430°

PS+ trials: Don’t get caught out

Gamedot writer Joe Bennett finds it's easy to get stung by Sony and their PS+ trials.

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gamedot.co.uk
JoGam4094d ago (Edited 4094d ago )

Auto renew is mentioned in the terms and conditions before you buy.

It auto renewed for me one year but then I deactivated it. Didnt matter though cause I will continue being a Plus member as long as I can.

Gamedot4094d ago

Joe is making the point it goes against the rest of their system (auto-fund)

LocutusEstBorg4093d ago (Edited 4093d ago )

Bullshit article. The term auto-fund and every context in which it's used on the PS3 clearly means it automatically transfers from your credit card to your wallet without prompting you to first transfer to your wallet when you buy a game or some DLC.

A subscription is just that: a subscription. Your credit card will be charged periodically. It's the same when you buy any subscription online such as on file hosting websites or Office 365. You need to request a cancellation, even if you get one month free.

aCasualGamer4093d ago

Kurianofborg @

Are you mentally ill? Why do you call bull****? It is true, i posted a comment few weeks back stating the exact same thing. It happened to me aswell. My "auto-fund" was dechecked, but apparently it was overwritten when i tried the trial. After the trial was over it continued, and withdrew 17,99 from my credit card. Automatically charging me for the full three month fee.

Now just because it's a subscription doesn't mean i want them to withdraw my money as soon as the period has passed. Why else is there an option between 3 months and a year? You buy the amount you want. After 3 months, you're the one making the choice whether or not you liked the product and want more, they can't make that decision automatically and without your content.

This is an outrage, and i hope people pay attention to this.

I'm not saying the product itself is bad, i loved the games i tried out... but that was it. I didn't want anymore. PS Plus is a great product and a bright shine on this capitalistic industry, with that said. There is absolutely no excuse for them treating customers like a herd of money giving numb nuts.

Temporary4093d ago (Edited 4093d ago )

lol @ "this is an outrage"!

Are you guys adults? There are TONS of services that do this same exact thing, it's not a horrible business practice it's a subscription service.

If you feel like PS+ isnt for you, then just cancel the subscription, they wont cancel it for you. Be an adult and dont blame them for something you're responsible for.

hay4093d ago

Most of paid subscriptions use this strategy. It's kinda embedded into "paid subscription" name itself.
While they have this in their Terms and Conditions, this is something you declare you have read and agree completely to it. Which means a refund is only a matter of company's policy on this stuff, or of a person character you've contacted.
If one of you is an a-hole or a tool, no refund.

Which concludes to the main reason why is that: money-money-goooold.

xyyyr4093d ago

Pretty much every online subscription based service does this, including Live. At least with the PS3 it is easy to turn off. Some services do almost everything they can to stop you doing this by making the process a complete headache.

Sithlord-Gamble4093d ago

@Casual ...
It explicitly tells you when you purchase PS+ in the disclaimer that you will be billed for the next term when your subscription expires unless YOU deactivate the autopay feature.

Looks like somebody didn't read the fine print.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4093d ago
iamnsuperman4094d ago (Edited 4094d ago )

I agree and in a way it is our own fault for not reading the terms and conditions. Who reads them? I know I don't and I do wonder how much permission I am giving to these companies. Look at play.com had a clause in their terms and conditions that they could have our soul as a joke (think it was for either Halloween or for april fouls day).

All "free" trails do this system. Just read the terms and conditions

HammadTheBeast4093d ago

If you put your credit card in, of course it's going to auto renew. I'm pretty sure it even tells you that beforehand.

MaxXAttaxX4093d ago

Exactly. It's like Netflix, Gamefly and other subscription services. They'll renew unless you cancel.

garos824093d ago

To be fair there is a pop up warning after you"read"the terms and conditions that tells you about the auto fund.all you do is disable it from "my account"straight after and your good to go.

It's worth noting that it will be put back on to auto fund once you renew.Just like every other subscription service out there.

Snookies124094d ago

Isn't pretty much EVERY free trial like this on anything? Every time I sign up for a free trial of something online, it always states that you have to deactivate it before the trial ends or else it'll charge you at the end for a subscription.

