Now, If you intend on downloading DRIVECLUB PlayStation Plus Edition, and upgrading to the full game experience, you will have access to the full game even if your PlayStation Plus subscription runs out.
Last week we announced the release date for PS4’s first socially connected racing game – DRIVECLUB.
The response we’ve seen to the trailer is seriously overwhelming, and it’s time for some more news.
Welcome to the first of three DRIVECLUB updates this week. DRIVECLUB PlayStation Plus Edition has been a hot topic since its announce, so today’s video (the first of three) should answer most of your questions about the actual content included in this edition compared to the Blu-ray version.
One of the recurring questions we keep seeing is about the scale of the PlayStation Plus Edition. The simple answer is that with an active PlayStation Plus subscription, you can download DRIVECLUB PlayStation Plus Edition, which comes with one location (India), 11 tracks, 10 cars and access to all game modes.
But why did we choose to offer this particular selection of the game to PlayStation Plus subscribers for free?
DRIVECLUB is inherently next gen. It’s about accessibility for all and building a community of gamers who love online play. DRIVECLUB PlayStation Plus Edition is designed to be a quick and easy way for gamers all over the world to join the DRIVECLUB community. You can take part in all the game modes, set, send and compete in challenges, and race online against others in the DRIVECLUB community.
We think you’ll have a lot of fun playing DRIVECLUB once it launches on October 7th, digitally via the PlayStation store and on Blu-ray at your local retailer. If you’re an active PlayStation Plus subscriber and have been playing the PlayStation Plus Edition, but decide you want the full DRIVECLUB experience, you can purchase a one-time upgrade for $49.99. This will give you access to all five locations, 55 tracks, 50 cars and all 50 tour events, as long as your PlayStation Plus subscription remains active.
If you’re not an active PlayStation Plus member, you can still get DRIVECLUB via the PlayStation Store or your local retailer on Blu-ray.
Stay tuned because there’s more content coming tomorrow with the ‘Clubs’ video, explaining why they’re crucial to making DRIVECLUB distinctly different.
Friday’s episode is all about challenges – why we love ‘em, what they give you and importantly, how they’ll make the game infinitely more networked and fun to play in your Club.
Over and out.
So I think one of the problems here is as a PS+ member your not really getting your monthly game out of this if this is the game of the month. Because more then likely you are going to need + to play this game and you are not really getting a substantial amount of the game to be a full game even if it is new. on top of all that, thia is really not a great trier system implemented in + where there has never been a tier system.
We should own everything we pay for on PSN and not lose access after the PS+ subscripton ends!
If this starts a trend there will be more games in the IGC where we will have to pay for and we lose after the subscription!
There is no way in hell I will touch this game with such a sleazy and underhanded way the PS+ version is being handled. To pay $50 dollars for a game but you lose access if your PS+ sub lapses? This game was supposed to be some cool extra for PS+ subs when it was first announced. Now its massively delayed and this is how they say thank you to the people who have waited? Tie a $50 purchase that you can lose access to? Evolution, and Sony should be embarrassed about trying to pull this stunt.
Scandalous Sony…F this game!
LOL the complaining on this thread is hilarious. So if the game is a “demo” download it, find out if you LIKE or LOVE the game then DELETE it and buy the Blu-Ray or PSN Full version (not PS+ upgrade). Problem solved… oh wait… would you rather they give you a REAL demo?
Hey Knack, you didn’t have a demo did you? (nah). Hey Killzone, you didn’t have a demo? (no but I had a trial weekend). Hmmm a limited trial…
So now, what if they ERASED the PS+ edition that gives you 10 cars 11 tracks on 1 location & all game modes… and they gave you a REAL demo on… 1 track… 2 cars and 2 modes & eliminate your ability to use ONLINE SOCIAL features (they selling us a SOCIAL DRIVING GAME)…
“But they promised” Oh really? did they? or did you read FREE and add your own value? Where is the language from THIS blog saying or stating what they giving for FREE in this game? Pull up articles. Wanna complain? Link the Articles!
The only LEGIT beef on this thread is spending MONEY on a PS+ discounted game and NOT BEING ABLE TO PLAY IT if your PS+ sub runs out. But still $10 difference… just go buy the PSN retail version.
I’ve been tracking this game… at one point the PS+ was “rumored” by WHO KNOWS WHO that it would be a “beta.” I have zero unicorn tears on this version of the game.
