Playstation Plus

[TheGrandMom]

PlayStation Plus: Your Questions Answered – PlayStation Blog)

"PlayStation Nation — First off, thank you for all of your feedback regarding PlayStation Plus. There have been a lot of comments and questions surrounding some of the details of the new subscription service so we wanted to provide a little clarification leading up to its availability on June 29th. It’s a lot of info, but hopefully this helps answer most of your questions.

First off, at launch, PlayStation Plus will offer subscribers the full PlayStation Network game, WipEout HD, PSP minis and PS One Classics such as Fieldrunners, Age of Zombies and Rally Cross, full game trial of inFAMOUS, as well as free monthly episodes of Qore – our high-definition, interactive gaming lifestyle show.

With that, here are the basics of the new subscription service that lives on top of the current PlayStation Network:

The current PSN features will remain free. We are still very committed to PSN as a free comprehensive entertainment service and are certainly not planning on reducing this service following the launch of PlayStation Plus.

PlayStation Plus is an evolving service and the features included at launch will be:

- Games
- PS Store Discounts
- Exclusive offers on select demos, betas and early purchases
- Full Game Trial
- Automatic Downloads
(More info on these below)

PlayStation Plus can be purchased through PlayStation Store on PS3 as a one-year package or a three-month package. The three-month package is available for $17.99 and the one-year package will be available for $49.99. We will also be offering three additional bonus months for free if you purchase the 1-year package — that’s 15 months total for $49.99.

Payment is a one-time fee for either package and can be purchased with any of the current PSN Store payment methods – credit card or PSN Cards.


Here are more details on the features of PlayStation Plus:

Games & Special Offers: As a subscriber, you can expect to get your hands on free monthly PSN games, minis and PS One Classics from the PSN Store. You will be able to download these games during the month they are available until the new selection replaces them.

Once downloaded, the games are yours to keep and play as long as you are a member of PlayStation Plus. If your subscription lapses and then you re-subscribe, the games you have already downloaded will reactivate, so you still have access to them. Additionally, if you delete one of the titles from your PS3, but decide you want to get it back, then you can re-download from the PlayStation Plus section of the PSN Store if the game is still there, or, if the game has expired from the PlayStation Plus section of the PSN Store, you can simply search for it on PS Store and download it again at no extra cost.

Each month there will be dynamic themes, premium avatars and premium game elements/add-ons for you to download and many will be exclusive to PlayStation Plus members only. These are yours to keep forever once you have downloaded them.

PlayStation Plus subscribers will also be given exclusive PlayStation Store discounts each month that are above and beyond the current PSN Store discounts available to everyone. These discounts will range from 20% to 50%, and anything you buy with these is yours to keep and enjoy forever.

Finally, wherever possible we’ll be making sure that members are included in selected demos and beta trials before they go live to everyone else, so you can be the one to tell all your friends about the next big game they ‘must’ get.

Subscribers will get hundreds of dollars of value through the year and, in the first month alone, will receive more than $50 worth of content.

Full Game Trial: Each month we will be offering members the chance to download full games and try them out for a period of time (one hour, unless otherwise stated). After the game trial is complete, simply purchase the game to carry on where you left off. This is a unique way to trial the full game experience and means you don’t have to be restricted to certain levels/game modes when you test out a game.

The games in Full Game Trial will become available to all PS Store users to purchase, but only PlayStation Plus members will have the chance to ‘try before you buy’.

The other great thing about this feature is that you can continue from where you were at the end of the trial period if you decide to buy the game. All game saves and trophies earned during the trial will be unlocked and will show up on your trophy list and your trophy level when you purchase the game. You don’t even have to re-download the game, just purchase and go back to the XMB to access the game.

Automatic Download: Subscribers will be able to set their PS3 to wake up from standby at any time of the day or night, download and install any game updates for the games you have been playing so you don’t have to think about it. Also, select demos and videos will be pushed to your PS3 ready to go. System software updates will also download automatically (manual install still required) and then the PS3 will turn itself off again.