Seraphim4094d ago

exactly... any type of membership such as this generally gets auto renewed. any trial that requires a card on file always states you must cancel before the trial is over otherwise it's assumed you want said subscription and are billed... Consumer error. I guess in the process he may be able to spread the word so others don't suffer the same fate but he'll find no sympathy here. If I recall when I used my 30 day trial it specifically stated somewhere that I saw it the subscription had to be canceled or it would auto renew.

Amplitude4094d ago

Not even the terms and conditions, it says it right on the info thing that comes up when you are about to subscribe to Plus.

Its like 10 lines. If you somehow didn't know that it's auto-renewing, you.... i dont even know haha

FamilyGuy4094d ago (Edited 4094d ago )

This is old news, Sony issued a warning about this exact thing when PS+ started and another warning was given after the outage happened and they gave us all a month trial AAAAAND it's ALSO in the TOS.

I bought a 3 month subscription a while back and the first thing I did was go in and shut off auto-renew. I was well informed that the setting would be changed to [on] when I subscribed. It was bold, right up front, extremely hard to miss.

stage884094d ago

Yeah, that's what I don't get.

He says 'it's easy to get stung'. Why would you want to pass up on continuing Plus?

WeaseL4093d ago (Edited 4093d ago )

Its not like anybody else does it :cough Netflix Lovefilm Blizzard and more who offer free trials.
They all want your cc details and hope you forget to cancel

aCasualGamer4093d ago (Edited 4093d ago )

It is true, this happened to me aswell.

4093d ago
andrewsqual4093d ago

@aCasualGamer Oh noes, now your gonna get 12 more PS3 and 6 Vita games handed to you. Fiddlesticks.

imdaboss14093d ago

Netflix, redbox instant, gamefly, and etc you have to cancel yourself or they keep charging..all companys do it..lame article

lfclee4093d ago (Edited 4093d ago )

I like the arcade games there fine but the price on ps3 title games is extortion on psn store !

+ Show (9) more repliesLast reply 4093d ago
aquamala4094d ago

just remember to turn auto-renew off every time you buy or extend your membership.

chukamachine4094d ago

That's abit naughty I have to say.

Once off, it should be left off unless you want it to be renewed.

GribbleGrunger4094d ago

Oooo, I'm glad I read this! I forgot to turn it off ... but it was my fault.

raWfodog4093d ago

Kudos for taking responsibility for your actions. Too many people find it easier to blame someone else for their lack of attention.

THC CELL4094d ago

I my self say don't worry it's worth leaving on

BLAKHOODe4094d ago

Playstation Plus is worth keeping and I don't plan to ever cancel, BUT I don't like a company dipping into my bank account without being aware of it. It's irresponsible and difficult to keep an accurate account of your finances that way.

Show all comments (65)
280°

Sony Taps Bungie's Head of Revenue to Lead Live-Service Games

Sony has recruited Bungie's head of revenue Jaremy Rich to head up its live-service gaming division, Rich has announced on social media.

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techraptor.net
ChasterMies11d ago

Please do not put Destiny’s monetization into Sony’s first party games. The monetization is what’s driving players away from Destiny.

just_looken11d ago

The new temp boss is the sony cfo bean counter so i can see this being a thing get every penny.

Cacabunga11d ago

PlayStation officially losing it.. fans will never support gaas games

just_looken11d ago

@car

The new boss did a interview in japan he wants to tap into the mobile market like nintendio so he give 0 fucks about gamers/fans

https://www.pushsquare.com/...

Redemption-6411d ago

@Cacabunga
You only speak for you and those who think like you, but most fans will support what they want. Playstation and PC fans are literally supporting Helldivers 2 and that is a gaas. Maybe you wouldn't, but many more would if they like it.

