Playstation Plus - What you -really- get

I've noticed a fair bit of confusion regarding what you really get for a Playstation Plus subscription so thought I would post the fruits of my internet searching/Sony querying here.

The biggest misconception with Playstation Plus is regarding the games you get for "free". Most of these games will only be able to be played with an active subscription. That's right, let your subscription lapse back to free PSN and all those games edactivate and don't let you play.

Anyway, what you get is:

• Two free premium avatar icons per month. e.g. this month in Aus you can get the blue and pink princess icons from Fat Princess. Any avatar icons you download will be yours forever, even if you close your PSN+ subscription
• Two free dynamic themes. Any themesyou download will be yours forever, even if you close your PSN+ subscription. There are two themes this month, one game and one generic.
• Free games. A minimum of 1x PSN game, 2x minis and 1x PS One classic will be posted each month and be free to download and play. These remainplayable so long as you maintain an active subscription (and you must be online to play). If you allow you PSN + subscription to expire you will not be able to play these titles until you reinstate it.*
• Two free game trials per month. These will be fully functional games that you can trial for 1 hour (unless otherwise specified) and then purchase at a discounted rate if desired.
• Automatic Downloads. This will make your PS3 wake up and automatically download system updates, game updates and free demos/games when they become available. No more popping in a disc and then waiting whilst a game update is installed :)
• PSN store discounts on selected items. 20%-50% discounts but only on certain items for the month. Anything you purchase at the discounted price will be yourse to keep, even if you cloes your PSN+ subscription.
• Inclusion in all demo / beta game trials before they are released for public access/subscription.
• Cross game voice chat is a feature they are looking at adding for PSN + subscribers but do not yet offer.

* People who sign up for the annual subscription this month will also get Little Big Planet for free. This is not affected by the PSN+ subscription and will remain active even if the subscription expires.

Hope that helps. There are a bunch of sites up there now with more information but it's still very confusing, especially the game ownership one. I'm sure many people were under the misconception that games they downloaded would be owned. That's what a free game is right? Well, no it's not if you ask Sony :)

EDIT : Pricing can be seen at www.playstationplus.com(Thanks xsynth)

Also note any DLC that is available for free is yours to keep even when closing subscriptionxsynth

[QUOTE="xsynth"]Also note any DLC that is available for free is yours to keep even when closing subscriptionFightingfan

If you don't mind me asking, what's the prices for PSN+? :PLightR

This site shows you local pricing : www.playstationplus.com(thanks xsynth)

[QUOTE="xsynth"]Also note any DLC that is available for free is yours to keep even when closing subscriptionFightingfan

[QUOTE="Fightingfan"]This is for the Uk users right?Chickan_117

EDIT : Man I ahte how GS reformats your posts, give HTMl errors and the like. ARGH! Makes it so hard to post a simple answer!

Chickan_117

Actually I'm pretty sure I heard somewhere that even if you let your subscription lapse you'll be able to play the free game, at least with LBP, I think...Mr_Alexander

I covered this in my original post. The monthly titles will not be playable but LBP is a special offer for people who subscribe for a year. This will be playable if your plus subscription expires.

are there going to be PSN+ card sold in stores? One can get 12-13 months of live for $29.99 or $39.99 if they watch amazon closely.Bladescorpion

How will it know my subscription is over if i set my internet to disabled?hotfiree

[QUOTE="hotfiree"]How will it know my subscription is over if i set my internet to disabled?xsynth

If you don't mind me asking, what's the prices for PSN+? :PLightR

Wow thanks. Really helpful.

This really pays off in the end.

:shock: PS3 wakes up!

Can anyone tell me how do i use automatic downloads i am a PSN+ user.

Can anyone tell me how do i use automatic downloads i am a PSN+ user.

NatsumeKonno

It's in the menus under Settings > System Settings > Automatic Download

EDIT : Here's a link to provide further info http://au.playstation.com/ps3/support/games/detail/linked285070/item289104/Update-your-PS3-using-Automatic-Download/

It's in the menus under

Thanks under what menu? My profile? in the settings? whereNatsumeKonno

[QUOTE="NatsumeKonno"]Thanks under what menu? My profile? in the settings? whereChickan_117

Nice post Chickan - you explained it well. I knew it all from reading other websites but nice to see it clear and in one place. I signed up for three months ( I know you know that since I saw you log in this morning ( this morning my time anyway :lol: )) since LBP is of no interest to me and wanted to give it a go.

I've download Wipeout, DD, and the 2 minis already which is cool and was going to purchase next months free DLC anyway so feeling quite good about it all at the moment. I think I'll cancel my subscription in 3 months time and buy a year.

One thing to note that is in the small print and not widely publiscised - at the end of the 3 months or 1 year subscription if you have enough funds in your wallet the subscription AUTOMATICALLY renews AND if there isn't enough in your wallet but you have a linked credit/debit card it will fetch enough to cover the subscription or the minimum add amount ( whichever is bigger ) AUTOMATICALLY so pay attention those who aren't renewing!!!!