Game updates and demos will also automatically install and the next time you turn on your PS3 you will see a brief on-screen message letting you know what has been downloaded and updated.

Here are some more answers to frequently asked questions from the last blog post:

Cross-game voice chat is a feature we know our passionate user base has asked for and we’ll continue to look at as a viable offering for the PlayStation Network.

You need to be the master account holder on the PS3 and be over 18 to purchase PlayStation Plus, but other accounts on that PS3 will be able to play the games you download for as long as you are a subscriber.

The “free” games you can download each month are yours to keep for as long as you are a subscriber.

PlayStation Plus is for PS3 owners as subscribership can only be purchased on the PSN Store. However, some of the content – minis and PS One Classics – available each month will also be playable on your PSP if you have one. Download them on the PS3 and transfer to your PSP, or download directly from the PSP Store or Media Go for PSP.

PlayStation Plus is a continually evolving service and we are always working on identifying new partnerships, developing new features and providing new content that our users want."

[Kailea]

Re: Playstation Plus

thats what they are offering for 49.99? ......lol

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Playstation Plus

So, they're really not doing anything about the price problem with games they put on PSN, just making you pay for a "discount" And then they're not letting PSP-only users in, which doesn't help them against iPhone at all.

Also, demos let me have save files, too, what is a "Full Game Trial" offering me that that demos can't? And, really, why would I need to pay for cross-game chat when I can just use Skype to chat with friends?

Doesn't sound like Sony is listening to their customers at all, really, sounds like they did what they wanted to with this concept.

[Malacite]

Re: Playstation Plus

Wow... I'm impressed. This is WAY better than XBL Gold.

Also, Tretton said at E3 that they will be bringing content like movies and the like to Canada, something Microsoft won't do. Pure win in my books, though I can't really afford the subscription at the moment.

[Kailea]

Re: Playstation Plus

Wow... I'm impressed. This is WAY better than XBL Gold.

Also, Tretton said at E3 that they will be bringing content like movies and the like to Canada, something Microsoft won't do. Pure win in my books, though I can't really afford the subscription at the moment.

I am not sure, I think my sarcasm meeter is broken........ you cant be serious right?


at least MS give you a good reason to pay for theirs "you cant play online with out it" lol......yes its a sucky reason -.- but hell it makes me pay.

if Sony wants to charge 49.99 for this, they had better come up with way better ideas then this -.-


this is more of a 19.99 service not a 49.99

[Feba]

Re: Playstation Plus

So Kailea, you're saying it's better to have a shitty service for everyone than a lame service for the select few that want it?

Anyway, I'm just loling at this basically being "It's like Qore, only bigger and you get Qore for free since we realized noone cared about Qore. But you WILL care about this. Please?"

[Kailea]

Re: Playstation Plus

So Kailea, you're saying it's better to have a shitty service for everyone than a lame service for the select few that want it?

Anyway, I'm just loling at this basically being "It's like Qore, only bigger and you get Qore for free since we realized noone cared about Qore. But you WILL care about this. Please?"

no what I am trying to get at is that for what the are offering, 49.99 is ridiculous.

PSN already offers most of what XBL does, but for free, so to turn around and charge 49.99 for the listed services......is a little stupid. Now a cheaper price and it would have been fine, like 19.99 or something.


I like the idea of PSN+ but for the price, its all wrong.

[MrMageo]

Re: Playstation Plus

You know what the awesome thing is. YOU DON'T HAVE TO PAY FOR IT IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO! and can still play free online, with more or less the similar stuff from XBL Gold.

[Icemage]

Re: Playstation Plus

So Kailea, you're saying it's better to have a shitty service for everyone than a lame service for the select few that want it?

Anyway, I'm just loling at this basically being "It's like Qore, only bigger and you get Qore for free since we realized noone cared about Qore. But you WILL care about this. Please?"

I have to go with Feba here. I don't see any feature listed that I'd go out of my way to pay for. I wouldn't be opposed to it if they actually gave me a reason to care, but there's nothing on the features list that I care about (and since cross-game chat isn't apparently part of PS+, and it really IS the only feature I'd really care about...).

