These FTC v. Microsoft documents -they’re the gifts that just keep on giving, right? In a recent statement dug up in said documents from Jim Ryan, it was revealed that the PlayStation President and CEO believes – or at least believed – that PlayStation Plus is a better gaming subscription service than Xbox’s Game Pass.
Once upon a time (as the documents make clear), Jim Ryan spoke quite damningly on the topic, throwing shade at Microsoft over the green team’s popular subscription service and making a bold claim that – at the time – PlayStation Plus boasted double the subscribers that Xbox Game Pass did.
But there’s a reason for that.
Is PS Plus Better Than Game Pass?
For many, it’s a subjective argument – but for those that back their respective platform, it’s a non-starter. Let’s not get into that portion of the debate, but instead, let’s take a look at what Jim Ryan said in these leaked FTC v. Microsoft documents:
I talked to all the publishers, and they unanimously do not like Game Pass because it is value destructive, not only on an individual title-basis, but also or an industry level. The recent number of subscribers that Microsoft announced on January was 25 Million. I am sure everyone has their own views on this, but I personally was expecting a larger number given all the money they have spent. We have close to 50 Million PlayStation Plus subscribers. We believe we have a meaningful subscription service.
So, Ryan spoke to ‘all the publishers’ in the gaming world and received unanimous feedback – Game Pass is awful. Back in January 2022, it was confirmed by Phil Spencer that Game Pass had surpassed 25 million users, and Jim Ryan responded by stating PlayStation Plus had 50 million subscribers.
Well, yes.
That’s because – for many years – PlayStation Plus was Sony’s Xbox Live. It was a required subscription to play online, so of course tens of millions of users boasted a membership. On the other hand, Game Pass was – at the time – a totally optional subscription service that rewarded players with a curated library of games. So, PlayStation Now.
What would it have looked like if Jim Ryan had compared PlayStation Plus to Xbox Live Gold back then?
This is an extension of a story that surfaced back in June during the FTC v. Microsoft trial
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out what Phil Spencer said about Xbox’s Asian market growth
