Plex has launched Plex Arcade, a new game streaming service that asks you to pay a small subscription fee to access a number of titles.
The question is, even at just $2.99/month, is Plex Arcade worth the price of admission?
Plex Arcade: A New Game Streaming Service
In January 2021, Plex announced the launch of Plex Arcade.
To briefly summarize the Plex Arcade service, it currently has a collection of 27 titles (although some of these are collections in of themselves) from Atari’s back catalog.
These are retro titles, so we’re talking about the likes of Food Fight, Centipede, (its significantly leggier cousin) Millipede, and the impossibly difficult Desert Falcon.
However, you also get some real gems like Haunted House, which some consider as being one of the earliest examples of the survival horror genre. And the bizarre martial arts/sports mashup, Ninja Golf.
So, is that enough to justify a subscription?
Plex Arcade: What’s the Point?
At the time of writing, Plex Arcade costs $2.99/month. OK, that is hardly going to send you spiraling into mountains of uncontrollable debt. However, think about what you’re getting for that.
You’re getting access to a collection of 27 Atari games. So you’re essentially renting those 27 games from Plex. Not only that, but it isn’t like these are only available via Plex Arcade. They remain immensely popular games for a reason.
Now, we’re not here to cast doubt on the titles themselves. We have already accepted that these games were (and still are) incredibly influential and groundbreaking.
Retro titles were very much the topic of conversation when we attended the Atari VCS Techfluence event prior to CES 2021, for example, despite the event being about the forthcoming Atari VCS revamp.
Does this mean you’re getting good value for money, though? It’s unlikely that you’ll miss those few dollars a month. It just depends on whether you place that sort of value on a collection of 27 retro games.
Many of these games are currently also available as much larger (and therefore, better value for money) collections, like the Atari Flashback Classics collection, available on Nintendo Switch. You get 150 games with that purchase!
They’re also available on the Evercade retro gaming handheld, although how this device will work with Atari titles in the future, given the return of the Atari VCS, remains a mystery.
You can even access many old Atari titles via The Internet Arcade, which is completely free to use and requires no subscription at all. It is also perfectly legal to play these games online, before you worry about the feds hunting you down.
So, you really need to ask yourself, will a collection of 27 classic games hold your attention long enough to warrant subscribing to another new streaming service? Is there something a little deeper rooted going on here?
Why Does the Plex Arcade Only Have Atari Games?
Looking a little deeper into Plex’s relationship with Atari and, more specifically, the Atari VCS, will give you an answer to that.
In August 2020, Atari VCS announced in a post on Medium that Plex was the platform’s “first official major streaming entertainment partner”. It even hailed Plex as “the world’s most comprehensive streaming entertainment platform”.
So, it would certainly seem that Plex and Atari have fostered quite the relationship. And this should come as no surprise; Plex’s cord-cutting basis and the (new) Atari VCS “user liberation” ethos are obvious bedfellows. So, there certainly could be a bit of mutual back-scratching going on here.
But why does Plex Arcade only have Atari games?
Plex itself has stated that this is an experiment, and only if Arcade proves popular will it consider expanding the library with more titles from more companies. So, rather than shopping for licenses for new games, Plex has partnered with Atari, a company with which it has an existing relationship.
Likewise, Atari VCS could benefit from this, too. If people subscribe to Plex already, the chances are they will have considered the Atari VCS as an all-in-one media device. Place your games on an already popular platform for an inexpensive fee, and you’ll get attention that may convert that consideration to sales.
Looking at the Plex Arcade website, the Atari VCS control pad is clearly visible.
So, Is Plex Arcade Worth Subscribing To?
That all depends on how you look at it.
Plex Arcade is a great way to access a small number of retro games instantly, should you want a quick-fire night of playing arcade classics with your friends.
There is plenty here to keep you going as you try to top each other’s high scores. And that $2.99/month price tag means that just one night of entertainment will be worth the investment.
However, beyond retro gaming fans, we would question the re-playability of these games. The retro gaming scene is, undeniably, largely built around nostalgia. Atari knows this. Which is why the new Atari VCS is, well, an Atari VCS (albeit with infinitely more capabilities).
Either way, $2.99 is a minuscule investment, so why not subscribe to Plex Arcade for a month and see what you think. And if Plex adds more titles in the future, that price tag will become great value for money.