I should note that it's not the price that irks me - I've got tons of DLC purchased (tons = $$$$ in the 4-figure range) invested in my PSN account, so it's not like I'm not willing to spend money on PSN content when I feel it's worthwhile.


Icemage

[Mhurron]

Re: Playstation Plus

at least MS give you a good reason to pay for theirs "you cant play online with out it" lol......yes its a sucky reason -.- but hell it makes me pay.

Ya, it's useless without the paid service, but here's a free one for the lulz anyway is a much better setup then, here is a useful free service and if you like that and want these extras you can pay and get them too.

The price might be too high, but Sony's approach here is much better.

[Lmnop]

Re: Playstation Plus

Automatic Download: Subscribers will be able to set their PS3 to wake up from standby at any time of the day or night, download and install any game updates for the games you have been playing so you don’t have to think about it. Also, select demos and videos will be pushed to your PS3 ready to go. System software updates will also download automatically (manual install still required) and then the PS3 will turn itself off again.

Yet more features the PS3 should already be able to do.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Playstation Plus

Ya, it's useless without the paid service, but here's a free one for the lulz anyway is a much better setup then, here is a useful free service and if you like that and want these extras you can pay and get them too.

The price might be too high, but Sony's approach here is much better.

No, its not.

It seems nice on paper, but here's the reality of it - XBL gamers get a much better deal for the requisite pay-to-play scheme that PSN gamers do without one. By requiring subscription fees for multiplayer, MS has extra revenue to float to developers, incentives that will keep them on-the-ball if little flaws in thier online games have exploits.

Just using Modern Warfare 2 or Borderlands as examples, the turnaround times for patches and fixes on the XBL versions were lightning fast compared to the PSN versions, which took additional weeks and even months to see fixes.

Additionally, MS hosts all matchmaking servers for every XBL game. So some of that subscription revenue goes there as well. I see no evidence that Sony is stepping forward to do that, they're still resting most of the responsibility on third parties to host all the games. When interest in those games slows, third parties will cut support.

Hell, Konami actually does have a pay model for Metal Gear Online from MGS4, you gotta pay $5 to even have an account. That's because its prior incarnation from MGO on PS2 was not sustainable or worth keeping up. Even with that, I seriously doubt that PS3 users will be enjoying MGO long into the future. Its a big expense to maintain and foot the bill for these games, without any subscription revenue coming your way there is no reason to maintain it.

Sony wants third parties to take it on the chin, but they want revenue for themselves for essentially doing nothing worth noting. What do you think will happen when they don't generate enough interest from gamers and subsequently revenue to supply developers with incentives?

Bye-bye free online multiplayer.

In fact, "premium content" is an intentionally vague term. Online multiplayer can become premium content, but for now I expect that to mean Playstation Plus users will get access to weapons and items normal PSN users will not. Perhaps even access to on-the-disc "download content" that just-so-happens to be locked away from non-subscribers.

MS has allowed for that since last generation. More or less most of the XBL games had all the content on-disc from day one, but various third parties were allowed to create the illusion of giving the games longer online lifespans by not releasing it. You'd download a small key, and WOW, you got a whole new zone to play in that was probably much larger in terms of data. Tis witchcraft!

TL:DR version:

When push comes to shove and this goes the only way it can - Sony will end up doing what MS does and exactly how MS does it. Its shittier that Sony is just playing the pragmatist right now when you know they're going to have the change it and have total license to do so.

They really just should have go with paid multiplayer and be done with it. As its stands, they're just postponing the inevitable to score points with fans.

[MrMageo]

Re: Playstation Plus

Additionally, MS hosts all matchmaking servers for every XBL game. So some of that subscription revenue goes there as well. I see no evidence that Sony is stepping forward to do that, they're still resting most of the responsibility on third parties to host all the games. When interest in those games slows, third parties will cut support.

Boy you have a lot of fan boy in you don't you BBQ.

