DriveClub’s free PlayStation Plus download has caused more controversy than a steak dinner in a vegetarian restaurant at times, but Sony finally appears to have come good on the deal. In addition to pledging two additional PlayStation 4 giveaways during the week of the complimentary title’s release, the platform holder has also put the upgrade up for pre-order on the European PlayStation Store – at a significantly lower price than expected.
Originally, it was thought that the full game unlock would retail for around £42.99, but it appears that it will go for £34.99 instead. It’s not entirely clear whether this is an error – it’s showing as unavailable at the time of typing – but game director Paul Rustchynsky has been tweeting about it all evening, so it would be a shame to see the firm go back on this offer. Moreover, given the online buzz surrounding the discount, we suspect that this cheaper fee may be good for digital sales.
Right now, you can purchase the physical version for £49.00 from Amazon.co.uk, so this does represent a real noteworthy saving. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like you’ll be getting quite as good deal in North America, with the upgrade costing $49.99 – just $10 less than the full retail price of $59.99. Still, any discount is better than nothing, right? Let us know if you’ll be buying Evolution Studios’ next-gen racer in the comments section below.
Please note that some external links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.
[source store.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com]
Comments 35
So, instead of a retail game, we almost definitely get two more indie games no one will likely play. Great.
NA here. I think that ten dollars off for the full title is a slap in the face, considering how they've been advertising this game since it's announcement. It was supposed to be a launch title, free to Plus members. Sure, the full version has some extras, but the core game is free! Cool! So for those extras, the upgrade should be reasonable right? Like $20? Oh no, it's $49.99, which is what most games go for new after they've been out for a month or so. There's just no incentive at that price point.
I wish all full games were £34.99 I would buy loads on day 1 if they were. Oh well.
@grenworthshero A bit unfair, I think. Wait and see what it is first — then you can complain.
If it's any consolation, I got the Special Edition Driveclub preorder for the grand old sum of £8
@grenworthshero
Also, we're still in the first year of PS4. Plus games have to be negotiated by Sony and the publishers. It's not just a matter of Sony taking on the cost of the game and giving that to the publisher, but the publisher has to agree for their game to be offered free. In that decision lies the publishers marketing strategies and how they want the game to be perceived. The retail value of a couple of indie games is more than the monthly subscription to Plus, but it counts as a sale as far as the dev's and publishers are concerned, so they're likely to agree to the game going on Plus for free.
So there's really no point expecting 'AAA' titles from big publishers within the first year of release to be offered up on Plus.
Perhaps when the new AC has racked up a few sales we'll see AC IV pop up on Plus after Xmas, and maybe a couple of earlier released titles too.
I understand that everyone can't like every game, but dismissing 'indie' games as thing noone will play is a bit silly. Some of the best and currently most original games available are indies, and the industry as a whole is better off for them.
@hadlee73
Too right. It's funny that so many don't really appreciate how much of an inflation-beating pastime gaming is.
I remember waiting for a special occasion to get a MegaDrive game as a present, as they routinely released for anything between £40 and £60.
That's £130 in today's money!
I am okay with indie but not for retro like Towerfal or Sporrsfriend. I do have friend coming but all we play are Diablo3 or indie as Resogun or Dead Nation. Don't see what's hot of retro gaming...
@grenworthshero these kind of comments, make me shake head. "I'm a hardcore gamer, because I only play AAA"
Most of the time, indies are better. Shame, you people won't play, because of whatever reason. I dunno, I don't get it, they're usually more exciting, and innovative.
@dudeware plenty of people will buy it... a wierd thing for you to say. A little ridiculous, just because of a delay. The game looks beautiful, and greatly improved because of it. Patience is a virtue.
@Shellybird27
Indie games are not "usually" better at all. In fact, most indie games that come out are either crap or can't hold a candle to bigger retail releases. Sure, there exceptions of course.
Also, they are NOT more innovative. I could go into why or list countless examples, but this topic has been flogged to death on this site, so I will refrain.
Either way, 'grenworthshero' is entitled to his opinion & I can't blame him for being frustrated.
However, expecting to get great retail games on PS4 PS+, at this time, is unrealistic to a certain extent. There aren't many great retail PS4 games yet, so they aren't going to show up on PS+. Hence all the indie junk every month.
