PlayStation Plus might just be the smartest thing Sony have ever done. It is, on the surface, an extraordinarily generous offering from the platform holder: in exchange for roughly the price of one new game subscribers get access to literally dozens (the official line is ‘up to 65’) of other games.
It verges on ridiculous. You could, for example, join now (even if it’s just a 90 day subscription) and get immediate access to BioShock 2, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Guardians of Middle Earth, Big Sky Infinity, Gravity Rush, Cubixx HD, LIMBO, Infamous 2, Mortal Kombat, LittleBigPlanet 2, Ratchet and Clank: All For One, Vanquish and MotorStorm Apocalypse.
Now, sure, you need to actually download those games (and for some people on slower connections or those with bandwidth caps this can easily be a bit of an issue) but the fact remains that there’s 13 games, ready to play, the minute you buy a subscription.
Within a week or so, some of those games will rotate out. On the 6th of February subscribers will get access to F1 Race Stars, Sleeping Dogs and Quantum Conundrum but the likes of BioShock 2 (and a couple of others) will no longer be available to download. Unless, of course, you’ve already added them to your download queue. If you’ve grabbed them, naturally they’ll still be available to you to play whenever you like – they won’t vanish from your PS3 or Vita.
Unless – and here’s the catch – your Plus subscription runs out.
Actually, it’s disingenuous to call it a ‘catch’, but this is the beauty of Plus – the longer you’re a subscriber the more reliant you’ll become; the more games you build up from the collections offered, the more you’ll need to keep that (admittedly rather small) fee leaving your wallet. If you don’t, the games simply won’t load up. Re-join at any time, though, and they’ll be available to you again.
It’s genius, because the value to the gamer with plenty of free time to play is tremendously high and yet the outlay is almost negligible, and if you’re smart and grab a yearly sub then once paid you won’t even need to worry about it.
And it’s not just games, of course – Plus subscribers get better online storage for save games, automatic patch and firmware updates, discounts on games in the Store and early access to demos and betas. It’s like an exclusive, high value club without the high value joining fee. And, crucially, against the likes of Xbox Live Gold which is pretty much a necessity if you’re a 360 owner, Plus simply offers a secondary level without alienating anyone else.
Because the PS3 offers online play out of the box without any other commitments (a selling point that Sony never really made the most of) Plus acts as a tier above what Sony’s competition think people should be paying for anyway. Xbox Live Gold’s paywall approach to pretty much everything is a huge turn off if you’re not a dedicated gamer wanting to spend lots of time online, but Plus never really feels like anything other than a good deal.
Let’s not pretend that every game offered in the Instant Game Collection is a top notch title, though. Sure, BioShock 2 is a wonderful shooter and next month’s Sleeping Dogs is a beauty, but there’s been a few lesser games thrown into the mix, sometimes with the impression that Sony are having to make up the numbers occasionally.
And then there’s the issue that I’ve seen almost every time there’s a PlayStation Plus update post – the games are rarely brand new, and thus there’s a high chance that the game offered as part of the subscription has already been bought – either full price or (as seen with Sleeping Dogs) purchased cheaper as part of an online sale.
Does this point Plus towards being for the more casual gamer, looking to expand their library gradually, or is this just a case of eager gamers unwilling to wait for the possibility that their chosen game will eventually end up as part of a Plus promotion, either reduced in price or – crucially – free? And is there a risk (as anecdotal evidence suggests) that some will simply just wait it out regardless, meaning new releases suffer as gamers just wait and see whether they’ll appear on Plus?
It’s a tricky balancing act for Sony that obviously needs to keep its cards close to its chest. But some of the timing recently has been sublime (the latest Batman coming onto the service for free just as it lands on the Wii U at upwards of £50, for example) and the reasons for keeping upcoming Plus games a secret shouldn’t really need pointing out.
The inclusion of Vita games was a masterstroke though – Sony know its most loyal gamers have both a PS3 and a Vita, and the recent move towards offering free games to the portable in addition to the main console was a sharp one. Now, more than ever, Plus is really getting into its stride, and doesn’t show much signs of slowing down.
I have a suspicion that Plus will be hugely important next generation, and now that Sony have laid the groundwork for the service and ticked all the right boxes, the PlayStation 4 may well offer up two (or more) levels of functionality, depending on whether or not the individual user is a subscriber. I’m hopeful that online play will remain free for all, but it’s likely that Plus, whilst not necessarily being about free games at first, will be used to great effect.
Gaikai, of course, is the big one – Sony’s acquisition of the online streaming service was a lauded one last year, and whilst we’ve not heard much since chances are the two companies are gearing up for something special for PS4 owners. Will that be the way the PS4 can offer backwards compatibility? Online streaming of PS3 (and, naturally, PS1 and PS2) games via Gaikai’s network and know-how seems a no brainer. Perhaps you’ll need Plus to do this, too.