One thing to note that is in the small print and not widely publiscised - at the end of the 3 months or 1 year subscription if you have enough funds in your wallet the subscription AUTOMATICALLY renews AND if there isn't enough in your wallet but you have a linked credit/debit card it will fetch enough to cover the subscription or the minimum add amount ( whichever is bigger ) AUTOMATICALLY so pay attention those who aren't renewing!!!!

SadPSPAddict

Yeah I didn't know about that until it popped up until after I had purchased it. Not a big deal but I figured it would be nice to know beforehand for some people.

I wonder if they included Qore into that PS+ since I still have quite a few months to go on my current Qore subscription..

I'm also looking forward to 1 hour game tryouts. It's definitely much cheaper then renting games. I hope new titles become the routine since Infamous is not really new title.

Peoples biggest concerns are losing the free games but it is cheaper to pay your sub fee than it would be to rent a the games in a store for the same period.wooooode

Pretty crap analogy but I still think Sony were purposfully misleading.

Wow thanks. Really helpful.

This really pays off in the end.

:shock: PS3 wakes up!

Wolfetan

About trial games.. What do you mean by trial for the month? I can play a fully funtional game for a whole month? Or is there some kind of limit to how much of it I can play in the month? I don't get it.

About trial games.. What do you mean by trial for the month? I can play a fully funtional game for a whole month? Or is there some kind of limit to how much of it I can play in the month? I don't get it.

Dahaka-UK

A trail game is that during each month there are 1 or 2 PSN games that you can download for trial. The trial lasts for an hour ( unless otherwise stated ) at at the end you have the option to buy!

So the game(s) change each month, and each trial lasts an hour - and it's the fully functional game!

[QUOTE="Wolfetan"]

Wow thanks. Really helpful.

This really pays off in the end.

:shock: PS3 wakes up!

MushroomWig

The thing is... I don't rent games, and if I'm told I get free games if I subscribe I expect to be given free games not a rental. Imagine if you went into McDonalds and they had a free Coca Cola glass offer (as they so often do). Now imagine if you had to give the glass back at the end of your meal :)

Pretty crap analogy but I still think Sony were purposfully misleading.

Chickan_117

if they actually let us CHOOSE the games we get, itd be a good service. but until they do, its crap.starwarsjunky

Think about that for a minute. The best games on PSN would sell absolutely horribly if they did that. No one would allow their game on PSN+, unless they got more money than usual, this way.

Actually, it was even stated in a PS blog entry(and many other times) that games were free until the end of the subscription, so it's not misleadingRogueShodown

Well, personally, I only saw it in one blog and all the official stuff was pretty unclear IMO. Look at all the posts and topics about it, it can't be all that clear. Either way it is now.

Edit : Just re read this and thought that I still think that advertising a service with 4 free games a month is misleading if you have to go to a blog to find out that they are rentals.

Im sorry the PSN + really sucks. But can you elaborate on that "no more popping in a disk and then waiting whilst a game update is installed " line?PSP107

[QUOTE="wooooode"]Peoples biggest concerns are losing the free games but it is cheaper to pay your sub fee than it would be to rent a the games in a store for the same period.Chickan_117

Pretty crap analogy but I still think Sony were purposfully misleading.

[QUOTE="PSP107"]Im sorry the PSN + really sucks. But can you elaborate on that "no more popping in a disk and then waiting whilst a game update is installed " line?The_Rick_14

Methinks the service is a great idea but needs a little work to make it function properly.

[QUOTE="The_Rick_14"][QUOTE="PSP107"]Im sorry the PSN + really sucks. But can you elaborate on that "no more popping in a disk and then waiting whilst a game update is installed " line?Chickan_117

Methinks the service is a great idea but needs a little work to make it function properly.

Nice thread. Should clear things up for people who are confused.

IMO PS+ is not worth it. Just a pick and mix every month and half the stuff you get you might already own.

I would much prefer you could pick your PSN game, 2 minis, and PS1 game every month as well as get 50% discount on dlc of your choice. Also choosing your themes and avatars aswell.

If SONY had done that I would definitely signed up by now.

Nice thread. Should clear things up for people who are confused.

IMO PS+ is not worth it. Just a pick and mix every month and half the stuff you get you might already own.

I would much prefer you could pick your PSN game, 2 minis, and PS1 game every month as well as get 50% discount on dlc of your choice. Also choosing your themes and avatars aswell.

If SONY had done that I would definitely signed up by now.

-ColinR-

I dunno. For me, PS+ has already almost paid for itself. I agree it would be more worthwhile if we could choose.The_Rick_14

[QUOTE="The_Rick_14"]I dunno. For me, PS+ has already almost paid for itself. I agree it would be more worthwhile if we could choose.RogueShodown