@Godsire- The main reason we're getting nothing but indies is because there's no way the companies who make AAA games can make a profit off of Plus when they're spending millions to make a game. Once a game has been out for a while and the buyers have dwindled down then they'll take Sony's money for a Plus deal to squeeze out as much money as possible on that title. Indies have such low budgets they are willing to take a deal so they can make money immediately. Plus it gets the word out on their game instead of having to advertise
People are funny. This is good news for a lot of people but surprised to see whining comments. Ill be happy to download the FREE game and can't wait for it. But probably not upgrading to full version.
No matter what, ill download the plus edition, and see if it grabs me. If it does, ill upgrade, if not, ill put the $ toward project cars which looks likt it could be the racing game ive really been longing for.
If this were Gran Turismo 7 I wouldn't even be concerned with the pricing. I'd have my pre-order in for the main game and a car pass if there was one. Unfortunately Evolution has done nothing to instill confidence in me that this game is going to be worth it. I appreciate that Sony is offering some a portion of the game for free, I hope it's enough to convince me to do the $50 (a reasonable enough discount) upgrade. Good news is we'll know soon enough how much this nearly one-year delay paid off.
FreeClub for me~
Oh my gosh, reading some comments makes me cringe... You get a free core game and a paid upgrade with the massive, full experience. Still not happy. Should they pay YOU to play their game? Or maybe they should send a personal letter to you saying how awesome you are for spending time with their game, because you know, you have so much other stuff to do like saving baby animals, building dog shelters and planting amazonian forest? /s
The game shouldn't be priced at for more than £40 let alone the upgrade so this is them correcting stupidity.
Cancels amazon pre-order Is this the start of common sense where downloadable games are cheaper than retail?
"Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like you’ll be getting quite as good deal in North America"
It's a better deal in NA if you use a direct £ > $ conversion. While the US discount may be "less", the UK still pay $8 more
If the price is in fact £42.99 then you could say we are being screwed once again in the UK...
I'll be happy with the free version until a cheapo retail version pops up.
@Shellybird27 Oh look, you're yet again failing to understand people are allowed to have different opinions to you. Wonders never cease. If @grenworthshero doesn't like indies he's allowed to say it. You're not judge, jury and executioner, no matter how much you pretend you are. Also nowhere did he say he was "hardcore" but don't let that stop you waffling crap.
@rastamadeus
Funny thing is if the situation were reversed and it was MS promoting these very same indie games that Sony is, you'd be seeing a lot less comments about how indies are usually better than AAAs, which is such a bs statement. I've played a few good indies but just like with AAAs the majority are straight up crap.
I just look ad exchange rate and US get the better deal since, they pay $7 less than EU.
We've just got a glimpse of the next PS Plus lineup for October comment section...
@N711 Sadly, whining comments never surprise me any more. It seems to be almost a requirement for membership to the PlayStation club these days.
Personally, I'm looking forward to this, and hoping that I get on with the driving model. If I do, I'll be buying the full game and the season pass.
Cool, that's a pretty good deal, considering all other next-gen games start at €60 to €70
And jeez it's getting incredibly obnoxious with all these whiners...
@glassmusic It was never supposed to be a free title for PS+. µ
It's much better this way, because now the disc version is not getting devalued.
if it's $49 worth of content then I won't complain. Some people here are so quick to jump on the rant wagon, I mean, did you guys even read the article? O.O There's a difference between reading it and just skimming through it for pete sakes. The complaining of this makes absolutely no sense.
I'll have a pop at the plus version to see if it's for me, then I'll consider it.
@Shellybird27 I disagree, and find a lot of these "indie" titles extremely linear and/or repetitive.
What do you mean by 'you people'?
That said, there are some good eggs in there, but most of what I have played have been very similar or lacking any real story, and that is what I like from a game.
Strider is so far my favourite release on plus.
This is just me though, I can't speak for anyone else, but to be honest, the last few months have been pretty junk, and I'm yet to see a good, story driven game on plus since PS4 launch, that can't be completed in a couple of hours.
I saved 20$ buying the digital version, PS4 disk copy's in Canada cost 69.99$
@hadlee73 mgs5 99 cents !!! Woohoo!! Lol.
@rastamadeus whatever, i'll just say i'm sorry, and never speak my opinion again. It's fine, not worries about it, i'll just go back to watching Fargo- great show by the way!
At the end of the day everyone's entitled to there own opinion ( even if that opinion is wrong ) and video games like movies books tv shows etc.. are all subjective
You say.. It's only $10 difference but it's only £8 difference for us lol
Tap here to load 35 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...