Hell, Konami actually does have a pay model for Metal Gear Online from MGS4, you gotta pay $5 to even have an account. That's because its prior incarnation from MGO on PS2 was not sustainable or worth keeping up. Even with that, I seriously doubt that PS3 users will be enjoying MGO long into the future. Its a big expense to maintain and foot the bill for these games, without any subscription revenue coming your way there is no reason to maintain it.

Directly contradicts this btw.

Sony wants third parties to take it on the chin, but they want revenue for themselves for essentially doing nothing worth noting. What do you think will happen when they don't generate enough interest from gamers and subsequently revenue to supply developers with incentives?

Why should I as a gamer, be responsible for footing the bill of games I have no interest in playing? If a thrid party wants to charge than that is their choice under the sony platform. But why should I have to pay 50$ a month to help support MGO serves that I do not want to use, or Madden servers. It makes no sense. Now if all of the sudden Blizzard announced a 5$ monthly fee to run its upcoming socom 4 server, I may pay it cuz I like it. But expecting me to help foot the bill of some shitty game like Sonic Universe or some gay shit that should have died in the 90's is retarded.

[DakAttack]

Re: Playstation Plus

No, its not.

It seems nice on paper, but here's the reality of it - XBL gamers get a much better deal for the requisite pay-to-play scheme that PSN gamers do without one. By requiring subscription fees for multiplayer, MS has extra revenue to float to developers, incentives that will keep them on-the-ball if little flaws in thier online games have exploits.

Just using Modern Warfare 2 or Borderlands as examples, the turnaround times for patches and fixes on the XBL versions were lightning fast compared to the PSN versions, which took additional weeks and even months to see fixes.

Additionally, MS hosts all matchmaking servers for every XBL game. So some of that subscription revenue goes there as well. I see no evidence that Sony is stepping forward to do that, they're still resting most of the responsibility on third parties to host all the games. When interest in those games slows, third parties will cut support.

Hell, Konami actually does have a pay model for Metal Gear Online from MGS4, you gotta pay $5 to even have an account. That's because its prior incarnation from MGO on PS2 was not sustainable or worth keeping up. Even with that, I seriously doubt that PS3 users will be enjoying MGO long into the future. Its a big expense to maintain and foot the bill for these games, without any subscription revenue coming your way there is no reason to maintain it.

Sony wants third parties to take it on the chin, but they want revenue for themselves for essentially doing nothing worth noting. What do you think will happen when they don't generate enough interest from gamers and subsequently revenue to supply developers with incentives?

Bye-bye free online multiplayer.

In fact, "premium content" is an intentionally vague term. Online multiplayer can become premium content, but for now I expect that to mean Playstation Plus users will get access to weapons and items normal PSN users will not. Perhaps even access to on-the-disc "download content" that just-so-happens to be locked away from non-subscribers.

MS has allowed for that since last generation. More or less most of the XBL games had all the content on-disc from day one, but various third parties were allowed to create the illusion of giving the games longer online lifespans by not releasing it. You'd download a small key, and WOW, you got a whole new zone to play in that was probably much larger in terms of data. Tis witchcraft!

TL:DR version:

When push comes to shove and this goes the only way it can - Sony will end up doing what MS does and exactly how MS does it. Its shittier that Sony is just playing the pragmatist right now when you know they're going to have the change it and have total license to do so.

They really just should have go with paid multiplayer and be done with it. As its stands, they're just postponing the inevitable to score points with fans.

I'd like to stress the part about exploits. I appreciate that they investigate these things and I'm fine paying the yearly fee knowing some of it's going towards this service. There's nothing like this on PSN, so it's basically lawless game-play. I know a lot of people doubt and claim that you can't hack, cheat, or exploit on the PS3, but nobody can offer any proof one way or the other because Sony has no service available to handle the issue. The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence.

[Kailea]

Re: Playstation Plus

Boy you have a lot of fan boy in you don't you BBQ.

how is that being a fanboy? its the truth, and its one of the main reasons why XBL has a price on it.

I don't like paying to play my Xbox online, but I will admit doing so does provide a much better online experience.