The new PlayStation Plus rolled out in the USA this week, replacing PlayStation Now as Sony’s game subscription plan, but the new PS Plus has fewer games than PS Now did. Previously, PS Plus was Sony’s subscription service that offered online play and a small number of free games monthly, while PS Now was analogous to Microsoft’s Game Pass, a subscription plan offering access to hundreds of games. Under the new model, the game access of PS Now is folded into a higher tier of PS Plus, meaning PS Nowcan't be subscribed to independently. While advertised as an upgrade, intended to make PS Plus a better competitor to Game Pass, the new PS Plus is a step backward from PS Now, as the service appears to have lost more than 200 games.
Many of the high-profile PlayStation exclusive games are on PlayStation Plus now, including PS5 titles like Returnal, Ghost of Tsushima, and the remake of Demon’s Souls. PlayStation Now did not offer any PS5 titles, so these games do add some value to the service. Game Pass contains many prior-generation, backwards-compatible games originally released on the first Xbox or Xbox 360, but Game Pass’ day one releases draw the most attention. PS Now lacked current gen PS5 titles, so arguably Sony’s changes do put the service more in line with the competition. First party games like Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales as well as console exclusives like Death Stranding are now part of PS Plus at its higher tiers. This handful of eye-catching additions, however, come at a cost.
Many gamers assumed that with classics from PS1, PS2, and PSP coming to the highest tier of PS Plus, the total number of games available would increase from PS Now. Very few of these classics were actually added to the service, making emulation sound better than new PS Plus for fans of old-school PlayStation titles. Compared against PS Now, the service has lost more than it's gained, with players forced to trade a small batch of current-gen games and a paltry number of emulated classics for the loss of numerous prior gen titles and a higher price point. The upscaled PS2 games available under the Premium tier PS Plus are essentially the same titles that were already available as part of PS Now. Around a dozen new PS1 classics are available at that tier, which doesn't begin to do justice to the console’s library, and even fewer PSP games were added.
PS Plus Premium Lost Quality Games That Were Included With PS Now
According to PlayStation Lifestyle, there are more than 200 games that were available through PS Now which are no longer featured even with the highest tier of the new PS Plus. These include some of the most beloved classics of their generations. Japanese RPGs like Tales of Zestiria and the first two games in the series Trails of Cold Steel, the longest-running JRPG story, are now absent. Multiple entries from fighting game franchises such as BlazBlue and Guilty Gear have disappeared. Stealth-action games in the Metal Gear series have left the service. Bizarrely, even some Sony first-party franchises have been impacted, as the first three Killzone games have departed as well. A clear comparison of total games is difficult, as the new PS Plus now lists the same game multiple times if both PS4 and PS5 versions are available, making an accurate count difficult.
There are some upsides to the change, as those who previously purchased PS1 games through the PSN stores of the PS3 or the Vita can now access those games without a PS Plus subscription (if they happen to be among the dozen or so PS1 games currently available). This leaves Nintendo as the sole outlier that does not support any prior-generation purchases on current hardware, making Switch the worst choice for retro gaming fans. It's possible some missing PS Now titles may return to high-tier PS Plus, as suggested by the absence of Killzone games; the rollout was recent, and Sony may have been unable to add the full catalog at once. The possibility of more legacy console titles coming to the service also holds great promise, especially for those who invested heavily in prior-generation digital purchases. The new PlayStation Plus has potential, but at present, it is worse than PlayStation Now.
Source: Playstation Lifestyle