Is Bad Appreciation Better Than None?

I've been blown away ever since I bought a PS3 and became a premium subscriber. Not only did I get some great games just for signing on, but the sheer volume of games Sony gives me each month is nuts. I've gotten Hitman Absolution and Battlefield 3, games that's only a year old, Uncharted 3 (2 years old) some old classic games, a bunch of exlusives I'd never heard of, and plenty more great stuff on the horizon. Had I gotten a PS3 sooner I wouldn't have missed out on the likes of Demon Souls, Space Marine, The Walking Dead, Sleeping Dogs, LittleBigPlanet 2, and Infamous 2 (just to name a few).

When the console wars began in earnest, Microsoft realized that people would be deciding which company to go with, and that list of free games, valued at nearly $2,000 over the course of a year, was going to be hard to compete with. So what did they do? Come out with a similar model with fewer games and watch as their members praise them for it.

Now don't get me wrong, I think it's great that MS is finally giving people something for their money other than the ability to play online. But with Sony's Playstation Plus model, I would think they would at least try to match it.

Although it may be a bit arbitrary since Sony is in the middle of their offerings and Microsoft has just started, I think a breakdown of what each membership got me since June (MS's start datew) will better explain my frustration with Microsoft.

Xbox Live Gold Membership:
June: Fable 3
July: Defense Grid, Assassin's Creed 2
August: Crackdown, Dead Rising 2 + DLC
September:Magic the Gathering 2013, Rainbow Six Vegas


Playstation Plus Membership:
June: PS3 Game: Little Big Planet Karting, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception – Campaign Mode, XCOM: Enemy Unknown.PS Vita: Rayman Origins, Coconut Dodge Revitalised.

July: PS3 Game: Battlefield 3, Saints Row: The Third, Payday: The Heist, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Mafia 2, Spec Ops: The Line, When Vikings Attack.PS Vita: Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus, Unit 13, LEGO The Lord of the Rings

August: PS3 Hitman Absolution, Zen Pinball 2, Bit.Trip.Runner 2  PS Vita Machinarium, Darkstalker Chronicles

September: PS3 Resident Evil Chronicles HD Collection, ICO, Galaga Legions DX  PS Vita Rayman Origins, GTA Liberty Stories


Believe it or not, the number of games isn't even my biggest complain. Eliminating the PS Vita games, which not all PS3 owner will be able to play, you get 3 games per month compared to MS's 2. It's something, but not nearly as bad.

What I'm shaking my head at is the content. When I first looked at the Xbox games I was surprised to see titles I'd heard of. These games were big deals at their release, with stuff like Fable 3, Assassin's Creed, and Rainbow Six Vegas being main attractions for the year.

The problem, of course, is how dated or out-of-sequence the games are. Several games are later in their respective series, practically requiring you to play (read: buy) the previous games to really understand what's happening. That leaves you with 3 types of players:

• Those who will just plow through and try to piece the story together (good luck)
• Those who will actually spend $10-20 to play games they probably never would have played.
• Those who have already played the previous games, and likely the current free one as well because they're obviously fans.

That's a small gripe because many younger gamers fall in to the first 2 categories with any game series. And Sony was insane to give people Uncharter 3, which genuinely requires you to play the first 2 if you plan to follow the story. Still, the fact that 

So then, what has me raising my eyebrows at MS's strategy department (again)? The games that are simply too dated and practically reek of MS saying "Here, no one is buying these anyway. See how nice we are?" 

Crackdown is a game that was dated when it was released. The games is good for mindless entertainment, but to play it fresh is to experience an eyesore. Fable 3 is "newer," but is also the end of a very disappointing series of games. Magic is a really good one for its single player, but the multiplayer has missed its time with the release of its 2014 version. And the game that set me off is the one I saw available for download today - Rainbow Six Vegas. The game's online component was hugely popular back in its day, but after seven years all you have is a single-player game. It just felt like a slap in the face, and it's the game that really made me feel like Microsoft was feeding us scraps and declaring it a feast.

I realize I shouldn't complain. Free is free, and me having played most of the games doesn't diminish how exciting the games are for other players. But they've had all this time to watch Sony get it right, they are the bigger company, and they have a lot of ground to regain after their horrible Xbox One debacle.

What should they do? 

• Give us two games we might not have played and one we probably should have so that I can actually be excited instead of waiting 2 weeks wondering what new game will feature on my home screen and make tons of players sigh as they either say "I've already played it" or "It's so old I'll never play it, but I guess free is free.". 
• Give us DLC a certain dollar value of free DLC each month (of our choosing). How many games would I pick back up to enjoy the overpriced DLC I refused to buy? 
• Give us something that's still relevant. See Hitman Absolution (a game many wanted to try, but it got buried under more popular games) or Battlefield 3 (a game that people still actively play!)
• Let Gold members vote on what we want so we're not at the complete whim of whatever algorithm they use to determine what once-popular game they can give us that won't cut in to their actual profits.
• Either give us 5 games and let us download 3, or gives us 2 games every week and let us download 1. 

These are dramatic solutions, but it's what MS needs in order to get people to stop laughing at their sad attempt to match Sony. If the Xbox were a "little engine that could" like the Ouya then having a parody of a more successful model would be excusable. When you consider yourself the top console and then completely whiff on establishing yourself, heads need to roll.

See you tomorrow!

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