But regardless, Sony have got (at the moment, anyway) Plus just right. It’s great for the consumer, publishers and developers love it (as it gets their games some much needed publicity) and it’s hopefully got Microsoft thinking that they desperately need to revisit their current subscription structures, which now seem greedy and unrealistic in the face of what Plus offers.
bunimomike
I like the games on there but the peace of mind with the automatic cloud saves is a godsend!
KeRaSh
I’m still convinced Plus is not the thing for me.
I don’t have as much time to play games as I used to have and paying up front for games that I could play for “free” (it’s still not free if I have to pay in advance) but actually don’t have time to play is not a good deal for me. I’m in the financial position to buy any game I am interested in and I’m mature enough to hold off on purchases I’m only partially interested in until the price drops to a reasonable level. Considering Plus only lets me play recent games, it doesn’t cover the game’s I’m interested in so I’d still have to buy them on release. That leaves games I’d pick up cheap anyways and comparing that to a Plus subscription, which decides which games I get for me, doesn’t make a big enough descission for me to even consider it.
If there was a cheaper Vita only Plus tier, I’d be much more interested in the service but I still have 4-5 unplayed Vita games on my memory card from the last summer sale so the Plus content would just sit there, with the rest of the games…
Bilbo_bobbins
Same for me, exactly the same situation.
KeRaSh
descission = difference*
blast71
I’m in a similar mindset. Having won a free months’ psplus (thanks tsa;) , and coming to the end now, don’t think i’ll re-subscribe. Mainly due to a massive backlog of games which will take me ages to get through, most games I buy I get when dirt cheap anyway. The cloud autosaves & patch updates are great tho, will miss them :(
Bilbo_bobbins
its certainly a great service, like you said, for those with a lot of spare time to play these games. But for me, who has had a playstation since the first one came out, it doesn’t really offer me anything. I play, but on the odd occasion, so having all these games doesn’t make sense to me.
Maybe P+ can offer something worth while for gamers like me in the future too.
stueeeee
I do love plus, but I’m findng less and less time to complete game like Deux ex and just cause 2 etc and more and more games piling up on my hard drive. I have a 250gb, and I could delete and re download, but as the article mentioned, my Internet isent great so I’m fortifying some games (after adding to my download list of course)
I think I’ll still b on ps3 when everyone else is half way through ps4’s life!
KeRaSh
I think the piling up factor is what puts me off the service most. It’s weird but the larger my backlog of games I want to play is, the less interested I am in playing at all. I still have at least 5 games at home that I have never played and yet I have no interest in going back to them, even though I’d still like to play them. Whenever I have a little time on my hands I think about starting one of the games but then I get the feeling that I don’t have enough time to finish the game anytime soon so I just don’t play it at all… I hate it. I know I only have to force myself to start playing because then I’d get hooked in but usually it never even gets that far…
Maybe Ni No Kuni can get me out of my gaming slump again!
cc_star
I subscribe & think it’s great value for many people. Ridiculous value.
Although it’s not that great for me… for months now I’ve not downloaded anything never mind played anything from it, I just add the games to my download list so I can download them in future if I want.
I can’t remember the last time I played a PS+ game, except for Vanquish which is a few year old game available for a few pounds from retailers or less on eBay or something.
AAA games aren’t for me, I much preferred picking up several minis ideal for quick play along with some great PSN titles.
Batman AC, Bioshock 2 etc. & etc do nothing for me at all, although I get 100% why it’;s a great deal for many of people. My most played PS+ game is Ricochet HD, something most people probably never even bothered downloading.
I’m extremely disappointed with the way PS+ has gone, I loved it before but its value to many is undeniable.
jbni
I’ve found myself having a much more ‘disposable’ attitude to the PS+ games: I complete them, immediately delete them and move on to the next.
Gone are the days when I used to keep games with the idea of playing them again.
Klart
I love Plus (have it since day 1), but I think they should be carefull on how they make the transition with Plus to the next gen. I doubt I’ll be keeping my sub if it offers nothing substantial for the PS4; I usually make quite an abrupt next gen step when the new console is out & don’t look back to my old consoles (well maybe some classics).
Origami Killer
Signed up day one, and since Instant game collection came in I’ve let my sub run out. Too many big games for me, can’t download them fast (takes a week or two per game), and as they are free I don’t really feel inclined to play them. I rather have the smaller PSN titles if im honest. That’s just me though
hol
Been with Plus since day 1 & frankly, I’m not fussed about the freebies, they’re nice to have but it’s the cloud saves & auto patching I love it for, having had 2 ps3’s die makes you paranoid about losing those saves ;)
Quag
ps+ has been of excellent value , Me & the kids have so much to play & each month more games arrive for download. Another good thing is the ps+ store discounts which has saved me a few quid over the last couple of years. Job well done Sony :)