PS Now: Bizarre Rental Prices May Make Streaming Service DOA
Sony paid $380 million to obtain the Gaikai game streaming service and transform it into Playstation Now to stream content to consoles and connected HDTVs. The service is currently undergoing a closed beta test by select PS4 and PS3 owners who have signed a strict Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). However, rental prices to stream games recently leaked and the response indicates that the PS Now may be dead on arrival when it launches if the prices hold.
PS4Daily was provided screenshots of various rental prices for different games currently available in the PS Now beta test. Older titles like Enslaved: Odyssey to the West can be rented for $2.99 for four hours, $5.99 for 7 days, $7.99 for 30 days, and $14.99 for 90 days. That’s not completely bonkers, but it gets much worse with newer titles.
For example, Final Fantasy XIII-2 is $4.99 for four hours, $7.99 for 7 days, $14.99 for 30 days, and $29.99 for 90 days. You can buy the exact same titles from Amazon right now for $17.79, just a couple of dollars more than a 7-day rental.
Meanwhile, Saints Row: The Third The Full Package is only available at the four hour option for $4.99 or 90 day option for $29.99. That’s available on Amazon for just $20.87.
Guacamelee! is another strangely priced title. It’s 90 day rental price is $14.99, which is the same amount that the game costs for the PS3 on the PSN Store.
As Kotaku notes, these PS Now beta prices are insane. The only possible hope is if Sony and the publishers make significant adjustments to the rental pricing model before it opens to everyone this summer. And by significant, I mean the price should be of equal value or less value than a used copy of a retail game or less than a digital-only title.
If these PS Now prices aren’t adjusted substantially, the backlash might be large enough that the service is dead on arrival. Such a backlash is already beginning on major gaming forums like NeoGAF and social media.
“I deleted PS Now from my PS3 yesterday. Next time I turn on my PS4, I’m deleting it from that as well,” NeoGAF user Moofers wrote.
“F*** PS Now. If you want to be interesting at all, you’ve got to come way down on those prices or just go the Netflix route with a flat monthly fee.”
@yosp rent a game in PS Now is more expensive than buying the retail version. Are you trying to destroy @PlayStation #NOVITANOBUY
— Fler (@silent_fler) June 22, 2014
Even noted Wedbush Morgan Analyst Michael Pachter had some pointed words about the PS Now rental prices.
My PSNow thesis has always been that publishers will only provide games when sales are near zero, and even then will expect high prices — Michael Pachter (@michaelpachter) June 21, 2014
That means PSNow won’t have a high perceived value proposition. The service is incredible, but selection = high prices = few users
— Michael Pachter (@michaelpachter) June 21, 2014
Playstation Now will launch for PS4 and PS4 users on July 31, 2014. Support for the PS Vita and Sony Bravia HDTVs will be added later. A subscription plan has not been announced by Sony yet, but one is planned. What do you think of the prices?
[Image via PS4Daily]