Here is what I will do. Next Tuesday, re-pre-order, then Oct 7th (or whatever), Download the PS+ edition. Oct 7th – 14th PLAY THE HELL OUT OF IT, then ACT LIKE I CAR ABOUT PROJECT CARS, DELETE Driveclub PS+ Edition, Call my Pre-order in and tell them to switch it to another game, then DOWNLOAD the $60 PSN Digital Retail version bc.. one day… i might not have PS+ sub to play a SOCIAL GAME online… so i will acquire the extra $10 to BUY the RETAIL copy of it for that privilege MSRP cost of a full game.
SnowNasty…. I think that is the only Beef on this thread
Well, aside from one derpa derp that doesn’t understand simple consumer economics every single poster on here is saying this is a bum deal. This is a glorified demo. No ifs, no ands, no buts. You’re giving away that demo as part of the IGC which we all pay for. Any other time it has been a full game. Granted not always the game that people want to play in general, but still a full game.
Now you tell us we can get the demo that we paid for (yes we did pay for it with our plus subscription), and we can get the full game for another 50 bucks. But don’t let your plus subscription run out or you won’t be able to use what you paid for anymore. Gamers everywhere should boycot this shady deal. Vote with your wallets people. If you don’t agree with shareware being given for your paid membership and once your membership expires your paid copy of the game (if you decided to do the upgrade) becomes invalid
@104 (SnowNasty) – AMEN! It’s as if the whole world went crazy within the past hour! I genuinely don’t see what the big deal about this is, nor do I see how people are tying this to MS’s “online-only/DRM” debacle last year. Sony is giving everyone an additional choice for how they can purchase the game, and everyone turns around and says that the $50 version is some shady offer by Sony! It’s just bananas…
$50 (10 measly dollars saved…) for an upgrade that only works as long as my plus account is active? that’s insulting. i though sony valued their customers more than this… guess i was wrong.
I fee like that is the kind of stuff Microsoft was getting in trouble for. Sony, you’re nickling and diming us with these DRM restrictions and backtracked on past promises. I urge to you not the attach the upgraded plus version to a subscription. Also, 1/5 of the game for the plus version, differs from what was announced last E3 expo. Eat the cost Sony, you’re taking the led this generation for a good reason. Make it 2/5 of the game for the plus version, offer the upgrade for $40, and don’t attach DRM restrictions. Stay classy SCEA. .
Look back at all the ads last year for Drive Club coming with plus. Most places that even bothered to mention “Plus Edition” was usually in small print or buried in an article. All the headlines and pictures advertising for it showed the full game free for plus. A lot of people became plus members based partially on this promise of a free full retail at the PS4’s launch. You guys should be ashamed of yourselves that you pulled this bait and switch on your customers
#NoSharewareOnPSPlus
You twitter guys do your thing. Nobody listens on this blog. This shameless marketing stunt and bait and switch operation has to be stopped
I was planning on buying the physical copy from the beginning so thus PS+ edition is no concern to me. Why would anyone let there PS+ sub run out anyways? you need plus to play online. Also, if your sub runs out you just have to re sub to keep playing. You don’t lose the game for good
Wow what a deal!!!!!!! Only 50$ for upgrade? Sweet!!!!!!!! I would seriously pay 100$ for this thanks Sony!
Makes me proud to have bought PS Plus since Day 1.
Oh my, does everyone not understand what they mean? You will get a free version of the game with PS+ and that version will only be accessible if you keep your PS+ membership. If you decide to UPGRADE to the full version for $50 then you will be able to play without a PS+ subscription. It frustrates me that everyone doesn’t go out and seek more information about this than just reading a short blog post here. Please read this: http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/05/07/driveclub-playstation-plus-edition-details-announced
There is no travesty here, it sickens me that consumers want a brand new game for free through PS+. If everyone that has PS+ got it for free (meaning basically everyone that owns a PS4) then the people who make DriveClub wouldn’t make any money basically and the company would collapse.
But really what a rip. The ps plus edition will never touch my hard drive. You would have to get a rape kit as well.
@MushThePainter – many of us don’t play online and only had plus for the discounts and the IGC. The IGC is becoming a joke with all the shovelware indies and now demos being given for the collection. Add to that that you can better deals on Steam for most of the content on PSN it makes it to where the plus discounts aren’t worth paying the subscription fee
I for one will not be renewing
I bought a PS3 for two reasons.
