Sony announces DRIVECLUB PS+ Edition; Is Evil Sony back?

Well that didn't take long now did it? After their massive smackdown of Microsoft and Xbox One at the last E3 Conference, it looks like Evil, $600 PS3 get-a-second-job Sony is slowly starting to creep back.

Now that DRIVECLUB is finally back from the dead, Sony has started building the hype and releasing information leading up to the October 8th release date. Check out the first info dump trailer below.


Hidden in among all the nice fluffy stuff like getting a whole bunch of content for free, and being able to get a Platinum trophy in the PS+ edition, is the little chestnut which has lit the flame of the Internet:

"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/$49.99/£42.99. 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."

What. The. Fuck?

Is this the same champion of the people Sony which emerged at the last E3?

The Playstation Plus service has been built on offering gamers value for money through free and discounted content. The "free" content has always been clearly only "free" while the subscription remained active. This was known and accepted. What was also always clear and known, and explicitly defined by Sony was that any content purchased with a PS+ discount was yours to keep regardless of subscription status. 

This is a game changer.

Now various Internet zones, NeoGAF, Reddit, even the Playstation Blog have blown up. But Sony seems to be sticking firm. Sure, we got this Tweet

but to me this is like Chief Wiggum typing it up on his imaginary typewriter. What the fuck is there to clarify? Who exactly is he going to speak to? This isn't some accident or mis-communication. This is the plan, clear and simple, right there in black and white. Sure you can buy the full physical copy, but this seems sneaky, manipulative and downright shady.

You just knew Sony had to turn the screw at some point. You thought you were going to keep getting Tomb Raiders and Borderlands and Bioshocks free forever? Sony gots to get paid yo. Looks like it didn't take long for Sony to go from David to Goliath.