with Gold service will be undergoing changes as Phil Spencer continues to restructure the Xbox Business Unit into a cohesive platform with a singular message. One of the chief complaints have always been that the Xbox Games with Gold offerings have been older and less appealing that Sony’s PlayStation Plus offerings. Polygon quoted Phil Spencer who spoke to them regarding the differences in the way to the two companies approach their programs.
The Xbox Games with Gold service has allowed gamers to retain ownership of the software they download, even if their Gold memberships lapse. In contrast to this, Sony’s PlayStation Plus service will not allow gamers to play or download PS Plus content if their subscription lapses, but it will be accessible again once the subscription is renewed. The core differences has made it harder for Microsoft to find publishers who are willing to essentially give away their games, but that might be changing in the near future.
One of the changes is that Games with Gold described on the Xbox News Wire is gamers will be receiving 2 games for the Xbox One this month: Max: The Curse of the Brotherhood and Halo: Spartan Assault. Xbox 360 owners will be treated to three game offerings including Dark Souls, Charlie Murder and Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition. The first discount of the program will also be available for Xbox One owners as Crimson Dragon is 50% off for Gold members.
In the Sony camp, the PlayStation Plus program will be reaching its 4th year milestone. As part of this milestone, Sony is making a couple of structural changes to the program to help eliminate some of the guess work around when games will be leaving the PS Plus Instant Game Collection.
Outlined on the PlayStation Blog, the first major change is that the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and PS Vita will be receiving 2 games in their respective Instant Games Collection. The games will launch on the first Tuesday of the month and be available for free download until the first Tuesday of the following month.
As for the offerings themselves, Sony has some heavy weight titles on the PlayStation Plus lineup. PlayStation 4 owners will receive Trine 2: Complete Story and Pixeljunk Shooter Ultimate. PlayStation 3 owners will receive NBA 2K14 and Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time. PS Vita owners will receive Terraria and Mutant Mudds Deluxe. As an added bonus, PS3 owners who also own a PS Vita will benefit from the Cross-Buy of Sly Cooper and get a copy for the PS Vita as well.
Our full breakdown for the Games with Gold Vs. PlayStation Plus comparison for June 2014 is below.
Halo: Spartan Assault (Xbox One)
Original Release Date | December 24, 2013
Games for Gold Release Date | June 2014
Current Price | $9.99
Max: The Curse of Brotherhood (Xbox One)
Original Release Date | May 21, 2014
Games for Gold Release Date | June 2014
Current Price | $14.99
Dark Souls (Xbox 360)
Original Release Date | October 4, 2011
Games for Gold Release Date | June 1 – 15, 2014
Current Price | $19.99
Charlie Murder (Xbox 360)
Original Release Date | August 14, 2013
Games for Gold Release Date | June 16 – 30, 2014
Current Price | $9.99
Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition (Xbox 360)
Original Release Date | June 7, 2011
Games for Gold Release Date | June 16 – 30, 2014
Current Price | $29.99
Crimson Dragon – 50% Discount (Xbox One)
Trine 2: Complete Story (PS4)
Original Release Date | November 15, 2013
PlayStation Plus Release Date | June 3, 2014
Current Price | $19.99
Pixeljunk Shooter Ultimate (PS4)
Original Release Date | June 3, 2014
PlayStation Plus Release Date | June 3, 2014
Current Price | $14.99
NBA 2K14 (PS3)
Original Release Date | October 1, 2013
PlayStation Plus Release Date | June 3, 2014
Current Price | $59.99
Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time (PS3)
Original Release Date | February 5, 2013
PlayStation Plus Release Date | June 3, 2014
Current Price | $19.99
Terraria (PS Vita)
Original Release Date | December 17, 2013
PlayStation Plus Release Date | June 3, 2014
Current Price | $14.99
Mutant Mudds Deluxe (PS Vita)
Original Release Date | December 17, 2013
PlayStation Plus Release Date | June 3, 2014
Current Price | $9.99
