Mathematical proof that PS Now is a great deal

Yesterday morning, Sony announced the details for a monthly subscription plan to PlayStation Now, it’s video game streaming service in which you can rent and play games instantly without having to first download them.

While gamers with access to PlayStation-enabled devices have been able to rent games on an individual basis for months now, the newly announced subscription plan is designed to replication a Netflix-like model in which you can pay a small flat monthly fee for access to the entire catalog of games. The question for the longest time was always, but how much would this cost?

Turns out, there are two subscription plans: one month for $19.99, or a three-month package for $44.99 (or $15/month). Sure, it was a little steeper than many had hoped (or expected), but as I defended yesterday — it’s not a bad deal, or an unfair price.

And now I have proof. Mathematical proof.

Today, Sony revealed the full lineup of PS3 games that will available through PlayStation Now as part of the monthly subscription. Turns out, despite having a subscription, there’s still an entire list of games that are only available as individual rentals. But still, the monthly subscription includes over 100 games, and now we know what they are.

If you remember my defense regarding the fairness of PS Now’s price, I explained that buying a game like God of War: Ascension from GameStop (where it’s priced at $18.99) would essentially turn out to be more expensive than simply subscribing to a month — or three — of PS Plus where you’d also have access to hundreds of other games. As it just so happens, God of War: Ascension is part of the lineup of games included with the monthly subscription, so my argument is still valid.

But let’s take things a step further. We looked at the entire lineup of PS Now subscription games and calculated the price of each one if you were to buy them individually. Ready for this? The cost of all the of the games available as part of the PlayStation Now subscription totals to $1,869 if purchased new. If each game was purchased used, it would total to $1,549.

So you’re essentially getting over $1,500 worth of games for just $20 a month, or $15 a month if you opt for the three-month plan. Assuming you opt to pay $20 on a month-by-month basis, it would take over seven years before you reach the actual value of the entire collection of games offered. Like I said, not a bad deal at all. For reference, here is the list of games and the prices we found.

Editor's Note: The prices listed below were gathered from GameStop’s website and could vary from retailer to retailer, or even on the PlayStation Store if you’re a PS Plus member. If titles weren't available either New or Used, we listed the same price for both. So while the prices might not be 100% accurate, it’s still a decent representation of the total amount you’d spend if buying the games individually.