The release of PlayStation Plus’s new, tiered subscription service looms in the distance. With that, a number of things will likely slowly come out and leak. Many hope we’ll get a glimpse at what old-school games will be offered from past PlayStation generations, but that hasn’t happened yet.
The highest tier, PlayStation Plus Premium, will offer the most benefits. Besides giving players access to the most games, this tier will also include the addition of timed trials for select, newly released games
Recently, however, it came to light that PlayStation is requiring developers to include these timed trials for their games. This information leaked when it came up within a developer portal meant for PlayStation partners.
GameDeveloper.com reports that games priced with a wholesale cost of $34 or more will require a timed trial, but Sony will foot the extra work to ensure these get to subscribers. This will help alleviate some of the work that developers need to do leading up to their game’s launch.
The information comes today from Ethan Gach of Kotaku. He was told that the team over at the PlayStation Store will be responsible for the timed trials.
The timed trial, however, is separate from a game demo. Instead, it will let players play the full game for those two hours and do whatever they want before deciding whether or not they’ll buy it. The trial also must be available for up to a year to PlayStation Plus Premium members.
Reports yesterday clarified that the trial doesn’t have to be ready at a game’s launch. Instead, the trial can come out up to three months after the game releases.
In the meantime, Sony just released what games are available for PlayStation Plus subscribers this May. If you’re into soccer, roguelikes, or action RPGs, there might be something there for you.