Huey_My_D_Long11d ago

@Redemption-64
Look, Im not making any judgement calls about this guy, but I will say that Helldivers 2 GaaS model is unique to Helldivers, and legit the only other game I can think of thats similiar was the Avengers game except HD2 pass is still better.
The fact that you can earn in game currency in a way that doesnt make you feel like you have to grind forever, as well you being able work on that pass that you bought...on your own time without a time limit...that right there is fucking huge to me, and I can't name any game other than avengers that avoided trapping players with FOMO logic...I think GaaS on HD2 shouldn't be compared to the rest of the industry...it should be copied.

Einhander197211d ago

Cacabunga

Helldivers 2...

Redemption-64

In Europe it's a 60 40 split favoring PC.
In the US its a 60 40 split favoring PS5.

So PlayStation owners supported the game just fine, it's not getting carried by PC or anything like that.

FinalFantasyFanatic11d ago

@just_looken,
I'm perfectly fine with the way Nintendo entered the mobile market, I never touched their mobile games, meanwhile, the console/handheld stayed the way it is. As for being a bean counter, he's probably going to reel in these massive budgets that Sony's studios have had lately, I haven't played Spiderman 2, but I cannot see how they almost tripled the budget for that game.

@Redemption-64,
That's an exception to the rule, I'm expecting a lot of these GAAS games from Sony to fail, to be fair, they only need a few to succeed, but I would have preferred that they put more of their resources into other types of games.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 11d ago
DivineHand12511d ago

True their monetization is driving players away and at the same time, their decision to chop out content and convoluted systems is keeping new players away from the game.

Joe91311d ago

I don't think that will happen based on how things worked out at Naughty Dog now that we know what we do, seems they had the option to fully commit to live service games or stay making single player experences so they gave up on their live service game. We are not sure how things came about with Bend making a live service game but I hope that was not a forced situation. Sony doesnt seem like they are forcing studios to switch up but we will see, Sony's bread and butter is single player games it is how they dominated the console market.

Obscure_Observer11d ago

Yeah, I though Sony learned something from all their failures in the LS segment under Bungie´s disastrous leadership and supervision which led to games been cancelled, studios closed and all the people laid off.

Looks like Bungie still plays a major role in Sony´s LS initiative and Sony is not backtracking on their GaaS plans.

S2Killinit11d ago (Edited 11d ago )

Are we forgetting that Destiny is also a highly successful franchise? I feel like that definitely deserves mention here.

Besides, there is no reason why a person cant learn from past experiences.

Joe91310d ago

I agree, people act as if Destiny flopped when it came out lol it took 9 to 10 years for the numbers to fall yet people are still playing it add the success of Helldivers 2 no wonder Sony is going forward down this path.

S2Killinit10d ago

Personally, I see no problem with Sony also having service games as long as they make good ones, and more importantly they deliver the AAA story driven games that they are known for. So yeah, I agree 100% with you.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 10d ago
Christopher11d ago

I mean, this person made some pretty bad decisions at Bungie. I hope they've learned from them because I definitely don't see those type of ideas as good for PlaySation in general.

CrimsonWing6910d ago (Edited 10d ago )

Honestly, what’s to learn from? How to make people happily continuously dump money into a single game over its life-time? Buy season passes continuously for several years with a smile on our faces?

GaaS is a design decision that is everything wrong with this industry. The fact that Helldivers 2 did so well and people defend the monetization because it was $40 and is a fun game, scares the sh*t out of me to see that the door is open and all shift will probably be to replicate that in future games. We already know the ROI for traditional game dev cost isn’t doing it for them.

I thought with Jimbo leaving we’d see a change for the better… I’m not so sure now.

S2Killinit10d ago

Service games are being offered by everyone. Sony cannot afford to only create single player AAA games. No one can. They already said they will be doing both.

Abnor_Mal11d ago (Edited 11d ago )

Ps5 gamers in 2023 seemed to play more live service types of games, so regardless to how people feel about them, numbers don’t lie and Sony is going where the money is. I mean look at the excitement around Helldivers2, people are showing that they want live service games.

Christopher11d ago

They play long-time existing live service games like CoD, Fortnite, Apex Legends, Destiny 2, and the like. Mass majority of new live service games are considered failures and aren't moving gamers away from older games.

just_looken11d ago

Yep the huge issue with live service is they need paid players along with a reason to play them.

