Sony has an important economic reason for not including its triple-A games in PS Plus from launch.
Sony is undoubtedly living a golden age. PS5 is a huge success for the firm, and PS Plus is also an important revenue-generating machine. However, if we compare PS Plus with Xbox Game Pass, it is obvious that there are important differences between the two, and this constitutes a “disadvantage” for the Japanese company.
Microsoft bet on including its exclusive triple-A games in Xbox Game Pass from the beginning; however, Sony has not done so and seems unwilling to do so. Undoubtedly, this has an explanation; ultimately, it’s all about money.
Sony will not include its triple-A games from launch in PS Plus
For the Japanese company, its triple-A franchises represent a very important business model, starting from a very clear base: to sell as many games as possible to maximize profits.
Sony knows it would lose millions of dollars in unsold game copies if it launched on PS Plus, for example, the highly anticipated The Last of Us Part III. Recall that PS5 users and PS Plus members do not have to pay extra for titles to play them as they have access through the service.
So there is no doubt that Sony stands to gain from all this, and it is quite reasonable that the company does not want to give up the millions of dollars they earn from the sales of exclusive video games. On the other hand, Microsoft is fine with giving up some of the money it would get from selling its exclusives and has already stated that Starfield will be included in the Xbox Game Pass.
Despite this, Bethesda is confident that the game will sell well. I share this belief as long as the launch goes smoothly and the game goes on sale in a polished state. As for Microsoft, this approach allows them to offer a more attractive service and improve the Xbox ecosystem. This ultimately translates into more revenue and could help them close the gap with Sony. However, they will need Activision Blizzard for this.
Selling Sony’s exclusive video games
Sony, for its part, prefers to sell its games at €70 or e80 from the get-go to generate as much revenue as possible. This is normal, given that the company’s main concern remains money. To keep making money, the company will only release the exclusive game on PS Plus and PC if its sales have dropped considerably and it is no longer as profitable. This is one piece of Sony’s staggered plan mentioned earlier.
