It’s now Saturday, a full four days since Driveclub and the long awaited Driveclub PS Plus Edition went live on the PlayStation store. Since then, the game has been challenged by severe network issues. Its servers have been down most of the time disallowing early adopters to enjoy Clubs, Faceoffs, or any form of multiplayer. As much as a problem as that has posed, the fact that the PS Plus Edition still isn’t available has caused even more uproar from even Sony’s most loyal.
Since the PS4 was announced, Sony has enjoyed the uncompromising support of many gamers. Its consumer-first approach to design and strategy has made it the premier manufacturer of the big three so far this generation. Mind share has been at an all-time high, leading to record-breaking console sales and positive buzz. This positivity is currently being challenged by one of the first major slip-ups by Sony this generation.
There were high expectations for Driveclub‘s PS Plus Edition. It has been marketed more than any other offering from the PS Plus Instant Game Collection since it was announced. Heading into this week it looked like it would be a great opportunity for Sony to build additional momentum to start off the Fall season. However, it was anything but.
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For the past four days tens of thousands of gamers have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of Driveclub PS Plus Edition to try out the game before they buy it. For the first day, it was mysteriously unavailable with no mention of why it wasn’t published to the PS Store. For subsequent days, all there have been are repetitive updates from developer Evolution Studios explaining that the servers are struggling to host the game. Some theorize that it’s due to how the game’s net code has been scripted, which has each player ping the server constantly even when alone to determine the scores for Faceoffs, leaderboards, and more. When you consider how much interest there is in the game, and multiply that by the quantity of traffic by each player, it’s no wonder the servers are being murdered.
There’s no way around it, this sequence of events has damaged Sony’s strong reputation, even if just in a minor way. No matter the size of the damage caused, it’s the exact sort of thing the company has worked extremely hard to avoid.
Call it being self-entitled if you will, but I think it’d be a great move by Sony to increase the scope of the Driveclub PS Plus Edition. Let’s face it, the game hasn’t performed well critically, and this week hasn’t done it any favors. What Sony can do to at least partially make up for it is have Evolution Studios release its first paid DLC as a free content package, not only to those who own the game, but PS Plus Edition customers as well. This would work as a form of apology for poor preparation, and make sure that Driveclub customers and potential customers are as happy as possible. This sort of thing could be the different between a sale and a lost customer.
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This is asking a lot from Evolution Studios, especially given that it’s hard at work fixing the server issues and developing post-launch content such as Photo Mode and Weather, but at this point it would be well worth the investment. The future of Driveclub‘s package is hopeful; its launch content offerings pale in comparison to the competition, but once it has all the cars and features planned to be added it’ll be a completely different beast. Showcasing this for everyone to see, whether or not they’ve plunged $49.99 into the game, is a smart way to earn back some mind share.
