Do you go for PlayStation Plus or would you rather go for Xbox Game Pass? With this information, you might make your decision faster.
Which is better: PlayStation or Xbox? The discussion has been around as long as both consoles have been on the market. And every time a new generation of consoles appears, the discussion flares up again.
Over the years, a number of issues have been added that can be discussed. Not just controllers, games or graphics are now topics of discussion, but also: is PlayStation Plus better or Xbox Game Pass after all?
You can hardly do without PS Plus or Game Pass anymore
Let’s start by saying that both subscriptions have become essential for the corresponding consoles. Since the last generation of consoles, subscriptions have been mandatory for those who want to use their games online.
So both PlayStation and Xbox offer a basic option for the gamers who only want to use the online services. These options are cheaper than the extended variants, which often come with numerous extras.
New Indiana Jones game will soon appear on Game Pass (image: Bethesda)
So in this way, Microsoft and Sony both have multiple subscription options for their users. That said, both services have advantages and disadvantages that we will highlight below.
What you get with PlayStation Plus
Sony offers three variations of the PlayStation Plus subscription: Essential, Extra and Premium. In that order, the options also go from less extensive to extensive. All options allow you to go online and add monthly free games to your catalog.
With Extra, you can also use a Plus library where you can download games at will and have access to Ubisoft+. With that you can download and play many games from Ubisoft. With Premium you have the full package: you also get access to a lot of “classics” from previous PlayStation generations. You can also stream games online to your devices.
The price with the latter option does travel quite a bit. Those who take out an annual Premium subscription will pay 151.99 euros. For the annual option of Extra and Essential, you pay 125.99 euros and 72.99 euros, respectively.
(image: Sony)
What you get with an Xbox Game Pass
Microsoft also offers multiple subscription options for Xbox. For example, you have Core, Standard and Ultimate. Again, all options allow you to access online services. The selection in terms of games just varies greatly between the options.
With Core, you get access to 25 selected games from Game Pass. Standard gives you access to (almost) the entire Game Pass catalog. Ultimate gives you full access to all games, including exclusive Day One releases, such as Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, for example.
Microsoft’s subscriptions are only available on a monthly basis. The three options cost $6.99 (Core), $11.99 (Standard) or $17.99 (Ultimate) per month. With Standard and Ultimate, you can also stream the games to your PC or tablet.
The big pros and cons between PS Plus and Game Pass
If you look only at the price, the cheapest option is the Standard version of Game Pass. It is one euro cheaper than the cheapest PlayStation Plus subscription. For the deluxe version, it is better to choose PlayStation Plus Premium: it is over 60 euros cheaper than Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
(image: Microsoft)
Game Pass Ultimate shows off its Day One releases, while PlayStation Premium then capitalizes on the gamer’s nostalgia. Still, Game Pass seems like the better option here, as there has been quite a bit of criticism of its catalog of classics. The games are only streamable, which means you always have to be connected to the Internet. Game Pass just lets you download the games.
Those who only look at the games will be happier with the PS Plus library. It contains better reviewed games than the Game Pass, which still mostly relies on quantity over quality. A definitive final verdict is difficult to make, it relies purely on your own preferences. Hopefully, the information above will make your choice a little easier.
