The video game industry is starting to changes in the way it handles DLC, namely offering up packaged deals that can offer discounts such as the Rockstar Pass and the Mortal Kombat Season Pass. Sony is jumping on that bandwagon by offering the Playstation Network PLAY program, a group of 4 games that, upon purchase of all 4, will score you a free game in PAYDAY: The Heist, a game some have been raving about since its showing at E3. While getting a free game is always a good thing, the cost to get it seems a bit steep.

 

 

The Playstation Network PLAY program consists of 4 games: Street Fighter III Third Strike Online Edition, Bloodrayne: Betrayal, The Baconing, and Renegade Ops. All of these games will be sold at the price of $14.99, with an additional 20% off to Playstation Plus subscribers. One kicker to all of this is that PS3 owners are able to pre-order all of these games, and in doing so will receive free avatars and dynamic themes as a sign of gratitude from Sony.

 

For those who purchase all 4 of these games, pre-ordered or not, will receive a voucher for a free download of PAYDAY: The Heist, an online co-op game teaming people up to rob banks and avoid the police. Otherwise, you would have to pay $19.99 for the game, which will be available to all and not just those who purchase from Playstation Network PLAY.

 

As opposed to buying a package of content at a discount like the Rockstar Pass, Sony believes the opportunity for getting a game for free will be enough to hook gamers into the program. It surely is a nice offer, but I think the cost is a little high even at the promise for getting a new game. Surely, Playstation Plus subscribers get an automatic discount, so they most likely won't mind as much, but most PS3 owners are using the service for free.

 

So how does that pose a problem for the program? I find it difficult that people are really going to want to buy all 4 of these games to play, even just in general. Street Fighter III will certainly grab a lot of people's attention and Renegade Ops should do fairly well, but I don't think the other two games have quite as much appeal, especially Bloodrayne: Betrayal.

 

What it all boils down to is that you pay $60 for 4 games, and get a 5th game for free. But if not all 4 games are so appealing that you would spend a good amount of time playing them, gamers are faced with a hard choice of taking the monetary blow just to get a free game out of it.

 

It's that part of the deal that I believe could be improved upon. Instead of forcing gamers' hands into buying all of the games in the program, a voucher offering up a discount on PAYDAY: The Heist should come packaged with each individual game, with the purchase of all 4 getting the game for free. It's hard to say that a lot of people will actually commit to buying all of the games after looking at the selection and total cost, but I would say most would buy at least one game off of the list. That one game would be Street Fighter III. Giving PS3 owners a discount on PAYDAY: The Heist could increase sales on the other games, seeing how they will benefit even from the purchase of only one game. Even if people don't really care about PAYDAY: The Heist, it would be hard for people to turn down using that discount and buy the game anyway.

 

It's just too much to ask for to buy all 4 games where it's quite possible all 4 games aren't appealing enough that PS3 owners will want to spend a total of $60 for. However, giving a small bonus to people for buying even one of the games would propel sales for the digital titles. PAYDAY: The Heist may turn out to be quite the game, but you're essentially paying the equivalent of a disc-based game just to get your hands on it for free as opposed to just paying $20 for it. Sony will be heavily rewarded by those who will fully commit to Playstation Network PLAY, but I don't think many will.