PlayStation’s been losing the “hearts and minds” war against Xbox Game Pass for too long — it just doesn't have a service that can compete with Microsoft's "hundreds of games for $15/month" elevator pitch. But that could all change very soon with something called "Project Spartacus."
Bloomberg reported that Sony could announce its oft-rumored Spartacus subscription service as early as the end of March. And if previous reporting is true, gamers can expect to see a new PlayStation offering built out of parts of its old services, combining the best of PlayStation Plus (online play and free monthly games) and the best of PlayStation Now (cloud gaming and a Netflix-like selection of free games) into one new business model with multiple subscription tiers.
As Sony gets ready to jump into a competition where it's already years behind, these are the most important things (within reason) that we want and expect to see out of Spartacus when it makes its official debut.
Make these tiers make sense
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According to Bloomberg, Spartacus is going to be separated into three tiers with unknown pricing at the time of writing:
The lowest tier: Existing PlayStation Plus benefits, like online multiplayer and free monthly games
The middle tier: PlayStation Plus features as well as a “large catalog” of free PS4 and PS5 games
The highest tier: All of the above, plus “extended demos,” access to some PS1, PS2, PS3, and PSP games, and game streaming over the cloud
That's already way too confusing for a new service, although it's obviously subject to change given it's not official yet. There just aren't enough perks to differentiate between the middle and highest tiers. A free selection of games should really be an all-or-nothing deal, without arbitrary separation between current-gen games and retro classics. Either we pay extra to get a rotating library of games, or we save money and only get the ability to play games online.
It’d be like if Netflix charged you $5 more each month for the ability to watch the first season of Stranger Things in addition to the most recent one.
Sony should get the benefit of the doubt while Spartacus remains under wraps, but based on what we know, the company needs to do more to make that middle tier a more appealing option, like offering at least some access to the classics.
Robust PlayStation Classics back catalog
The inclusion of classic games from past PlayStation consoles is one of the most exciting rumors about this upcoming announcement. While tons of Xbox and Xbox 360 games are easily playable on a Series X (with many of them receiving enhanced visuals), Sony hasn’t respected the PlayStation legacy quite as much in recent years.
Some PS1 and PS2 games, like Final Fantasy VII and Jak & Daxter, are playable on PS4 and PS5 if you buy them digitally, but it’s nowhere near an exhaustive catalog. Meanwhile, the PS3 has only gotten representation via PS Now’s cloud streaming feature. Lots of important games like Metal Gear Solid 4 have been stuck on PS3 for nearly 15 years, either because making them work on newer hardware is too difficult or companies just don’t want to put in the effort. That console was built around a unique "Cell" processor that didn't really catch on outside of the PS3, making PS3 emulation a particular challenge.
Spartacus is a huge opportunity for Sony to fix this. With huge sales numbers and dozens of beloved games, the PS1 and PS2 have bona fides that distinguish them as possibly the greatest gaming consoles of all time. Even the PS3, with its controversial $600 launch price and the omnipresent “PS3 has no games” meme, deserves love. Make it happen, Sony.
A real incentive for first-party games
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One surprising exclusion from every Spartacus rumor is day-one access to first-party PlayStation games like Horizon and God of War. Again, we’re waiting on the official announcement to know this for sure, but it sounds like you’ll still have to buy those games, even with a Spartacus subscription. That’s in stark contrast to the competition as literally any game by a Microsoft subsidiary comes free at launch with a Game Pass subscription.
Yeah, sorry, that’s not going to work, Sony.
I’m not a money guy, so I can’t say whether or not giving away $70 games to subscribers would cause Sony to hemorrhage cash, but you can’t come out of the gate with Spartacus looking so much worse than Game Pass right away. There has to be some kind of incentive. Maybe a 20 percent discount for Spartacus subscribers, or the promise that each game will be free after six months?
Better cloud gaming that everyone can try
Spartacus mostly seems like a convenient way for Sony to kill PlayStation Now, which has offered cloud gaming on PS4 since 2014 and is accessible on PS5. As of last year, just 3.2 million people subscribed to it, as opposed to nearly 50 million for PlayStation Plus. Personally, I never felt the streaming was responsive enough to enjoy any of the games. Even with the more recent addition of game downloads, it’s still never been as enticing as Game Pass.
Sony’s apparently using Microsoft’s Azure cloud network to beef up its game streaming operation, so maybe the streams will get better. But if they’re locked behind the most expensive version of Spartacus, will anyone notice? Sony needs to seriously consider including some version of cloud gaming to the middle or even cheapest tier of service. People won’t use what they can’t even try out for a few minutes.
More exposure for PSVR
There’s a new PlayStation VR headset coming…someday. PlayStation is the only console with VR support, so Sony should definitely leverage that distinction with better exposure within Spartacus for some of the great PSVR games.
It’s simple, really: Just include VR faves like Moss and Astro Bot: Rescue Mission in the free game catalog. The upcoming headset will likely cost hundreds of dollars, so buyers might be more willing to make that purchase if they know they’ll already have access to quality VR games without needing to buy them separately. This would be a slam dunk move for Sony, and I’d be shocked if it didn’t happen.
What about non-Sony games?
We're pretty sure first-party PlayStation games won’t launch on Spartacus. Aside from that, Bloomberg says the announcement will come with a “splashy lineup” of recent games, but that’s all the info we’ve got. With Microsoft aggressively acquiring every gaming company under the sun (i.e., Activision and Bethesda, to name a couple), it’s worth wondering: Will any of those games ever show up on Spartacus?
Keep in mind, Microsoft now owns the likes of Elder Scrolls and Call of Duty. Even Crash Bandicoot, who was once the big man on PlayStation campus 20 years ago, belongs to Xbox now. Microsoft has confirmed some heavy-hitters like Call of Duty will still come out on PlayStation consoles going forward, but it stands to reason that they more than likely won’t end up bundled with a Spartacus subscription.
After all, Microsoft already runs Game Pass. Netflix isn’t going to put Squid Game on Hulu anytime soon, so why should Call of Duty be included free with a service that PlayStation stands to profit from? In other words, PS5 owners will more than likely have to keep paying $60 (or more) for their favorite military shooter.
Whatever Spartacus winds up looking like when Sony pulls the curtain back, it might never be able to match what Game Pass offers. But if Sony takes advantage of the things Microsoft doesn’t have, like 25 years of astounding PlayStation history and VR support, the company could be cooking with gas.
Just give me a free copy of SSX for PS2 with a subscription, Sony, and I'll be happy.
Topics PlayStation Xbox
