A lot of what we read is hugely positive about PlayStation Plus – gamers seem to love it and publishers (and developers) see the current focus on providing full games to subscribers within the monthly fee as a useful springboard to sequels and DLC that might normally fly under the radar a little when the schedule gets busy.
Take, for example, the inclusion of Dead Space 2 this month – surely a neat way to get people invested in the franchise ready for the third game due soon enough. Or the recent additions of LittleBigPlanet 2 – there’s a Vita game on the way (I’ve been playing it this week) and there’s stacks of DLC still coming out for it – it all makes sense.
The story of Velocity, Futurlab’s superb Minis title, is one that we’ve gone over a few times too – the studio saw a massive boost of awareness thanks to the top down shooter’s prominent feature as part of a PlayStation Plus promotion when it was released early for subscribers.
But some gamers seem to think that perhaps it’s not worth the money because a lot of the games being introduced have been around a little while and they’ve already got them. That’s understandable, but then Plus can’t be a catch-all for everyone – it simply has to feature some old games and chances are some will already own them.
However, there’s still a deliberate message coming from SCEE: Plus is just as much about new games as it is old ones. We’re told a handful of new titles are hitting the service between August and October from the platform holder alone – and that’s got to be a good thing.
So along with Rock Of Ages, which hopefully you’ll already have grabbed and downloaded, there’s going to be two retail games and and a game of the month landing soon. According to SCEE’s Ross McGrath, that’s a big one on September 5th and two before then in the middle of August. It’s a healthy list, but the exact details are remaining secret for the time being.
In addition, publisher Ripstone recently confirmed that they’ll be releasing three games for the PlayStation Plus Presents scheme: an entry in the Knytt series, a follow up to the indie shooter Really Big Sky and one more secret title. The first two at least will run on both PS3 and PS Vita, which is great news.
We spoke to Ripstone’s head, Phil Gaskell, about PlayStation Plus and what it means to publishers, developers and core gamers alike. “As a publisher dedicated to helping indie developers get their games into the hands of as many gamers as possible having the games appear in PlayStation Plus, and consequently the support Sony will be showing them, is a massive benefit” he said, when asked how important PlayStation Plus is with regards to getting the word out about their games.
Big Sky Infinity, running on the PS Vita. One of Ripstone’s 2012 Plus titles.
Phil’s also happy to talk financials. “We were always committed to funding the games so they were always, and still are, planned to be released at full price to everyone,” he replied, when asked whether the financial backing from Sony was enough to convince them to put the games out free for Plus subscribers.
“What the Plus scheme has given us is peace of mind that the talented and creative teams behind these games are set to profit from them,” he added. “That’s really important to us at Ripstone, we want to make sure every game we partner with indie developers on makes them money and helps this part of the games industry thrive.”
We talked platforms. “The Vita seems to get a lot of bashing,” Gaskell commented, “so for me personally it was crucial we supported the platform.” As stated above, Ripstone’s trio of Plus games will grace both the PS3 and the Vita.
“I love my Vita and I just don’t see any other dedicated gaming device that beats it,” he said. “My little lad and I platinum’d a game together whilst on our family holiday last week, which was a cool moment, and for a trophy hunter like me it made the holiday even more productive!”
“Initiatives like PlayStation Plus Presents, that help support and nurture indie games, should be applauded,” said Phil. “For me that’s where the exciting games are being made, ones that aren’t frightened to take risks and create unique experiences.”
Sony are – as it’s hopefully obvious – keen to demonstrate that they’re still behind giving gamers fresh titles that haven’t appeared elsewhere – whether that’s full priced AAA Blu-ray games or lesser known but equally important indie titles like the ones discussed above.
Obviously there’s going to be kind of overlap now and again, and not everything can be brand spanking new, but Plus is already much better than it has been, in our opinion. If you’re a core gamer – the message is “don’t worry”, and I think SCEE are singing that loud and proud.
Alex C
Man, this post was very different half a day ago. :/
FRUIT0FDOOM
I love Plus with its Cloud Saves, Discounts on games and DLC, Exclusive themes and avatars. Oh yeah – and the free games we get. Sure some may already have them, but many won’t. If you happen to own a copy of the game then download the digital freebie and trade in the disc copy for something else.
I also see purchasing Plus as my kind of personal thankyou to Sony for all the great Playstation gaming i’ve been having since being a kid. Sure my Xbox LIVE does cross game chat and easier game invites, but you know what – PSN does 95% of what LIVE does and Sony don’t demand a dime! (But if you do ever feel compelled to add those features – please do) :-)
doomsday619
I love PS+ but the only thing tht annoys me is the secrecy of whats coming like the sales i brought a few games a week before and they ended up going on sale a week later. I dont want to moan though just be nice if they let us know what was coming even if just a week beforehand.
Carl
They have to be secretive. If Ross was to come in here now and say “Hey guys, Fallout 3 is free next month!” sales of it would immediately stop.
Mickey2010
I agree with Doomsday619! about the sale stuff that is i bought Mad Riders 2 weeks ago and know it’s on sale!
colmshan1990
Yup.
