PSN freebies could hurt new games

By Robert Purchese Published 20 May, 2011

Dev worried Outland will be "old news".

Sony's apologetic PlayStation Network giveaway may cause further harm to studios whose games weren't released while the service was offline.

By offering two free downloadable PlayStation 3 games (from a choice of inFamous, LittleBigPlanet, WipEout HD/Fury, Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty and Dead Nation), Sony may unwittingly be taking yet more attention away from the already struggling-to-be-noticed newcomers.

"The issue is that everyone now gets games for free, so people might just play the free games for a while. By the time they are ready to buy something, Outland is maybe old news," Ilari Kuittinen, CEO of Outland (and Dead Nation and Super Stardust HD) developer Housemarque told Edge Online.

Outland has been released on Xbox Live Arcade already and was supposed to be released on PSN on 26th April. It is fantastic - Outland scored 8/10 on Eurogamer.

A further problem will be caused by Sony's flood of missed PSN content, which is rumoured to be returning in four bi-weekly clumps, starting Tuesday, 24th May.

"As a developer, I feel very sorry for those teams that did try to release their titles during the PSN outage window," an unnamed source confided.

"Beyond that, I feel sorry for those that are attempting to launch games in the days following the outage, as there will likely be such a backlog of traffic that it may be hard to be noticed in the flurry of 'get everything back up and running'."

Seed Studios, developer of Under Siege, also has reservations.

"We are all concerned with the overall situation but we think that despite all the delays and the multiple releases Under Siege will still stand out on its own," commented defiant producer Filipe Pina.

The PlayStation Store was taken down a month ago, on 20th April.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds. @Clert on Twitter.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (63) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • lcmnick #1 1 year ago

    Post deleted at 12:48:44 14-04-2012

  • PixelPirate #2 1 year ago

    Outland has been released on Xbox Live Arcade already and was supposed to be released on PSN on 26th April. It is fantastic - Outland scored 8/10 on Eurogamer.

    I did not expect that.

    //sarcasm

    Edited by PixelPirate at 20/05/11 @ 15:55

  • T3TSUO #3 1 year ago

    Really wish EuroMSgamer would just shut up with this propaganda.
    Everyday guys, every single day.
    Fine we get it.

  • Nevfx #4 1 year ago

    No offense to the newcomes, but we desvere SOMETHING for Sonys cock up with security.

    Either way, Sony needs to release this stuff anyway, like the first poster said, its unavoidable.

  • BraveArse #5 1 year ago

    TBF I think he has a point. Sony would have done better to support developers who missed out due to the outage rather than hawking LBP ( again ). I'd rather have the choice of a few unheard of but new PSN games tbh.

    On the plus side, some of my mates will now get Dead Nation and I'll have people to co-op with. \o/
    Edited by BraveArse at 20/05/11 @ 15:57

  • Golgo #6 1 year ago

    The developers' complaint is fair enough, but I think they're overlooking the larger issue of whether Sony customers will be keen to buy anything at all. I'm not taking my card details anywhere near the damn thing for a while.

  • sabrecheeky #7 1 year ago

    Always a problem with 'freebies'. I remember when Amiga magazines in the UK used to have full games on the cover disks (remember those?!?), apparently it hurt sales so much that a self imposed ban was put on giving full games away 'free' in this way by all the magazines.

    But then again, I'm old enough to remember being excited by the first Crash covertape!

  • ron_aldo #8 1 year ago

    Days after offering Ratchet and Clank and Infamous as peace offerings, the official blog was plugging their sequels.

  • andijames #9 1 year ago

    I don't understand why people are so reluctant to use card details with PSN now. Surely if anything it'll be the least likely place to get them stolen from due to what's happened in the past month.

    Just a thought really.

  • Munners #10 1 year ago

    Developers positioning themselves for some compensation perhaps....?

  • Golgo #11 1 year ago

    @10: I prefer to give it some time before re-committing, that's all. If it looks stable for a few weeks then maybe.

  • Raconteur #12 1 year ago

    "Sony's apologetic PlayStation Network giveaway may cause further harm to studios whose games weren't released while the service was offline. "

    Only for 30 days, unless you continue with PSN+

  • GamesConnoisseur #13 1 year ago

    I remember Crash, Sinclair User and all that.

