Is PS+ evil?

Me and a few friends at work where talking about are ps4 the other day. We were talking about what games we had bought for the system.

After a short talk I noticed that my friends had all only bought one game for the ps4 (including myself). More shocking was one of my friends said "what's the point in buying games anymore, they all end up on PS+ at some point"

At that point all my friends agreed....

Now this really worried me.... They treat the PlayStation as a subscription based platform now, the pay a yearly sum of money then only play the PS+ games.

This started me wondering if this is a very clever plan buy Sony to slowly make the PlayStation more of a subscription platform?

Because what happens when no one is actually buying the games? Where dose the money go?

If it carries on like this I can see the games industry changing on Sony's side.

For example: If no one's buying games Sony could make every game free to play on PS+ but change £30 a month? (just a thought).

I started to worrie about this more when I read an article regarding games sold on the PlayStation and it said gamers had only bought 1.7 games between all the ps4s sold...

So what do you think, are we heading down a road of monthly paid subscriptions where we never truly own are games?

Am I worrying about nothing and should I just enjoy PS+?

Let me know.

If this was an industry other than video games, you may have a point, but when games sell at 60$ a pop, there's no benefit from swaying everybody into this "it'l be free eventually" mindset. More than anything, PS+ was just a way to swindle Playstation owners out of 60$ a year by offering a bunch of discount games at the cost of the subscription. It's a great deal, but it won't replace the standard new release, there's far too much money to be made off the current model.

AAA development will never be sustainable if it relied purely on a subscription model.

PS Plus is a very nice service, and in the last 12 months, the selection of "free" games has been more impressive than usual. I expect that has more to do with the PS3 nearing the end of it's lifespan, than it does with an imaginative world domination plot from a spy novel.

I'm not sure.

With most people I've spoke to and read on forums who own a ps4/ps3, they simply don't buy games and it seems to be a growing trend.

What happens if this trend of "waiting for games to release on PS+" gets bigger?

I do worrie that 2-3 years from now you will see subscriptions on the PlayStation. There already starting a subscription with PlayStation now so a subscription to ps4 games dosnt sound to unlikely dose it?

no offense but anybody who has that wait until its on ps+ mindset is an idiot. why wait years to play it just because you want to wait for it to be in ps+? with that kind of mindset, you'd be missing out on great exclusives like the last of us and beyond two souls (neither of which are on ps+). if you find a game you want to play then play it. don't wait for it to be on ps+ because you would be waiting a long time. if digital game rentals become a big thing then so what. it still doesn't take away the ability to go buy the game if you really like it.

I do buy the games but there's a hell of a lot who don't and wait for ps+ games.

I'll try and find the article later to post the link but it says on that, all the PlayStations sold and the average number of games bought is 1.7 where as the xbox one was selling 3.1 or something like that.

It's great we get ps+ and free games but I just wish more of the community on PlayStation bought more games to support the industry

Some games will never be on PS Plus like God of War 3, the Resistance Franchise, Killzone, Metal Gear Solid 4, and others due to their size. I do not wait for games to arrive on Plus. I am only doing that with a handful of games like Dishonored and Far Cry 3 based on the high profile titles we have been getting lately. I doubt many will sit around waiting for games to come to Plus. I have been lucky that almost none of the games I own have come to Plus except Demon's Souls.

@corb77: The games that come to ps+ all make money from the subscription. So everyone benefits. Not everyone thinks like that

whatever the future holds for the gaming industry depends on how trends evolve. you notice how last gen they started trying to push us into digital downloads instead of physical media? the industry wants it to eventually be all digital so they will have this DRM dilemma resolved. ps+ free games are a small step towards an all digital future. psnow [although i think it might be ahead of its time] will be another bigger step. digital versions of some games are starting to be sold cheaper to push the digital agenda further. its all steps towards the goal of an all digital, DRM future where once you buy the game it cant be sold or traded...youre stuck with it forever. so yeah, buy physical media whenever possible to keep the gaming industry vultures at bay.

I buy games for it when i can and when i see something i like for it. I bought Persona 4, AC Liberationa, Super Stardust Delta and Need for Speed Most Wanted. All really good games for it

The percentage of gamers with the patience to wait for a game to come out on plus(if it's even offered at all) is very small. This model won't replace anything, it exists to buffer the average gamer's library. Waiting and hoping for that AAA title of today will somehow end up on PS+ is not what the service is about.

I think it's evil because it fattens my back-log and it gnaws at me to know I have a bunch of games on my HD that I haven't started or finished!

Pretty much this, there hasn't been many times that i have bought games and they came up on ps+

The only game I finished that game out for PSN+ was Hotline Miami. lol

We didn't get that game here

UK ?

Nope, look in my signature :3

No ! lol :D

I have bought 8 Retail Playstation 4 games. "1.7 Games" is the official attach rate. But given that this is just the launch/launch window period. Then people may think that rate is too low. As for PS+ being evil. I like to think of it as a way to try games I may would never have bought. A nice way to experience indie games. So now that PS+ is required for on-line play. Having "free" game rentals is a nice bonus.

I will still buy and prefer physical games on disc over downloads. PS+ is a nice bonus. Will Sony turn PS+ and later Gaikai/Playstation now into a game streaming rental service. It is possible but it is unlikely. It would have the side effect of throttling the videogame industry. To a grinding halt.