Key Takeaways
- Dino Crisis and Resident Evil: Director’s Cut saw substantial player count jumps after their PS Plus Premium restrictions were recently lifted.
- Both Capcom PS1 classics managed a combined 124.6% boost in player count after being offered as standalone purchases.
- Resident Evil: Director’s Cut’s player count spiked 164.9%, whereas Dino Crisis surged 84.3%.
Some new data suggests that Dino Crisis and Resident Evil: Director’s Cut have seen massive upticks in player count after the recent removal of the PlayStation Plus Premium subscription requirement. The two Capcom PS1 classics were previously accessible only to PS Plus Premium members, but they have since been made available as standalone purchases on the PlayStation Store.
One of PS Plus Premium’s most prominent offerings is its classics catalog, which features emulated games from the PS1, PS2, and PSP generations, as well as some PS3 titles via cloud streaming. Sony adds new classic games to the catalog every month, with October 2024 bringing Dino Crisis to PS Plus Premium. Dino Crisis was first teased for PS Plus Premium over two years ago, so Capcom fans were excited to finally revisit the PS1 survival horror classic on PS4 and PS5. Much like Resident Evil: Director’s Cut, though, Dino Crisis could only be played via PS Plus Premium initially and offered no standalone purchase options.
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Capcom’s Recent Survival Horror PSN Additions Should Open the Floodgates
Capcom making two of its classic survival horror titles available to all PSN users regardless of PS Plus subscription should just be the start.
Locking Dino Crisis and Resident Evil: Director’s Cut behind a $160 annual (or $18 monthly) subscription fee came as a huge disappointment to fans. Thankfully, this decision was recently backtracked and the Capcom classics were made available as standalone purchases on the PlayStation Store for $9.99 each. It seems that Sony and Capcom reversing course on the PS Plus Premium requirement has worked wonders for Dino Crisis and Resident Evil: Director’s Cut, as a new report from TrueTrophies reveals that the PS1 classics saw a combined 124.6% player count boost after being offered as separate PSN purchases.
Dino Crisis and Resident Evil: Director’s Cut Player Count Spikes After Lifting PS Plus Restriction
- Resident Evil: Director’s Cut – 164.9%
- Dino Crisis – 84.3%
- Combined player count uptick – 124.6%
When looked at in isolation, Resident Evil: Director’s Cut saw a whopping 164.9% increase in player count, which is rather surprising since the Capcom classic has been on PS Plus Premium since 2022. However, Resident Evil: Director’s Cut was restricted to PS Plus Premium the whole time, so the higher player volume is likely a result of pent-up demand for expanded access. Meanwhile, Dino Crisis was a big hit on PS Plus Premium less than two months ago, so it saw a milder 84.3% jump in player count once it was available à la carte. TrueTrophies obtained these metrics using sample data from 3.5 million active PSN accounts.
The sample size is a far cry from the usual 120 million monthly active users on PlayStation platforms, so the player count upticks for Resident Evil: Director’s Cut and Dino Crisis may look different on Sony’s end. Regardless, TrueTrophies’ data is a good indicator of classic games flourishing when they’re available to as many players as possible. With PS Plus Premium adding another exciting round of classics in December 2024, one can only hope they’ll also be available as standalone purchases.
PlayStation 5
Sony’s PlayStation 5 is part of the ninth console generation and debuted with a launch lineup that included Demon’s Souls and Astro’s Playroom. The console comes with a Blu-ray disc, although a digital-only edition is also available for a cheaper price.