Yesterday, something called PlayStation Plus Video Pass was discovered on one of Sony's websites, only for it to be taken down. It was speculated to be some exclusive service for PS Plus subscribers and now Sony has confirmed its existence and clarified exactly what it is, with the service in question even debuting today.
In an interview with Polish outlet Spider's Web, Sony Interactive Entertainment's vice president of global services, Nick Maguire, explained that Video Pass is a streaming application for PS Plus subscribers, which can be downloaded for both the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. As expected, it provides high-quality access to a variety of movies and TV shows.
Three movies - Venom, Bloodshot, and Zombieland: Double Tap - which were spotted in the leak are included, with Video Pass offering 15 films and six TV series in total to start off with. Maguire adds that the library of content will refresh quarterly, meaning new additions will arrive every three months. The current list includes:
- American Hustle
- Arrival
- Baby Driver
- Bad Boys (1995)
- Blade Runner 2049
- Bloodshot
- Charlie's Angels (2019)
- Community (seasons 1 - 6)
- Deadly Class (season 1)
- Future Man (seasons 1 - 3)
- Inferno (2016)
- Jumanji: The Next Level
- Lost Girl (seasons 1 - 5)
- Sausage Party
- SWAT (seasons 1 - 2)
- SuperMansion (seasons 1 - 3)
- The Equalizer 2
- This is the End
- Underworld: Blood Wars
- Venom (2018)
- Zombieland 2: Double Tap
This is an undeniable boon for PS Plus subscribers. The bad news, however, is that Video Pass is only available in Poland, with Sony running a year-long trial which will expire this time next year. When asked why Poland was selected for the trial, Maguire said that it was because of the country's large, established player base, which likes using VoD platforms. He couldn't share any of the actual data which led to the decision.
What's more, there is no guarantee that the service will be brought to other countries or if it will even continue once the trial ends. Maguire only says that Sony will be paying attention to how people use Video Pass, what titles they watch, and how often they use it. Basically, if Video Pass proves to not be very popular in Poland, Sony will discontinue it.
It makes sense for Sony to add movies and TV shows to the PS Plus service. Last month, it announced that it would no longer be selling this sort of content through the PlayStation Store so it needs to offer some kind of alternative. What's more, additional content for PS Plus means improving its value and potentially encourage more users to sign up for it.
It's suspected that this is part of Sony's plan to better compete with Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass service. While PS Plus does offer a selection of free games every month, it doesn't quite compare to Game Pass' giant library of titles, which has only been further bolstered thanks to the Bethesda buyout and a deal with EA.
MORE: Xbox Game Pass' Growing Popularity Potentially Has a Dark Side
Source: Spider's Web