    A pity if cos of the hacking, developer like Housemarque may see that XBL version of Outlands sold well but not eventually matched on PSN due to being old news and/or PSN users being more wary.

    Though this doesnt need to be the case, as to make up for downtime, Sony could make efforts to highlight games that was pushed off the radar though may gonna be bit crowded and fighting for PSN users' attention. May not be able to afford packed multi Store updates as if it was more spread out normally.

    Who would know what are the actual costs to everyone involved due to the 4 weeks PSN Store downtime?

  • flaming.carrot #14 1 year ago

    Or Housemarque could release some paid DLC for Dead Nation in a couple of months time and clean up since many people will opt for it as one of their free game (maybe they can fix finding coop partners too while they are at it - really lets this great game down).

  • sonicyoda #15 1 year ago

    Bloody hell, I didn't think they were giving away full titles! I was expecting PSN exclusive stuff like Lemmings; not bloody inFAMOUS! WIN!

  • Huxamalay #16 1 year ago

    PSN users are used to getting things late anyway so I dont see what the fuss is about

    If its that good it will sell

  • kirankara #17 1 year ago

    they literally cannot win at moment, everything they do, is wrong. If its not media, its customers, if its not cutomers, its politicians, if its not politicians, its hackers and their "moral crusades", if its not hackers its devs trying to grab some free compensation money. fuck em all
    Edited by kirankara at 20/05/11 @ 16:45

  • captain_Carl #18 1 year ago

    But one of their games is being given away for free...?

  • CloisterBlack #19 1 year ago

    @T2TSUO and @everyone-else-who-for-some-reason-feels-personally-offended-when-(bad)-news-about-Sony-come-up.

    Get a grip man, are you bloody paid by Sony?
    Why are you so upset? You remind me of those Muslims who don't want their Muhamed get depicted by any means.
    God, some people..

    As for these particular news, the fact is what Icmnick said.
    Edited by CloisterBlack at 20/05/11 @ 16:19

  • Golgo #20 1 year ago

    @19: excellent point, sir. hadn't thought of that. excellent publicity for outland, I would've thought?

  • coolbritannia #21 1 year ago

    "Surely if anything it'll be the least likely place to get them stolen from due to what's happened in the past month."

    You'd think, but the latest password exploit debacle shows Sony haven't changed much. PSN 2 has been rushed, but the Japanese govt weren't fooled...

  • repeater #22 1 year ago

    They must be so pissed off at Sony right now - whatever they do, whichever way they turn, all they hear is WHINE WHINE WHINE.. :)
    (Not saying the worries expressed in the article are totally unfounded, but like others have said - what the hell are Sony to do anyway?)

  • HiddenAway #23 1 year ago

    After the 30 days are up for the freebies, maybe it would be worth Sony putting a category on it's own in the latest section and put that up for 30 days with all the content that will flood in during the first few weeks inside - a "what you may have missed" category if you like.

    That would ensure some additional publicity at least - or would I be wrong in saying that?

  • Ryze #24 1 year ago

    PSNlol

  • Toothball #25 1 year ago

    I suspect the issue would be the same even if there were no free games on the table. We're going to be seeing a month's worth of content in a condensed period, and probably only the most dedicated gamers will have set aside enough of their pocket money to buy everything that they missed. Most people will probably pick up the pieces they can afford at the moment. At least until pay day I expect.

    It's not been a good time for anyone involved, unless you're one of the hackers who has had little else to do but smirk for the past month.

  • CheesecakeBobby #26 1 year ago

    If Sony had given everyone free credit out of their own pocket, they could have let us gamers buy whatever games we want, and supported the developers of new games like Outland at the same time. I guess they are sorry but not THAT sorry.

  • Acrid #27 1 year ago

    I only buy stuff off PSN when it's on sale anyway so you've not lost my money Housemarque

  • MavSkipper #28 1 year ago

    To be honest, that's just looking for excuse if the game doesn't do/sell well. They really need to be more confident about their game/work.

    If people are interested, they'll buy it whether it's £0.99 or £40.