You forgot mobile market that also taps into that player base as well as the eve online style games there is only a certain amount of krakens/whales blind supporters compared to the amount of live service games we have its not sustainable math wise.

700 restaurants making food for every seat for 1000-3000 eaters just does not work out

Einhander197211d ago (Edited 11d ago )

Christopher

I am not a big live service fan and literally own zero of the games you listed, but that is not true, unless you call games that aren't the top games to be failures.

There are tons of live service games that are profitable.

Games don't have to be the biggest game ever they just need to make more than they cost.

I challenge you to show professionally prepared data that shows that more live service games fail than make enough to keep going.

Because all the data that I have seen shows that live service is less of a gamble than making a big AAA budget game which needs to survive off retail sales.

FinalFantasyFanatic11d ago

I sometimes wonder if we're at saturation point, where it's hard for a new game to join those ranks unless it's particularly exceptional, people only have so much time and money to devote to these types of games.

romulus2311d ago

Correction, they have no issue playing good live service games

shinoff218311d ago

Lol it's not even a quarter of the ps5s sold. Helldivers may have been a hit but let's not say most are enjoying it because truth is most(the real most ) don't care about it.

S2Killinit10d ago (Edited 10d ago )

I play what is fun. If a live service game is good I’ll play it as long as its not a money scheme which Helldivers is not.

And Im a single player gamer.

mastershredder11d ago

How do you kill a franchise that already been killed?
Destiny’s grind, cash-in-on-playbass-cha-Ching, and pop-culture-insertion mainstream-me-too bs totally killed any rep Bungie had. Sony/Bungie, if you are doing this to ward-off players, it’s already working.

crazyCoconuts11d ago

Headline truncated:
"... off a cliff"

Show all comments (43)
80°

Sony May Soon Let You Decide How Much NPCs Talk In Games

Sony has patented to add multiple dialogue modes to let players switch between how many conversations with NPCs they want in the game.

blackblades17d ago

Sony is like the only ones outta the 3 that has atuff like like this pop up changing thing in ways.

just_looken17d ago

Sony in the past has always been first at bat with new ideas/tech but in the end never fully use it or just toss it away.

blackblades17d ago

I think they did use some but yeah most usually never happened but at least they thought about it. Sony seeks things like this and other, Nintendo seek different ways of playing going by there different controler designs and console designs.

just_looken17d ago (Edited 17d ago )

some of the other stuff sony want's/owns never used
https://gamerant.com/sony-p...
https://gamerant.com/sony-p...
https://www.eurogamer.net/s...
https://metro.co.uk/2023/03...
https://decrypt.co/114754/s...

monitor/adjust game difficultly as you play
https://www.techradar.com/g...

Sony nfts
https://www.theblock.co/pos...

Pay ai to play the game for you
https://thebusinessofesport...

Oh all the above last 12 months

I just imagine a evil scientist with test subjects when it comes down to sony recent patent reports.

Kaii17d ago

Will we get dialogue options that won't spoil puzzles in a matter of seconds? :p

280°

Judge rules in PlayStation's favour in $500m patent infringement lawsuit

Genuine Enabling Technology was seeking damages, claiming the tech allowing PlayStation consoles and controllers to communicate infringes its rights.

Read Full Story >>
gamesindustry.biz
S2Killinit19d ago

Big victory for Sony. And a long time coming.

DarXyde19d ago (Edited 19d ago )

Crazy to think the savings from this lawsuit allows them to develop one AAA game.

Make it Bloodborne 2, please and thank you.

19d ago
Profchaos19d ago

Sounds like patent trolling they tried the same thing against Nintendo with the same pattern.

Motion and control input traversing over higher and lower frequencies seperate from each other allowing the controller to do both

Pyrofire9519d ago

Patents suck. Most of them are complete garbage.

Knightofelemia19d ago

So to recoup the money Genuine is going to take on Nintendo or Microsoft next. I hate patent lawyers they are some of the worst bottom feeders out there.

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