1. Free online.
2. Blue Ray disks are better scratch resistant.
I bought digital for two reasons.
1. To preserve my rights to games I have paid for.
2. To support Sony, over the gamestop middleman who actually lowers profits and annoys the … out of me.
I bought PS for two
1. To lower digital purchases.
2. The free game IGC isn’t shabby, mostly.
Once you start messing with any of that, you begin to ruin your potental future playerbase.
Forget EQ and Planetside memberships?
Try thinkng longer term, and you might be bigger than McDonalds.
Though there are many more fat Americans, driving overly large, overpriced, and uneconomical transportation over the typical Sony crowd, so thats a stretch.
@107 (BahumatIsBack) – I assume the “derpa derp” you’re referring to is me…lol!
I can kind of understand your argument regarding receiving Driveclub as a PS+ game of the month since it’s not a full version of the game and we typically get a full game. But from the beginning, Sony has referred to the “PS+ edition” of Driveclub as a neutered version of the game, and has refused to say anything more about it. We were never promised that this version would include half, two-thirds, or any specific number of cars, tracks, etc. We just were told it would be a nerfed version. Sony never hid the ball from us…in fact, they never spoke about the contents of that version at all. If you can link to where a Sony rep did speak about it’s contents prior to the past month or so, I’d love to see it.
Over 100 negative comments on this post and not one response from a Sony representative or a representative from the people of Drive Club. Are you ignoring us or did you just realize how low you’ve sunk with this?
So at first I was frustrated when I read that you lose 50 BUCKS you spent on a game that you upgraded for with Plus but then I figured, “hey it probably just means that this game is online only now.” But then I’m seeing that this is NOT an online only game?! I can see you losing access to online capabilities to your digital upgrade version of the game if your Plus expires but losing access to singleplayer as well is completely UNACCEPTABLE. Anyone who thinks that is not DRM is sadly mistaken. I hope this was just simply poorly communicated and that the singleplayer portion of the game would still be accessible because that would NOT be DRM if that was the case. But if the singleplayer IS taken away as well, I will only play the free version and EVENTUALLY purchase a retail copy down the road. I will NOT support potential DRM. Truly disappointing if this is the case. Hoping to god I’m wrong.
@ BahumatIsBack they were busy with a PR spin on the Euro blog… now they are in hiding over there as well.
Guess its time to kick Evolve out of SCE
I think I’m going to vote with my dollars and get Project Cars this Fall season. The whole bait and switch is kinda tacky.
Cont. from #117…
As for this shareware “shady” deal you continually refer to, Sony is giving consumers 3 purchasing options, only two of which includes a tether to PS+. Option 3 remains what has always been the regular price of the full game without tether…$59.99. If this game with its features, tracks, cars, etc. doesn’t appeal to you at that price, then you can wait for it to drop in price like any other game. The $49.99 option is not the only way to buy the game if you want it, so how is this anti-consumer. It would only be anti-consumer if they were taking away options from the consumers…in this case, they are adding an option.
Listen, I know what I’m saying isn’t popular (and I’m not exactly sure why). And I agree that people should vote with their wallets…but only if Driveclub is a bad game. But boycotting the game because Sony gave you an additional option for purchasing the game is just protesting for the sake of protesting.
Well that didn’t go over well.
u need ps+ 2 play the anyway because the whole game is online
@ 124 Thaiassassin92
The game has offline content that does not require a PS+ subsription
I will download the free version, but I don’t care how good the game is, I can promise you I will not pay $50 to upgrade for new cars and tracks. That seems silly. I bought Need for Speed and I will buy the Crew. This I will only play for free.
Please clarify:
“This will give you access to all five locations, 55 tracks, 50 cars and all 50 tour events, as long as your PlayStation Plus subscription remains active.”
This implies that we lose that content if our membership lapses, even after paying the fee.
I read your comment before but how could you justify paying 50 dollars to upgrade and you can’t keep your game if you don’t renew your PS Plus subscription? Most full retails go for 50-60 dollars brand new. You are paying the full game price but you don’t get to keep the game that you paid for
If they had done the upgrade option for 20-30 dollars and not tied it to your plus subscription being current I don’t think many people could have found much fault other than griping about the game should have been full anyway since it was given away as part of the IGC. 50 dollars is too much. It’s the full cost of a game but it’s not really yours
I honestly don’t know how to explain that better so you would understand.
