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Gamepass Competitor: How about a Sony+? (PSNow+Funimation/Crunchyroll+Sony Movies&Shows)
- Thread starter megreotsugua
- Start date
LOLCats
Banned
But sony doesnt like titties anymore
Jethalal
Banned
The thing is Sony hasn't been too keen about making streaming services for their movies
Sony to create original movies for Amazon Prime Video
Gives them another path to pursue
sonyreconsidered.com
Amazon In Talks For Sony’s Suite Of TV Series Featuring Marvel Characters, Led By ‘Silk’
Sony' long-in-the-works "suite" of TV series based on Marvel characters controlled by the studio, is getting closer to reality.
deadline.com
They have quite a few IPs which they make shows for and then sell them to Amazon and others. They make a lot of bank doing so and they don't have to bleed money while making a service.
If HBO MAX and D+ become hugely successful and find a viable alternative to theatres due to movies releasing at home instead of theaters by MAX and the marvel shows by Disney, then I can see them dipping their toes in this field otherwise they'd be better off producing movies and shows for others.
megreotsugua
Banned
How about the Netflix competitor? With game streaming added in for additional entertainment.
Panajev2001a
GAF's Pleasant Genius
PSNow downloaded games do not require to pay an extra PS+ subscription to play online thus not being just a GamePass alternative but a GamePass Ultimate one.
Chukhopops
Member
It’s not a bad idea but how mainstream is Crunchyroll / Funimation really? It seems most of the popular anime series are already on Netflix or Amazon Prime (at least where I live), so I wonder if it would really help Sony target a new segment or if it would simply overlap with their existing users.
For Sony movies I think a good comparison is Disney+, I was subbed to it for a bit but they don’t produce nearly as much new content as Netflix, so you run out of things to watch fairly quickly. Netflix works because they produce a ton of stuff and license TV series from all over the world, I don’t know if it’s something that can be easily reproduced.
For the price of PSNow it would work but if it increases the price overall I doubt it would be a massive success.
For Sony movies I think a good comparison is Disney+, I was subbed to it for a bit but they don’t produce nearly as much new content as Netflix, so you run out of things to watch fairly quickly. Netflix works because they produce a ton of stuff and license TV series from all over the world, I don’t know if it’s something that can be easily reproduced.
For the price of PSNow it would work but if it increases the price overall I doubt it would be a massive success.
megreotsugua
Banned
The thing is Sony hasn't been too keen about making streaming services for their movies
Sony to create original movies for Amazon Prime Video
Gives them another path to pursue
Amazon In Talks For Sony’s Suite Of TV Series Featuring Marvel Characters, Led By ‘Silk’
Sony' long-in-the-works "suite" of TV series based on Marvel characters controlled by the studio, is getting closer to reality.
Sony is the producer. They can continue making shows and movies for other streaming services including their own. Shows and movies produced by Sony doesn't have to be exclusive to their platform. But there sure has to be some of them exclusive.
They can continue to do that. Like I said this won't have to reinvent the wheel for their business model.
megreotsugua
Banned
I agree. Pricing will be the key.
I think is the way to the casual market. Gamepass model of pure games is a niche market.
This will be loaded with a lot of movies, shows, animes, and games for the larger market. This is not necessarily for the gamer crowd. Sony will still sell them $70 AAA blockbuster games. Casual gamers will play them 2 years later when the game enters the service.
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Jethalal
Banned
Exclusivity is everything, all their content would drop in prices if they did that. If 'The Boys' was on Sony's platform too then it wouldn't be Prime's crown jewel. Personally I would sub to the service you're describing as I am an anime and PS fan but I really don't see it happen and I've heard their gaming and movie divisions are quite separate from each other so that is an added hurdle.
megreotsugua
Banned
Yeah it will definitely drop in price. Someone here said he's sure someone must have already crunched the numbers. I seriously hope at least Sony is studying something like this
Me too. This would be perfect for me. Part of the reason I want this to happen.
It has to be someone at the helm of Sony doing the orchestration in order for something like this to work.
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LisaMariaMartin
Banned
Sony departments don't play nice with each other so this is quite the unrealistic scenario.
megreotsugua
Banned
Sony Funimation is only $5.99/mo. It also has a free version with ads. They can afford stick it in. Animes are one of the most watch shows in Netflix nowadays. That's why Netflix is doubling down on animes.
The hurdle I think would be Sony Pictures. They have a lot of profitable shows that they make for other streaming service. That part of their business would be affected.
megreotsugua
Banned
Yeah it would have to be the CEO of Sony himself that would want this to happen to make it happen.
megreotsugua
Banned
PSNow is not actually a home-run success for them. I'm sure Funimation is not doing Netflix or even Disney+ numbers. Nevertheles, they could continue to sell a separate PSNow and Funimation.
