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Is PlayStation Plus Required For Streaming? Shuhei Yoshida Says, 'No'
Yesterday, Microsoft confirmed to Game Informer that an Xbox Live Gold subscription will be required in order to access the Xbox One's Game DVR features. Questions about Sony's approach inevitably followed. We now have answers.
Sony's Shuhei Yoshida, president of worldwide studios, answered questions from fans on Twitter about the matter. Here are the conversations:
@jonboi204 no
— Shuhei Yoshida (@yosp) August 8, 2013
@James1o1o all
— Shuhei Yoshida (@yosp) August 8, 2013
@JasonBassant no, thanks :D
— Shuhei Yoshida (@yosp) August 8, 2013
There you have it. You will not need a PlayStation Plus account to record and stream game video. As a reminder, the PlayStation 4 will buffer 15 minutes of video so players don't miss unexpected and cool in-game events.
Our Take
Yesterday, I was confident that Sony would putting these features behind the PlayStation Plus paywall. I was wrong (screencap this—you know you want to).
I identified two reasons why Microsoft was choosing to put Game DVR behind the Gold membership: variable cost of streaming and storage, and valuation of the membership. For the first reason, I'm surprised that Sony is making streaming and recording free.
The second reason is less critical for Sony. The PlayStation Plus membership has been a better value than Xbox Live for a long time thanks to the Instant Collection games that are rolled out every month. Given that PS4 owners will benefit right away (a pared down version of DriveClub will be free at launch), the value proposition is less problematic.
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