JetSetRadio
Banned
It was born of the PS+, made men by the PS+, undone by the PS+.
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Rocket League's PS+ "success" nearly killed it (Steam saved the day)
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FloatingDivider
Member
Because it's bar none the most effective way to build a subscriber base. Numbers for ps+ have increased dramatically since the introduction of a paid subscription model for online play. Sony doesn't actually do shit outside of the friendslist afaik, they're not hosting servers, nor providing anything of specific worth. They're just charging a fee, and doing so very successfully, I might add. But at least you get some free games which beats what Microsoft did for half of a decade where they charged you for nothing and didn't even throw in any free games.
J
Jotamide
Unconfirmed Member
No where near this successful. Sure, people can think they'd sniff out a good game, but I doubt the word would have gotten out quick enough to be successful out of the gate.
I mean, look at these threads. Alpha open to everyone: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=846242
The beta that went as good as open to everyone: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1035475
None of that screamed a game that was in high demand. Maybe if some big streamers picked it up and talked about it, it could do well. But the buzz it got from people playing the game on Plus did wonders.
Because MS didn't on 360 and got people to pay, so Sony thought they were being silly turning down free money.
Grylvak
Member
I never even thought about any of the repercussions that could come with being free on PS+ or GWG. I wonder how much a developer is paid / what is in exchange for their game being free that month other than exposure.
I'm glad I double dipped and bought on PC when it came out though. It's a wonderful game and i'm glad it's doing so well.
I'm glad I double dipped and bought on PC when it came out though. It's a wonderful game and i'm glad it's doing so well.
motherxwolf
Member
I bought my ps4 after it came out on plus so I double dipped, I think I'm going to triple dip soon on xbox1
dave is ok
aztek is ok
I'd also argue without PSplus the game would've had a significantly smaller userbase and overall coverage. It is the combination that worked and now that they have a well established ip, they can also get money out of the PS4 crowd with future releases and expansions. Glad it worked out, as they deserve it. And this is indeed a risk that might be overlooked too often.
generic_username
I switched to an alt account to ditch my embarrassing tag so I could be an embarrassing Naughty Dog fanboy in peace. Ask me anything!
Luc1fersBeard
Member
Purchased on both Steam and Xbox one. They are more than welcome, its a fantastic game 
Sure. I'm not saying that the game would have the same success if it wasn't on PS+, just that the game wouldn't die like the poster I quoted said it would. It would still be a sucess, have a good community and a good word of mouth.
Megatron
Member
Then why hasnt every plus game caught on like rocket league? Not releasing it on psplus is not the same as not releasing it on ps4. It would still have been released and people still would have loved it and gone crazy for it on reddit.
Maybe it would have taken longer, but they would have made a lot more money on each copy sold. There is no way to know what the ultimate effect is, but they had a chance to do the same thing on xbl and turned it down. So who's to say what they would have done if they coukd do it again?
It is painful to see how many new games come out on Steam all the time, knowing that some are probably pretty good, but most people will probably never know it because there are just too damn many
You know, PC games can still sell well through word-of-mouth. In fact, it's the best system for that. Look at Stardew Valley, look at Undertale etc.
Obviously the game wouldn't have sold as much if it wasn't on PS+, but people acting like it would have sold like shit if it wasn't for it are sticking their heads in the sand.
We don't know that. The problem was the timing of the payment.
I'm not sure it's people sticking their heads in the sand, or if it's just that they're remembering that Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars had nowhere near the same reception as Rocket League. Hell, a ton of people didn't even know Rocket League was a sequel to something.
Well that game didn't come out on PC so...
OfTheOverflow
Member
I actually wondered this myself a while back, must cost a tonne to retain the server costs and I hoped Sony's payout would be decent enough.
I don't think I'm misrepresenting anything.
I'm not questioning that PS+ had a massive impact on Rocket League's popularity, it doubtlessly gave the game an insane spread through word of mouth, I'm just saying this kind of thing isn't all smiles and sunshine.
Rocket League didn't have the perfect launch by any means (servers got super hammered) but it could have obviously been so much worse, to the point that a game that won multiple GotY awards could have instead gone down in flames. Even games that look from the outside like smashing successes can still be walking a dental-floss tightrope all the way to the bank.
foolishoptimist
Member
It seems like free PS+ isn't great for a game with ongoing, uncapped, and #user dependent server costs.
But I love this game, may well not even know how good it was without PS+, but I've happily bought all the DLC to support great Devs.
But I love this game, may well not even know how good it was without PS+, but I've happily bought all the DLC to support great Devs.
Very interesting dynamic. I don't think anyone would argue against how valuable RL's word of mouth was after the PS+ launch.
But it's baffling to think that it was so successful, that the team nearly couldn't afford to provide the service.
If it would have launched normally on Ps4, then hit Ps+ few months later, would they have faired better? They might have had fewer players, but potentially made much more money.
But it's baffling to think that it was so successful, that the team nearly couldn't afford to provide the service.
If it would have launched normally on Ps4, then hit Ps+ few months later, would they have faired better? They might have had fewer players, but potentially made much more money.
UltimateUnknown
Member
I would imagine that if this game was a PS4 exclusive and Psyonix couldn't afford the servers required to keep it operational while the game was so successful on PS+, Sony would step in and keep the game afloat. I mean it does hurt Sony if a PS+ offering doesn't even work as intended.
