What is PlayStation Plus? PS Plus Explained

PSAccess: Nath talks you through PlayStation Plus. Did you know all the great features it entitles you to?

[CaptainYesterday]

This reminds me I need to renew my subscription need to get Jet Set Radio before it leaves again!

[joe90]

Had a PSN account since 2007 but don't use it enough to warrant the PS+

[kayoss]

Wait you have PSN account since 2007? Isnt a PSN account free? I can tell you now that you are missing out on some awesome games. I was able to play games that I never thought I would buy or try if it wasnt for PSN +. I mean try it for the 3 months and see how it goes, if you dont like it after three months dont renew. With all the free games, I'm pretty sure you will get your money's worth.

[joe90]

Yes they are free but i have DLC and ps1 classics on that account.

[Larry L]

PS1 games? You would have liked Plus even more in the early days of the service. Typically I would consider digital versions of PS1 games a waste of money to be honest, but I got some good free ones from Plus like all the Resident Evils, and I actually ended up buying a some because they were on sale so cheap with Plus. I got every Final Fantasy for $2.50 each. The original Mega Man 1, 2 and 3 for $1 a piece. And I can't remember how much I paid for Star Wars Dark Forces, but I know it was cheap or I wouldn't have bought it because I only had a PSP at the time, not Vita.

And speaking of Vita, just a tip. If you love PS1 classics, I HIGHLY suggest a Vita when you can get one cheap or whatever. If the hardware itself doesn't attract you, the fact that it is the ultimate hardware to play PS1 games on should when you can find one for the right price. PS1 games look better on Vita's screen than they do on my 1080p TV through PS3. And more importantly for alot of games, the Vita has the deepest/most complete button customisation compared to PS3.

For example on Vita I play Star Wars Dark Forces the same way you play a modern FPS, twin stick style which there's no other way to do with the PS1 version. I wish Final DOOM were released as a PS1 classic for just this reason. Being able to put modern controls to some of those PS1 classics really puts a new spin on them in some cases. And the fidelity really is top notch.

[GribbleGrunger]

Joe90, I'm not entirely sure you know what PS+ is. I'm not being rude here, it's just that your posts don't make sense in the context of PS+ and it's bonuses. Are you just trying to say you don't use the PS3 enough to warrant getting PS+?

[FamilyGuy]

So what you're saying is you've had a PS since 2007 and don't play any games on it period?
If not, well, you make n sense.

Free game in an extremely wide variety of genres. The $50 a year pays for it's self 100 fold. You could literally only download an play 5 games during the course of a year out of the 60+ that were given out an still get your moneys worth.

Anyone that actually buys and plays games on PS3 should get PS+

[majiebeast]

Its the service gamers deserve. NFS most wanted next month i cant wait.

Really hope LBPV&Sly 4 replace Gravity Rush and Uncharted:GA for the yearly Psvita games.

[Donnieboi]

NFS?! In what region, NA or Europe?

[majiebeast]

EU sorry Donnie :( but America has been catching up a bit lately.

[Donnieboi]

@Majie: Thanks for answering. It's ok, and yeah your right NA has been improving with the PS Plus games we've been getting. I won't complain.

[Sitdown]

I had purchased a one year subscription for cheap about 2 months ago in anticipation of the ps4, but when Battlefield 3 went live, ended up taking advantage of the recent Best Buy deal on the 3 month card. Great Stuff!

[ApolloTheBoss]

It's the greatest deal in the history of mankind that's what it is.

[joe90]

Steam says hi.

[friedricr]

Steam isn't on a console. Steam waves bye.

[joe90]

SO. Steam still says hi

with steam sales i get to keep my games, with ps+ you're just renting,

[Larry L]

Are you saying Steam gives you alot of 3rd party games for free that you get to keep forever? I wasn't aware of that. I'm not a PC gamers so I don't know any specifics on Steam. I thought it was a service for buying games. In which case, why WOULDN'T you keep them forever?

The free games on Plus are more like a rental service, but better since you never have to return the games to get more games. As long as you're a subscriber you can play any game you ever "rented" in your entire lifetime with the service any time you want.

But any games you actually buy on sale through plus, no matter how cheap they are on sale, are yours to keep forever even if you aren't a member. Your comment makes it sould like you think games you buy on Plus get taken away when your sub lapses. That's not the case if that's what you mean.