I realized this idea is actually more of Sony's venture into the Netflix crowd. Instead of Sony simply building a Movies + Shows streaming service, they could throw in PSNow and Anime to add value.
If Sony is to make a streaming service with only Movies and Shows, I don't think it can survive in the age of Netflix and Disney+. But if they actually don't just rely on Movies and Shows, then they might crack the streaming service business.
This is potentially bigger than what MS is doing with Gamepass. MS has been talking big about 2 billion potential market. But I don't think streaming service of pure gaming will really appeal to the casual market. Gamepass market is niche. This imaginary Sony+ is what will cater to that 2 billion that MS is harping about.
EverydayBeast
thinks Halo Infinite is a new graphical benchmark
That's a big package and yes subscriptions are today's gospel.
megreotsugua
Banned
This is actually for the casual crowd who likes movies and shows (and animes), who also play games occasionally.
For the gaming purist, this will not compete against gamepass. I put gamepass competitor in the title but I realized it's actually a Netflix/Disney+ competitor.
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turtlepowa
Banned
Too much of a niche. I think this would be a flop.
megreotsugua
Banned
Streaming service with only games on it is what is niche. MS will struggle big time with game pass.
Movies and shows is 50x larger. Anime is becoming one of the most watched shows in Netflix too.
AJUMP23
Gold Member
If Sony had a subscription service that put out their first party games day one on the service I would consider it. But Sony makes far to much off of first party sales to offer that. Another thread said they made a billion on 1 first party game.
turtlepowa
Banned
If you say so.
megreotsugua
Banned
You're part of the niche crowd MS is trying to woo with their gamepass. I don't think Sony should go that route. Their current business model is making them a lot of money. And I don't want Sony to change their games just to fit the game pass model. I said in the OP that their first party AAA games will only be released on the service after maybe 2 years.
This is different. I put gamepass competitor in the title but this is actually a Netflix/Disney+ competitor which is a bigger market.
The good thing about this service is that Sony won't have to shake their current business model. They could continue to sell $70 games, continue to make movies for theatrical release and shows for TV.
megreotsugua
Banned
Ok. First off PSNow is not actually a run-away success for Sony.
They have two options to make it grow:
- They follow game pass model and kill their $70 AAA earnings.
- They go after the larger crowd of movies+shows market and offer gaming as an added value.
But in the meantime, it can entice the Playstation crowd who also likes movies and shows (and animes) for that PS4 and PS5 games in the service downloadable to be played natively in the system.
Because Sony could offer you more Sony movies and shows plus so much more.
Netflix is spending billions to grow their market. You could argue their prices are not realistic.
Sony will continue to sell $70 games to the hardcore crowd and trickle down the perceived value to their streaming service for the casual crowd after a year or two. Offer day and date AA games on the service as well.
Sony will still have to put out good shows in there but not exactly spend as much as Netflix. Sony can leverage their Playstation games and Anime shows to add value.
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megreotsugua
Banned
They could make Steam Pass but they have to negotiate each and every game that will be included in the service. Otherwise you won't see big selling games on steam anymore and it will just be a bunch of indies.
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Chukhopops
Member
This kind of offer will never ever include DLC as it’s where most of the money is made (repeatable MTX). Even on Gamepass you basically never have any DLC included.
K.S v2.0
Banned
Yeah, I know. Pipe dream like I said but... would be sooooooo nice.
Walter Matthau
Member
I think this is a sure thing, but how they price it will be interesting.
Virt McPolygon
Banned
$15 for PSNow and Crunchyroll bundled would be a pretty damn good deal considering Netflix is close to that price and is full of trash "Originals".
danielJackson
Banned
I would not, sounds stupid, game pass is useless and over priced. Sony doesnt need similar as they are 5x More popular anyway
It must be day and date if I am thinking to subscribe. I got Gamepass and love it. I would not mind paying $15/m just for the game service. Additionally, I think this could have the potential to be more popular that Microsoft's offering. Playstation already has the goodwill of the gaming community at large, they should capitalize on this.
Gamepass has 15M subscribers @ $10/month (I understand that there are promotions, $1 upgrades, etc... but for the sake of the calculations). Thats $150 million/month and $1.8 Billion a year. Even with the increasing cost of game development, I still think Sony can still put out their single player focused games with $150,000,000-$300,000,000 quite consistently with no decrease in quality.