You lose your $10 discount if you don’t renew your PS+ subscription? I hope that’s just a misprint, because it would establish horrible precedent. I’m not spending a dime on this game is that’s the case.
@DanteMerfi – no you lose the whole game
@GStylez1980
I think you just don’t get it…
1. With PS+ you have exclusive access to a shareware/demo version of DriveClub… that’s fine (it’s NOT the game of the IGC)
2. As a PS+ member you have various discounts on different games and DriveClub is one of them… It’s just a slight discount to the full price… that’s totally fine and has been done of a ton of games with the 1 hour test versions for example
3. You can keep every discounted game/content you bought while you had a PS+ subscription forever even if you are not a member anymore… except DriveClub… why? And why in hell should gamer support that?
That’s not a super duper new option it isn’t different to any other discount we got with our subscriptions… ok there is a slight difference… we can’t keep the content we paid for…
Think about it that way… Now it’s only DriveClub but if we just support that it won’t be the only one… Maybe in the future we won’t keep any of the discounted games/content… Did you ever think about that?
Additionally to add:
Design director Paul Rustchynsky said: “When you upgrade from the PS+ Edition you get the full digital edition which doesn’t require a PS+ subscription,”
I do not like this $50 digital upgrade plan that requires PS+. Much rather spend $60 for a DRM free version.
@128 (BahumatIsBack) – Thanks for responding and dialoguing with me about this.
The way I see it is that 9 times out of 10, Sony sells the consumer a full retail game for $60. At that cost, there are no strings attached. It’s rare that you see a full retail game for a new system like the PS4 for $50, especially one made by a first-party studio (Puppeteer and Sly 4 sold for $40, but it was at the end of the PS3 generation). Therefore, if they are selling us a new first-party game for $50, we should reasonably expect there is some trade-off they want for that day-1 discount. In this case, that trade off is that it is tethered to PS Plus. Personally, I would never buy that version, as I want to own my games outright. And the only way Sony gets away with the PS+ tether to the games in the IGC is because they offer a ton of them at a ridiculously low price! Again, I understand why you, me, and many others would never purchase the $50 version of the game. But offering it as an third option to the PS+ Edition or the $60 version does not strike me as sinister at all. You may think it’s too expensive…and that’s fine. But simply vote with your wallet by not buying that version.
@GStylez1980: That’s true *IF* Plus members are able to buy the full version with or without downloading the Plus version. I don’t think that’s been made clear.
Regardless, they certainly should have seen this ragefest coming and either: a) avoided it altogether by not doing this, or b) sent an army of clever nerds here to explain their side of things.
*crickets*
Meanwhile, I do see the point some have made about the “main game” being the 1/5 version and the “upgrade” acting as DLC. So…technically it may be similar to any game we get through Plus. DLC we buy is always useless without Plus since we don’t own the game itself.
I’d still like to see confirmation that Plus members will have access to the full version with no strings attached.
I expect a 180 of Xbone proportions.
Here’s what I’m confused about…
So I have PS+. I pay $49.99 to get the unlock the “full PS+ Edition” of the game.
Then let’s say a year from now I cancel my PS Plus membership. I get that I lose access to the PS+ Edition of the game, but will I be given the option to pay $10 extra (the difference of what buying the full game flat out would’ve been) to just unlock the game?
@133 (Gstyles)
I’ll quote Flail’s post for you:
Think about it that way… Now it’s only DriveClub but if we just support that it won’t be the only one… Maybe in the future we won’t keep any of the discounted games/content… Did you ever think about that?
THIS is what we’re afraid of
Hey guys I don’t understand your model at all. You’re saying that if I pay $10 dollars more at full price, I own the game (digtally or physically). BUT HEY! Here’s a measly $10 dollar discount, but you technically don’t own the game!
My question to you is, who the hell thought of this business model? Are you guys high? Why would anyone in the right mind go for the so called “upgrade”? I have no intention of letting my PS+ run dry, but you need to fire whoever came up with this idea because you are simply offending people with this plan.
@131 (Flail)
I’m not trying to be a jerk, but I get it just fine. The problem I see with your argument lies in your second point, in which you say that Driveclub is one of the “various discounts on different games” that we should get with PS+. Sony rarely gives discounts on its first party games on day 1, regardless of whether Plus is involved or not. I understand that people want the $50 “sale price” with no strings attached. I totally understand that. But in this case, Sony’s not trying to give you a PS+ discount for Driveclub…they are just giving you another option for how you can purchase the game. If you were going to buy the game before this announcement for $60, the announcement should change nothing for you, as that option is still available. If you were not going to buy it (for whatever reason), then that still should be the case. This $50 option should only have made a difference to people that don’t plan to drop PS+ and want to save $10.