  • bikmate #29 1 year ago

    "Sony may unwittingly be taking yet more attention away."

    Read that, find the key word there. hint-> MAY!

  • kirankara #30 1 year ago

    "If Sony had given everyone free credit out of their own pocket, they could have let us gamers buy whatever games we want, and supported the developers of new games like Outland at the same time. I guess they are sorry but not THAT sorry."

    genius idea, give away roughly £100 million worth of products away, and pay devs their cut of it and watch about £50 million exit ur bank account, and outland still might not make any money.

    Nicee idea, but so glad ur not ceo of my company

  • Zozzilla #31 1 year ago

    Oh for god's sake - by this logic, if you decide to throw on an old game for nostalgia's sake you're actually KILLING THE GAMES INDUSTRY OMG!!!

    Get a grip. People are buying Outland on XBL, and will do so on the PSN if they want to regardless of what they get for free/what else is released. They aren't suddenly going to only play things they don't have to pay for.

  • Bluetooth #32 1 year ago

    Quit your bitching, if it's that good people will still buy it.

  • MeBrains #33 1 year ago

    also in the news: sony thinks the extended warranty of its rival, hurt its business, as it supposes that less new consoles will be bought... :|

  • Architect_z #34 1 year ago

    Arent the dev's of Outland just being greedy, they'd get enough money from Xbox sales alone, any games sold for PS3 will be a bonus.

  • Miths #35 1 year ago

    Hasn't just about everyone already played that selection of games you can choose from for free? Although I guess some people might be tempted to replay InFamous in preparation for the sequel, if they don't still own the disc.

  • DarkSeptember #36 1 year ago

    Damned if you do....

  • Murton #37 1 year ago

    So hang on, developers are worried that gamers might just take the free games and ignore theirs? The fact that Sony is giving away some of their best selling titles should suggest that this likely won't happen large scale as many will already have them, not forgetting the fact that out of the 5 titles (plus one expansion pack) that are available, only one hasn't already been given away free or heavily discounted in PS+ since its launch last year.

    It will of course have a significant impact if these developers were expecting to sell their games for £10 despite clearly not having the content to justify that price point. No idea which developers or complaining or which games are said to suffer from this deal, so I can't speculate on that, but it's nice to see that even when Sony try to do good they are still demonised by EG writers, and I thought Robert was one of the good guys.

  • septimus #38 1 year ago

    Unlikely as most will have the things they are giving away for free. Outland is a good game and well worth it.

  • funkateer #39 1 year ago

    He has a point. I wonder how many times Infamous will be downloaded and will suck up at least a week of potential sales.
    Perhaps it would be a good idea if Sony would consider this and offer extra, free advertisement for the new games too.

  • reeferchief #40 1 year ago

    I don't see it hurting them, anyone who really wants the psn games will still pick them up, maybe if the free games had been LA Noire, Brink or other new releases.

  • Kaminari #41 1 year ago

    Euro '8/10' Gamer

  • Vyggo #42 1 year ago

    "If Sony had given everyone free credit out of their own pocket, they could have let us gamers buy whatever games we want, and supported the developers of new games like Outland at the same time. I guess they are sorry but not THAT sorry."

    I agree with this. Giving games away for free that are pretty much at the end of their lifecycle as a digital download is hardly going to cost playstation money. A real gesture would've been to give credit. Yes, this would have actually cost money for Sony making it seem like an actual apology. It would've have helped the developers and gave the more hardcore gamers that probably have most of these titles already some real compensation.

  • kingmob #43 1 year ago

    I do sympathise with them because, as we all well know, the lion's share of downloadable sales comes within the first week or two of release.

    It's like having an exclusive with HMV only to find out they're closing all of their shops for a month.

  • -cerberus- #44 1 year ago

    PSN users also have the internet and will probably be exposed to gaming news every day/week. And if they're not, it's up to Sony to place an ad on the frontpage of the PSN store. Yet in the end, people will always buy what they want. Old news or not.

