Late last year, Bloomberg reported that they had insider information on a new service that Sony was working on. Code-named Project Spartacus, it would merge both PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now services and have multiple subscription tiers, with the most expensive one offering classic PlayStation games. A new report has come in, from VentureBeat's Jeff Grubb, as he discussed what he knew about Project Spartacus in a recent episode of the Giantbomb podcast.

He added on to previously teased information, and claimed that there will be three tiers to Spartacus: Essential, Extra, and Premium. Essential would pretty much be the existing PlayStation Plus offering, while Extra would add on a downloadable game catalog, similar to PlayStation Now. Lastly, the Premium tier would have the most features, such as cloud streaming, timed game trials, and "access to classic games", though Grubb was not certain what exactly those classic games would be, or what systems they would be from. According to his knowledge, that would be a major draw for the Premium tier.

These tiers would be $10, $13, and $16, respectively. Grubb also said that Project Spartacus is "probably getting pretty close to launching", with a possible announcement coming sometime in March.

Again, all of these prices and names could change. But this is the general outline of what to expect from Spartacus. And these features should make PS Plus look much stronger in comparison to Xbox Game Pass. While Sony will not include full versions of its blockbuster games in PS Plus on day one, game trials will at least give a bigger audience a chance to sample those games.

Sony is moving into a testing phase for Spartacus in the next few weeks. And it could announce the details of its new membership program in March — although that’ll depend on whether it is ready to roll out the service.

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[XDel]

What's up with the trend of putting a "plus sign" at the end of everything these days, ala LGBTQ+

What does + mean?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

 

[RedoLane]

Ah yes, Project Spartacus, because Project Kratos was already taken.

 

[Bladexdsl]

What's up with the trend of putting a "plus sign" at the end of everything these days, ala LGBTQ+

What does + mean?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

well they couldn't' put playstation X now could they

 

[AlexMCS]

It should have been PS++

 

[sley]

I'm wondering what "Classic games" they can offer which didn't already have superior HD releases.

 

[Chary]

I'm wondering what "Classic games" they can offer which didn't already have superior HD releases.

Metal Gear Solid, 90% of the PSP's library, Tales of the Abyss, Tony Hawk's Underground, Valkyrie Profile, plenty of games.

 

[sley]

Man MGS would be awesome but Konami couldn't even be arsed to port the HD collection to something newer than the PS3.
Sony will probably just push the current PS2 Classics on PSN onto this service together with PS1 games.
PSP would be cool for JRPG fans indeed.

 

[Deleted member 114266]

We'll see what type of yearly discounts they have. Right now PS+ is the same $10/month, but $60 for the year. And it's common to find it on sale for $30-35.

 

[AkiraKurusu]

...PS2 games, please??? Like Ratchet & Clank, Jak & Daxter?

 

[Chary]

Man MGS would be awesome but Konami couldn't even be arsed to port the HD collection to something newer than the PS3.

They couldn't, and I'm not defending Konami, but they did allow MGS HD Collection to be added to PS Now and Xbox BC. They seem to care... Marginally.

 

[duwen]

Interesting... but honestly I'll probably stick with the 'essential' tier, at least while I'm still on PS4.

What's up with the trend of putting a "plus sign" at the end of everything these days, ala LGBTQ+

What does + mean?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

PS+ (PS Plus) launched almost 12 years ago, so hardly a bandwagon jumper, more of a trend setter.
As for what + it means... it's fairly evident... "Plus", ie 'more'/'additional'/etc

 

[WG481]

What's up with the trend of putting a "plus sign" at the end of everything these days, ala LGBTQ+

What does + mean?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

LGBTQ+ is premium gay. It's 13.99 a month, I believe.

 

[CoolMe]

Well, so far we don't know what "classic games" they'll add to this service, i hope they add new titles and not just old ones that were already there on the PS store, titles from the PS3 and not just the PS1/PS2, as they're locked on that system. Addition of PSP games would indeed be nice but i honestly doubt it.

 

[godreborn]

I hope it's not streaming only, because I have a data cap on my internet.

 

[Plazorn]

This will conflict with mobile emulators I am afraid, who would want to go through the trouble of downloading roms while you can just go into an app and instantly stream them?

 

[N10A]

$16 per month is a lot to pay for ps1 games IMHO, but I guess they're just taking cues from Nintendo on overcharging for a subscription service for fifth generation games.

 

[Cyan]

What I'd like is that the "retro games" available in the monthly premium offer would also be available on a single purchase choice.
For example, if they add Drakengar (PS2 classic title) to their list, I'd like to be able to buy just that game if I want to, without the need to pay for a monthly access to all other retro games I don't want.

Currently there are PS2 classic titles available (like Rogue Galaxy). I can either buy the game as standalone OR get access to it in PSNow.
I just hope they would still allow users to purchase on a single game basis and don't force users to subscribe to get access to these games.
If they could make PS2 as single games on PSN, they can as well add more. why didn't we have more of these yet? they are like Nintendo VC games with bundled emulators and single ROM/ISO.

I'm not including the streamed only games in that idea, like PS3 games. if they want a subscription for streaming service, I get it. But more offline VC style would be welcome.


Another idea I'd like to see would be to allow users to insert their ORIGINAL PS1/PS2/PS3 disc in the console (given the console's drive is compatible with old CD/DVD) and trigger an "official emulator" like Microsoft CEO mentioned. I understand they don't like the idea of old game owners not buying the games once again on their new console, but they could make that official emulator behind monthly sub if they want to make profit! (though, they allowed users to play their PS4 libraries on PS5 without re-buying them, maybe there's hope for older games too?)
Like their "PS2 classic" currently on PSN AND PSNow, they could provide users both choices : A monthly fee subscription emulator reading from original discs (not burned/pirated ones), and also sell them as single VC style for users who prefer to re-buy their already bought games in digital form.

 

[Valwinz]

More games that you don't own

 

[DJPlace]

i'm not to sure about this.. i need more info... would be nice if it's 16 dollars a year but i doubt it... i bet there going add PS Plus and the other stuff on there for more money...