Sony could easily pull in 20M + ($2.2 Billion annually @ $10/month, and $3.6 Billion annually @ $15/month) and have all the money to fund all projects they are making now and much more into the future.
We just learned that Sony has made $500 Million over the life of God of War (2018) and over $400 Million for Horizon. These are lifetime sales. So the per year sales are less. I am playing God of War (2018) for the first time this week on PS5. I wait to play single player games long after release. Canadian game prices are getting out of hand and it just doesn't make sense for me to buy games new. I still have a thirst to play a variety of things that pique my interest but before Gamepass I would play 2-3 games a year despite wanting to play more. Subscriptions just work for me.
I don't believe that subscriptions services will lower the quality of what is being made by developers, or the types that we all love to play.
And you will still be able to buy the games as you could before. That option is not going anywhere. Why not just offer additional ways to play these games?
Another argument that I will make is that with the safety net of reliable monthly income, more experimental projects like Death Stranding and Dreams can be put out with more frequency.
Gamepass has 15M subscribers @ $10/month (I understand that there are promotions, $1 upgrades, etc... but for the sake of the calculations). Thats $150 million/month and $1.8 Billion a year. Even with the increasing cost of game development, I still think Sony can still put out their single player focused games with $150,000,000-$300,000,000 quite consistently with no decrease in quality.
Sony could easily pull in 20M + ($2.2 Billion annually @ $10/month, and $3.6 Billion annually @ $15/month) and have all the money to fund all projects they are making now and much more into the future.
We just learned that Sony has made $500 Million over the life of God of War (2018) and over $400 Million for Horizon. These are lifetime sales. So the per year sales are less. I am playing God of War (2018) for the first time this week on PS5. I wait to play single player games long after release. Canadian game prices are getting out of hand and it just doesn't make sense for me to buy games new. I still have a thirst to play a variety of things that pique my interest but before Gamepass I would play 2-3 games a year despite wanting to play more. Subscriptions just work for me.
I don't believe that subscriptions services will lower the quality of what is being made by developers, or the types that we all love to play.
And you will still be able to buy the games as you could before. That option is not going anywhere. Why not just offer additional ways to play these games?
Another argument that I will make is that with the safety net of reliable monthly income, more experimental projects like Death Stranding and Dreams can be put out with more frequency.
megreotsugua
Banned
This imaginary Sony+ is not for you then. I imagine it to be catered more to the crowd who are subscribed to streaming apps. The gaming aspect is an added value.
That number gets thrown around quite often. We don't know how MS is counting their subscribers. It's easy to subscribe for a month and then unsubscribe for rest of the year.
IMO the target market of Game pass or any similar service that offer hundreds of games for $15/mo. is a niche market. The only ones who will find value in these services are trophy hunters or those who play several games a month. Fifa/Fortnite/COD gamers don't fit in that category.
I don't think this is possible even if Sony releases all their AAA on the service day one. There will be a lot of 1-month subscribers then unsubscribe when they're on a gaming-hiatus. Sony would be basically selling their game @ $10. And their service will be competing against an overwhelming number of third-party games. A gamer hooked in a third-party game will not find value in a service even if it has thousand of games he doesn't want to play at the moment.
God of War number I believe is year 1 sales, I don't know about Horizon. This is exactly why Sony should not release day and date on the service. It will kill their $70 game business.
My imaginary Sony+ is perfect for you then. You don't have to pay $10-$20 to play an old game. You can subscribe to the service for a month and get to play a lot more if you want. You might get hooked for another game and stay on the service, or your wife finds a lot of value in the movies and shows or your children love the anime shows.
The reliable monthly income that game pass will bring is still questionable. The target audience is tiny compared to the target market of Netflix and Disney+.
My imaginary Sony+ would have a bigger potential audience. The gaming part of the service is an added bonus for the casuals who like movies and shows (and animes) but also play video games occasionally. That doesn't mean to say that gamers like you and me will find no value in it.
The casuals finding value in the combination of movies+shows+anime+games, if proven to be in the multitude, will fund the games you are talking about. Well, the truth is Sony fund those games already.
Captain Toad
Banned
No thanks. I don't want Sony to invest any more in the rental subscription route. Just cut off PS Now altogether.
Make great AAA games that people actually want to play. Not games that are "good enough" since they're included in the subscription I'm already paying for.
Make great AAA games that people actually want to play. Not games that are "good enough" since they're included in the subscription I'm already paying for.
megreotsugua
Banned
Yeah I told you this imaginary Sony+ is not for you.