Who posts details of sales before they happen?
Mickey2010
Hopefully there is something that i do not have that Dues Ex,Dead Space 2,Saints Row 2 and Tomb Raider:GL! Plus i had 6 of the Instant game collection that was announced at E3! I Love Plus but come on Sony give me something i dont own
Sympozium
I already had some of them boxed, but I think its nice to have some for free and just ready to play on the Game menu.
Dom El
I think it’s a great scheme – particularly for someone who’s only recently got a PS3.
I’m particularly pleased by the news that at least two of this months releases are compatible with Vita – hopefully this is the start of a new trend where at least some consideration is given to the handheld!
skibadee
can not fault the service
E8_BALL_
If not for half the content, not appearing in my Freebie section for the last month, i’d been inclined to agree.
E8_BALL_
been *be
skibadee
have you had any problems with only certain dynamic themes showing up?
skibadee
not^
E8_BALL_
Can’t tell what content i’m missing. Most are blank boxes, with only the item count underneath.
Origami Killer
I have the same problem with items at the lower end of the page and the discount page.
Kitch
I need to renew but I’m waiting to see if there will be any offers.
theberzerka
I’m in the same boat. Although I’m starting to think that they’ve scrapped that idea in favour for giving us more for our money. I’ll still hold out until the last minute though.
Origami Killer
That makes three in a boat. Hopefully they will offer something soon so I can renew.
Carl
Yeah same, mine runs out in 3 months but keep putting it off incase there’s an offer.
blackredyellow
How do you find out when it’s about to run out? (noob i know!)
Origami Killer
Check in your services list and then PS+ and it should say when it runs out :)
uncleniccius
I agree with the view here that they won’t do offers on it anymore. Mine was due to end in September, so I decided to renew. I get too much out of the service not to.
bap10
@blackredyellow To find out when your sub runs out, go to account management on the xmb.
freezebug2
Yup,
Account Management -> Transaction Management -> Services List.
All start and end dates for activated services are displayed in there. ;)
Origami Killer
Literally did not see these posts when I commented above :P I look slightly idiotic now
freezebug2
Haha, I posted in reply to bap10 rather than BRY’s comment as it might have looked a little ignorant towards bap10…..could have gone the other way though. :P
Origami Killer
Your advice was better as well :P Out of interest when does your Plus sub run out? Mine goes on the 6th of next month.
blackredyellow
Cheers lads!
freezebug2
@Origami My subscription to plus expires on Sept 14th, which is a bit odd because I’ve subscribed since day 1, the service started back in June 2010.
If you take into account the 60 days free Plus service awarded due to the PSN security breach outage as a compensation, I seem to be missing a month of Plus subscription……UFO visit maybe? :P
Origami Killer
Well this is strange. I’ve also been a subscriber since day 1, singing up for a year sub each time, consider me slightly pissed off now. But our subs run out at different times :s
Origami Killer
*signing
* pissed off that our (not .but)
Really don’t know what happened there.
The Lone Steven
I can imagine you singing to your PS3 every time there is a decent PS+ update. Origami.
freezebug2
I might have overrun by a week during a re-sign up as I didn’t have the auto-renewel set up, but the other few weeks missing are a bit of a mystery.
To be fair though, I think that everything went Jugs North when the security breach shut down the service back in April last year. I’m happy with it all now anyway and have been more than compensated with the service recently. ;)
Origami Killer
You know me I just get my Ukulele out for a good sing a long when Im playing my PS3
Origami Killer
Very true. I will not be renewing this time around though. I actually preferred the old Plus layout. I don’t like full retail games being on freebies list, I would like to see some more smaller and simpler PSN games being given away again. I wont have time to finish all the games it’s given me in the last month before my sub runs out which is a shame. Plus Vita games should have been on Plus sooner, i’ve been waiting for a good few months for any sign of Vita support, there hasn’t been any until now. Too late.
The Lone Steven
I really hope you don’t sing it any rubbish songs as it turns out that Sony has implented an auto shutdown feature if a crappy song is played near it. :O
Origami Killer
I guess my songs are good then :P
Waylander
In a nutshell, Plus was great for most including myself as a day 1 continued subscriber, but now the service only offers me cloud saves, full game trials, 1 or 2 free avatars a year seemingly along with a theme or 2 and discounts on some avatars and games and obviously their “Instant game collection”. If this is what your looking for in a service then it can be a great service. Most original Plus members however from reading the posts here and on the official blog page, are disgruntled because they already own most if not all the tiles available to “rent” due to Sony’s aggressive discounts on these same titles in the months prior to becoming free..and these discounts we’re only available to Plus members….that’s the crunch of the problem. For me and a handful probably of others, the service is no longer a viable option and I have no plans on renewing my subscription. This won’t matter to Sony as I do believe I am in the minority of who the Plus service is now being aimed at and I truly believe that new and relatively new subscribers will make the most of a great service. Just not applicable to me anymore.. Yes this actually makes me a little sad and the thought of no Plus sign lol but change is inevitable, move on.