@134 (ThumbsOfSteel74) – Hey man!
I don’t disagree with you that the way this has been messaged was pretty terrible. Certainly there should’ve been someone out in front of this that could’ve explained this a bit better. And I am assuming that you can buy the full version without Plus (if that’s not the case, then take back EVERYTHING I’ve said in my previous posts…lol).
I don’t mean to be some Sony apologist or anything…I also just don’t want to rage out like many of the posters have done. Sony has made so many good moves this generation…that should not get lost in all of this chaos. It would be hard for me to see them make that kind of bad move.
@131
The part you left out. The game director went back and removed that part of his post. Check this out:
http://i.imgur.com/ZnLnMub.png
He initially said that the upgrade will not require a Plus subscription. Then he went back and erased that part about not requiring a Plus subscription. (Look at the parts in the red boxes.)
If you are going to quote the game director then do not quote the part that he later removed.
I’d like to echo the concern that $49.99 for a game upgrade which will require an active PS+ subscription is not a very attractive option.
Either:
—The $49.99 version should be a full PSN version of the game that you get to keep forever OR
—the price should be reduced to a more appropriate $29-39.99 OR
—the PS+ upgrade should come with some sort of access to extra DLC OR
—the PS+ upgrade should allow users to purchase additional areas (with 11 more cars) a la carte for $9.99 each.
Driveclub looks great. But I think we all know that the PS+ version is really just a giant demo that offers 20% of the game with the hopes of selling people on the full game.
And I really hope the development team understands that the buzzwords like social and community don’t mean that much to gamers unless the game that comes with those things is top-notch. Remember, Littlebigplanet didn’t launch as a social game; it launched as a platformer and then the social aspects developed later as the playerbase took root. The game itself was good enough to elicit that response.
Stop being so entitled, goyim. You should be glad they’re giving you the privilege to upgrade, when they don’t owe you anything at all. In fact you should be glad they don’t require an online connection at all times like they rightfully should have.
From the Playstation Plus FAQ
Q: What happens when my PlayStation Plus subscription ends?
A: The content you have downloaded as part of your PlayStation Plus subscription at no charge is only accessible as long as you are an active subscriber. The exceptions are free themes and avatars, which you will continue to have access to, even if you are no longer a subscriber. Anything you have purchased (even if you purchased it at a discount) will remain available to you even if your subscription ends
https://blog.playstation.com/2010/09/10/playstation-plus-faq/
From the Playstation Plus FAQ
Q: What happens when my PlayStation Plus subscription ends?
A: The content you have downloaded as part of your PlayStation Plus subscription at no charge is only accessible as long as you are an active subscriber. The exceptions are free themes and avatars, which you will continue to have access to, even if you are no longer a subscriber. Anything you have purchased (even if you purchased it at a discount) will remain available to you even if your subscription ends
Yeah and don’t forget you should be thankful they don’t want your first born male child too
TheJIDF
I dont have to be glad about anything.. its not a privledge to upgrade. they should feel Privledged if i did upgrade
I agree with #5 too. $50 glorified upgrade that’s gone if your PS+ membership lapses. No thank you. I’ll just play the Plus Edition. If I enjoy it, I’ll wait 3-4 months till it drops to $30-440 in price at Best Buy or Amazon, like all the other PS4 games have done so far.
I had voiced my concern about this when I first heard about the Plus Edition. I wondered if this was going to be a one time thing of having a glorified demo that could be upgraded to a full retail release, or is this going to be the future of our PS+ membership. Free indies and glorified demos of full retail releases for the PS4 instead of the wholesale value of our membership that we have received with our PS3s and Vitas? I mean they have us where they want us now that they charge us for online MP.
Don’t get me wrong. I’ve enjoyed the indies offered thus far. However, I have been a PS+ for a couple of years now and have enjoyed the IGC immensely for both the VIta and PS3. I understand it’s early in the PS4 console cycle and it’s unrealistic to offer full retail retail releases as part of the IGC at this stage. I’m just hoping more ‘Plus Editions’ isn’t the future for the IGC for full retail releases for the PS4.