PlayStation Plus Explained

This topic is to explain and correct the facts about the Sony subscription based service 'Playstation Plus'.

Features

This subscription is between $54-$70 per year and gives you access to the following:

  • Approx 64 Games per year, typically 5 per month as follows:
    • 2 full PS3 games with a metacritic rating over 70
    • 1 PSN game
    • 2 PS Vita games
    • games are released throughtout the month, three in the first day(s), one in the 2nd week, and one in the 3rd week (roughly)
  • PS Store Discounts
  • Exclusive offers on select demos, betas and early purchases
  • Full Game Trials
  • Automatic Downloads of system and game updates ie the console can be set to turn on and download content at a specified time
  • Automatic (& manual) Upload (cloud saving) of game saves

Things to note

  • Free items that appear in the 'Instant Games Collection' (ICG) once purchased can be downloaded at any time in the future provided your subscription is active, even once the item has been removed from the ICG list. It is advised that even if you dont plan on downloading the content any time soon, you purchase it anyway so that it will always be available to you in the future.
  • Purchases of discounted content, ie that which still cost money, is yours regardless of subscription status.
  • If you let your subscription expire or don't renew, you will lose access to any of the subscription based free content. But you can, in the future, restart your subscription and regain access to that content.
  • You do not own the free content provided, if your subscription ends, so does access to that content.

Current Instant Game Collection can be seen here: Sony SEN store
Have I missed anything?

Update from jtr regarding licencing of games

http://worthplaying.com/article/2013/4/15/editorials/88859/

I can't really sumarise it much so perhaps have a read, not a major issue unless you intend on ending your subscription but want to to keep/re-buy some of the games.

Related Stores

PlayStation
PlayStation

Comments

  • thanks for sharing

  • +2

    you forgot to mention how much of a rip off this makes XBL gold look like.

  • Never jumped on Playstation Plus but I think this has tipped me over the line.
    Any tips or ticks to get PS+ for the best price?

    • There is often a sale with 15 months for the price of 12, or 20% off the yearly. I think it happens about twice a year. Alternatively you can sometimes buy PSN credit at a discount eg 2x$20 cards for $30 or some such (similar to the iTunes cards that appear here regularly).

      • from my experience, those PSN card sales are really rare and there's no places that regularly sell them for a slight discount unlike MSP cards.

        • There's a guy selling cheap cards in the sale/swap forum

        • but isn't that just gone guy trying to get rid of one card ?
          it's not like MSP cards which can frequently be bought at decent discounts to their RRP from various stores. The biggest frequent discount for PSN cards I've seen is $29.99 for a $30 card.

        • It was a guy selling $150 of cards for $100. I wasn't trying to make a point, just inform people they were there. BTW DSE and JB have PSN card sales a few times a year, also PSN has PS Plus sales a few times a year where they drop the price or give 3 months extra when you purchase 12 months.

    • They generally have big psn discounts on the anniversary (about the middle of the year I think) and after chrisi. There's also some smaller discounts throughout the year and often before chrisi (but I recently let mine elapse just before chrisi and now get the after Christmas one…..it and the anniversary always seem to be the best deals)

  • +1

    Only 12 comments until your 1000th comment, CyberGenesys! :)

  • Thanks for the link to the store. Hardly ever use my PS3 but I have kept a PS+ membership ever since I got it, I keep missing games because I never turn it on to buy them but now I will just buy them all from the site :D

    • One of the recent changes to the website is that now you can 'Send to device' a purchase you have just made.

      So after checking out you can click 'send to PS3' and next time the console turns on it will start downloading the items. Great if you have PS Plus automatic features set up :)

  • I used a 30 day ps+ trial from the facebook like a month ago, and when i tried to use the 30 day trial that came with my Hitman Absolution it said there was an error or that the code has been used. What gives? Are we only allowed to have one trial?

    *edit

    just did some more research and it seems you can only use one trial per psn account. I would pass off my code to someone else but you can still get them off facebook anyways.

    • I would appreciate it if you could share the code with me. I don't have facebook you see and just got a vita :-)

      Cheers.

      • Sure thing will send it over when I get home.

  • so if you dont renew but come back say two years later, your free stuff still there?

  • well it isnt really free since you paid for the subscription.. but yes it will all be there ready to be redownloaded.

  • +1

    AREH-8KN9-584R

    Free month trial to whomever wants it.

  • +1

    Free Shadow Of the Colossus Theme
    J6FL-PJN3-ABLL

  • .

  • +1

    AREH-8KN9-584R

    Another month sub

    • sucks u cant use them after u already used a trial.

  • Also PS+ subscribers get an additional 3 games this month to coincide with E3:

    • Uncharted 3 (single player, multi-player is already free2play)
    • Little Big Planet Karting
    • Xcom: Enemy Unknown
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