This for a family whose mom loves movies and shows, dad who play games ocassionally and kids who love all 4.
megreotsugua
Banned
I agree pricing will be the key. I think at the same price of Netflix, this will gain a lot of subscribers.
This may not have the same number of on-going shows as Netflix but Sony shows are well-produced and they can afford some of them there. Plus Sony has a plethora of movies and shows at their disposal.
Video games and animes are added bonus. This can also appeal to a household with different tastes on the kinds of entertainment they typically consume. I would imagine the retention rate would be good considering it has so much entertainment variety.
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Javthusiast
Banned
cHaOs667
Member
Don't combine it. Drop PS Now and build a complete new service. I've used PS Now in the last couple of days again and from the customer perspective it is an awful bad service.
The worst thing is the App on Windows: no search functionality, cluttered, it does not respect the aspect ratio of a game (playing Uncharted 1 on an 21:9 screen is not fun!), still provides only an HD ready resolution, and it's slow. X-Cloud for example, starts games way faster than PS Now in higher resolutions.
It's like Sony has not invested a single cent in the past few years to bring this service forward. It was okay when it released, but now it's way beyond its competitors and needs a complete overhaul.
yurinka
Member
I wouldn't merge all this stuff into a single service, I'd have 3 separate ones and bundles to get 2 or 3 of them at a discount:
-PS Plus: Current PS Plus benefits (discounts, online multiplayer, cloud saves, etc), cheaper but without the Plus games
-PS Now: Current PSNow adding the past and future PS Plus games
-Sony Cinema: Netflix/Disney+ style crossplatform app service with all Cruncryroll, Funimation, Sony movies and tv shows
-PS Plus: Current PS Plus benefits (discounts, online multiplayer, cloud saves, etc), cheaper but without the Plus games
-PS Now: Current PSNow adding the past and future PS Plus games
-Sony Cinema: Netflix/Disney+ style crossplatform app service with all Cruncryroll, Funimation, Sony movies and tv shows
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megreotsugua
Banned
You don't think it's wise to also add a form of next-gen PSNow in the mix? I would imagine the retention rate would be higher if little Timmy or occasional gamer Daddy wants to continue playing the Spider-man 3 on his Ipad or TV even when Mommy already finished the shows she was binge-watching. There's more reason to subscribe and to stay subscribed.
I was saying this kind of combination of service is what really will bring gaming to the masses as opposed to what MS is doing. Sony won't have to compromise their $70 business in order to pull this off. This is for the casuals who loves entertainment like movies, shows and animes who are also intrigued about playing AAA games.
Sony will trickle down their games to the casuals through this. But what I have in mind really is game streaming when it finally becomes ubiquitous. That's when it'll really reach the casual gamers.
For the time being, the additional gaming aspect will only really appeal to PS4/PS5 owners and those who have fast internet for game streaming.
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IntentionalPun
Ask me about my wife's perfect butthole
Bundles are a terrible idea.
And your pricing is way too low even for a basic GamePass competitor (day one 1st party releases) without bundling in film/TV.
If Sony gets into that game it will be at least $14.99 just for gaming if not more. I'd say $19.99 is where they will eventually enter that space.
And they'll never bundle like that. They aren't Amazon.com throwing loss leader services around.
And your pricing is way too low even for a basic GamePass competitor (day one 1st party releases) without bundling in film/TV.
If Sony gets into that game it will be at least $14.99 just for gaming if not more. I'd say $19.99 is where they will eventually enter that space.
And they'll never bundle like that. They aren't Amazon.com throwing loss leader services around.
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megreotsugua
Banned
If you read the OP you'll know I wasn't suggesting for Sony to put their $70 AAA games on the service day and date.
I incorrectly put game pass competitor in the title. Later I realized this imaginary Sony+ will actually be a Netflix/Disney+ competitor with Anime and Video Gaming added into the mix to add value.
Kdad
Member
They promised collaboration back in the days of Stringer, and Kaz pushed "one sony"....its been many years and they still are not there...
Howard Stringer leaving Sony in June, hands over to Hirai
Stringer says he will remain busy with charity work in education and medicine
www.livemint.com
megreotsugua
Banned
And here's the list of TV shows that Sony Pictures produced.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sony_Pictures_Television_programs
Category:Television series by Sony Pictures Television - Wikipedia
Hitchyhero
Banned
Neogaf Sony fans have been banging on about on about how gamepass is not viable longterm but they always seem to want first party studios going on there and now they want to bundle two anime streaming services plus all Sony movies for £9.99.
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IntentionalPun
Ask me about my wife's perfect butthole
Ah gotcha.
Yeah I guess it wouldn't be a bad way to add some tiers to PS+ or something.
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