    And about Outland; I bought it for 360 on launch day. It's truly a brilliant game so I suggest PS3 owners definitely check it out when the store's back up.
    Edited by -cerberus- at 20/05/11 @ 22:37

  • 32768Colours #45 1 year ago

    I'd have thought that like myself, many PSN users will be very excited to get back on there and see what they've missed. Definitely buying pre-paid cards from now on though, as I'm still wary of giving them my credit card details.

    Will this stop me from picking up any cool games that I've missed though? Hell no! Why should it? I'm not going to miss out on quality titles just because they're a month old. I'd have thought that most PSN Store users would feel the same.

    To prove a point, Pixel Junk Shooter 2 is top of my list and that's older than Outland! Gutted I didn't buy it when it came out; I've wanted to play it now for weeks!!

  • Prodigy_BE #46 1 year ago

    Well, I for one will be buying Outland the day te store comes back online. SSHD and Dead Nation where just too good, so a team that does those has my attention... And money

  • Prodigy_BE #47 1 year ago

    Well, I for one will be buying Outland the day te store comes back online. SSHD and Dead Nation where just too good, so a team that does those has my attention... And money

  • A_Nonny #48 1 year ago

    Outland is the one game I've been waiting for during the down time. It'll be my very first purchase once the store is up.

  • bluetoothion #49 1 year ago

    I think he is only bitching because its already hard finding decent time windows to some major franchises and dispersed low profile gems so the outage and the marketing of PSNs comeback probably affects their planning...but its really unavoidable.... and i m not sure how well thought is his comment, somehow fighting a freebie might be tough but its a two year old freebie...even if it scored 8/10 in eurogamer ( which i ve yet to believe if its a score to go by....) he already seems having low confidence on their own work...

  • eag1z #50 1 year ago

    I'm pretty sure Outland was going to be discounted for PS+ members, and seeing as EVERYONE will be for at least a month, I imagine they might sell even more

  • Master_Ted #51 1 year ago

    if you're little 2D platformer or whatever IS any good, it'll become popular on its own.

  • bigtechno #52 1 year ago

    if you build it, people will come

  • djm99 #53 1 year ago

    If your game is any good, people will buy it- simple. It's already been pointed out that most PSN users have already got these free games anyhoo.

  • ajaxpliskin #54 1 year ago

    I'll be buying it.

  • kongzi #55 1 year ago

    Being completely dependent on only one channel (you have no control over) for the distribution of your products will hurt your business. Your high school economy teacher will tell you so...

    Developing just for psn (or live) may seem like a nice easy choice in the short run. You get to make your game, people get to play it. But it's betting on one horse, and that's not what Arnold Rothstein would do.

  • darkmorgado #56 1 year ago

    Well I would imagine that the majority of PS3 gamers probably have those free games already anyway, which makes it a pretty shit deal.

  • superpornostar #57 1 year ago

    Last Sony product for me. Best Xbox!!!

  • o-Pistol-Pete-o #58 1 year ago

    Thanx Hotz for your good work hacking PSN.....What you fail to realise from your rather juvenile and ever so slightly short sighted actions is that every action has a reaction and by throwing your toys out the pram and trying to screw Sony over you may have hurt more people than you know........Congratulations you must be very proud

  • SeesThroughAll #59 1 year ago

    Well I would imagine that the majority of PS3 gamers probably have those free games already anyway, which makes it a pretty shit deal.

    So, if by that logic, Microsoft was to offer Gears of War as a free download through XBL, would you consider that a pretty shit deal as well?

    Be honest.

    Then you'll realize how ridiculous that statement is.

  • lucky_jim #60 1 year ago

    @Pistol Pete: GeoHotz didn't hack PSN. Christ, just how misinformed can you be? I suppose you think Saddam was behind 9/11 too?

  • kinky_mong #61 1 year ago

    So anyway, when are we going to be able to get our two free games? Or have I missed the email detailing how to claim them?

  • natureboy #62 1 year ago

    I see what #4 is saying. I know you must report on Sony news but guys please go easy on it and not every day - it is getting tiring

  • goatjugsoup #63 1 year ago

    If attention can be taken off new comers by something as simple as a couple of free games, were they really worthy of our attention in the first place? If Outland is a good game it'll do fine, if not then that guy is just blowing smoke to try and hide the fact that its rubbish.