[joe90]

Larry, steam has friends lists,group chat,in game web browser, achievements, controller support,big picture mode which is steams version of a XMB.

oh yeh and it sells games.

a lot of pc games offer discount before release, if you pre-order most games you get 20% off and some if you own the previous game you get another 20% off, thats 40% off a game before its even out, id take that system over PS+ any day and i dont have to pay £40 a year for that privilege.

you wouldnt see sony selling infamous 2 for £20 on release day now would you.

[Larry L]

Oh, so it sounds like Steam is a PC version of PS3, just with much cheaper games because they're the PC versions and devs/publishers will count their blessings for any dollar they can make on PC versions of their games if they don't have heavy DRM policies.

That said, I do get offered alot of Day 1 and pre-order discounts from Plus or just on PSN. ME3 got Day 1 discounts.....quite alot of games, I'm not going to list them all but there have been alot. And forget discounts, Plus has given me day 1 digital games free on day 1 like Retro City and Simpsons Arcade.

But I don't subscribe to Plus for discounts at all. I spend minimal amounts of money on games. I take advantage of maybe 1% of the discounts Plus offers me. I'm in it for free games to bolster the few games I actually buy for myself. I'm not rich and $50, less than 1 new AAA game gets me a stream of games every single week without spending a dime more.

It's the same exact reason I subscribed to video game magazines last gen and before at $25 a piece. For the demos to bolster my thrifty (cheap ass) gaming ways. Between the 3 mags I was subscribed to, that was $75 a year just for demos. With Plus I'm paying 1/3 less than that and I'm getting full games now, not demos (and I don't have stacks of old news I already knew piling up next to my toilet).

If you're a gamer who can buy all the A+ games you like, then I agree, Plus wouldn't be as good for that person. You buy yourself plenty of games and probably wouldn't even have the time to enjoy what you get from the Plus membership. But if you''re a broke ass gamer who loves gaming but must spend as little as possible to game yet still make ends meet in life.........I don't think you can find a value like Plus in any walk of life, nevermind just in gaming. Do many companies you know of give you over $1200 worth of anything for $50? I've been around a while, I've never heard of it.

Aside from welfare, Plus is the best deal going.

[rpd123]

Honestly, you can't argue that PS+ is better than Steam. Steam has an incredible amount of discounts (and you don't have to subscribe to get them). You may not get "free" games, but those are typically old games, games that nobody wants, or games that most people will have already bought. And they go away once your subscription is up. The Sony fanboyism on this site is fucking astounding.

[Hicken]

Who DOESN'T know how Plus operates, by now?

[Donnieboi]

Certainly no one who takes the time to make an n4g account. We are already in the know.

[PLAYER5095]

can anybody tell me what game is being shown in the 2:44 mark

[Thegamer41]

The Division

[PLAYER5095]

Thank you sir!

[Roper316]

PS+ is a great service and I've been a member since day 1, my only concern going forward with PS+ is that all the IGC games will be gimped / half games like Drive Club. If that's the case to me it would definitely devalue PS+ seeing it's nothing more than a glorified demo.

[Hicken]

That's only because the PS4 doesn't have an established library to draw on, yet.

[Larry L]

Yeah, I don't think the majority of games are going to work like the Plus version of Drive Club. That deal seems to me like Sony/Evo just had to come up with a way to have one of the big PS4 exclusives free for Plus member, while still being able to get Evo to be able to make themselves some money off their efforts as well.....which they deserve. I just hope we get enough Drive Club actually for free so we feel like it's a complete experience without spending anything extra, and that the extra we do spend just feels more like buying DLC we WANT instead of content we NEED just to be competetive and have a good time with friends online.

I'm confident Sony and Evolution will do it right. Personally, it's not going to affect me in any way since I doubt I'll be able to get a PS4 at launch as my situation stands right now. ANd even if I do have money I might not get it for a while anyway since I really do want to enjoy GT6 for a good long while.

[fattyuk]

My 1TB HDD on one of my consoles is pretty much being abused ATM! I have purchased quite a few psn games and a Couple of other games but since being with ps plus since day one I'm rather proud of my game collection!

Alot of games I had on disc... I sold on which is unlike me.

Even recently my younger brother asked about ps plus and I told him to have a look at my ps3.... he was gobsmacked with the amount of games I have on there!

£40 a year ain't nothing or if you like £4 a month for this "rental service"

Oh and my vita says his aswell! only game I ever bought was uncharted but sold it for £20 when it became available on plus!

Love you Sony

X

[BigDollarZoe954]

What is PlayStation Plus its whats better than Xbox Live Gold i'll tell you that's what it is truthfully everything you get from it have more value