You remember the PSN Store did those special discounts last year? Basically, the Store guys went to a load of developers and said “these are not the download prices you’re looking for,”
Amazingly, this Jedi mind trick seemed to work and us happy PSN Store customers ended up with some pretty impressive discounts. I remember it well, my credit card company sent me a thank you card.
Well, it seems like they’ve been working hard in the interim to get more special deals prepared for the store and this time, they’ve tied it all up into a full on promotion. Starting on August 24th, they’re launching a new yearly initiative called PLAY. Stick with us, this one has several layers of bonuses and discounts to keep track of.
Starting on August 24th, for four weeks, there will be a big PSN release. You will be able to pre-order each game for a short while before it becomes available to download and in doing so, you’ll get access to a new theme, free of charge. On top of that, customers who buy the titles during the PLAY promotion, which runs until September 20th, will not only get the game they paid for, they’ll also get another, entirely separate piece of DLC for that game.
So, if you pre-order (and they’re going to start taking orders for all four titles in this year’s promotion from August 10th) then you’ll get the game, the bonus DLC for buying during the PLAY promotional period plus a free theme for pre-ordering. On top of that, PlayStation Plus subscribers are going to receive a 20 percent discount on all purchases of PLAY titles made before September 20th, when the promotion expires.
Oh, and one final bit of good news. If you buy all four titles in the PLAY promotional period (10th August – 20th September) then you’ll qualify for a completely free copy of PayDay: The Heist when it is released later this Autumn. That game is also going to be available for pre-order between 20th and 29th of September, for those who don’t take advantage of the bonus PLAY deal.
Here are the titles involved and their respective launch dates:
- August 10th – Pre-orders start for all four games in the promotion.
- August 24th – Street Fighter III Third Strike Online Edition, €14.99. Bonus DLC is a character, Gill, who is unlocked from day one rather than having to beat the entire game to get at them. The pre-order bonus is a theme produced by Capcom. Pre-orders can be made up to August 18th.
- August 31st – The Baconing, €12.99. Bonus DLC is an additional co-op character called Roesha. Pre-orders can be made up until August 25th and will entitle you to a free static theme, exclusive to PLAY.
- September 7th – BloodRayne: Betrayal, €12.99. Bonus DLC is an exclusive dynamic theme and a virtual item for your PlayStation Home avatar. In addition to this, pre-orders will be taken up to September 1st and will entitle you to another static theme, exclusive to PLAY.
- September 14th – Renegade Ops, €12.99. Bonus DLC is a vehicle and character pack featuring two new vehicles and special weapons. Pre-orders are taken up to September 8th and entitle you to a static theme, exclusive to PLAY.
- September 20th – PLAY promotion closes. Get your games bought before this day to ensure you qualify for the free copy of PayDay: The Heist!
Hoopiness
Given the fact that store isn’t that cheap in the first place, I don’t find the offer of a free DLC and a theme all that enticing. Fairly crap actually.
Not to mention the fact that the games don’t appeal. Yet again, like with PS+, why can’t they just let people pick a game from a price range (even if it has no incoming DLCs) rather than dictate what is on offer. Their call of course, but yet again they don’t interest me. Even if this does mean extra negotiations with publishers/developers….they’d get more interest than this naff.
InternationalGamer
Barely any of these games interest me, only Payday and Regenerade ops intrests me, not that I heard of Regenerade Ops before, I just tend to like arcade shooters.
DJ-Katy
So let me get this straight.
I have to pre-order 4 specific and exact games I know nothing about, sight unseen, to get a free copy of Payday, and that’s not even a bluray title?
What a deal /sarcasm
DJ-Katy
Overpriced games at that too.
R1MJAW
No, you just need to buy all 4 games before the 20th of September to get PAYDAY free. The pre-orders are for the free dlc/theme/home items.
R1MJAW
Actually, I just checked the blog post again, all the pre-order gets you is an extra static theme (per game), the dlc/themes/home items are given to everyone who buys the games during the promotional period.
gaffers101
Nothing there takes my fancy.
Tanster
Mmmm would be a good offer if I wanted any of the games!!!
Klart
Hmm. The “free DLC” isn’t worth much (an extra character you can ulock anyway?) and I don’t like static themes, but with a 20% plus discount on all games and a free game in the end, this might be worth it. I’ve got all SFers on PS3 so prolly get Third Strike anyway (although I suck at SF). I 100%ed both DeathSpanks. I like 2D scrollers. Renegade Ops looks ok and Payday The Heist looks quite interesting.
And getting those 5 for 43 Euro looks like a good deal.
R4U Eldave0
Just Bloodrayne for me (that game looks awesome!). Nice to know I will get a decent discount and theme for being a plus-ian too :)