Any thoughts on Playstation Plus after a few months

[Hrothgar]

Playstation Plus has been running for a while now.  What's the verdict from the early adopters?  I was thinking about getting Stacking.  I see that it's free with Plus.  I could just put that money towards a plus membership if it's turning out to be a worthwhile deal.

[metallicorphan]

Okay i am not a PS+ member,but i am interested what people think of it as well

Playstation Plus members get the upcoming SEGA Megadrive collection at the end of March

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/289351/news/megadrive-collection-free-for-ps-plus-subs/

"Starting March 29, SEGA will be rolling out the SEGA Genesis Collection, including Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Altered Beast, and more. All six of these titles will be playable on the PlayStation 3 and will include trophies," explains Sega.

"As a special gift and exclusive offer for our PlayStation Plus subscribers, the upcoming games (an almost $30 value) will be available two weeks early and free for one month each to download," it adds.

The first game to arrive is Sonic the Hedgehog on March 1 - a full four weeks early exclusively for PS Plus subs.

The game will eventually be made available to the rest of the PSN masses for $4.99 each. There's no mention of plans to offer the same deal in UK, but fingers crossed SCEE will serve the good our side of the pond too.



PlayStation Plus Releases (free)

* Sonic the Hedgehog - Available March 1 - April 5
* Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - Available April 5 - May 3
* Streets of Rage 2 - Available May 3 - May 31
* Golden Axe 2 - Available May 31 - July 5
* Comix Zone - Available July 5 - August 2
* Altered Beast - Available August 2 - August 30

the only downside to PS+ is that if you don't renew then you lose access to these games you downloaded...it certainly does still seem a good idea though,because why would you not renew if the free games keep coming

[CeeKay]

Are those Sega games being redone?  If not 5 bucks a piece seems a bit high.

Still, cool to see the perks Plus members get. Makes it tempting.

[EddieA]

Are those Sega games being redone?  If not 5 bucks a piece seems a bit high.

Still, cool to see the perks Plus members get. Makes it tempting.

AFAIK, they're the original versions.  Since you can get the entire Genesis Collection (these six games plus over 40 more) for $17, $5 each is just silly.

[leo8877]

PS Plus would be worth it if they gave you faster DL speeds or something.  I bought it, but aside from some free games (most are not as good as stacking) and some early release demos (KZ3), there hasn't been much.  I figure this is a good year to try it with a lot of Sony first party games coming out later.  I doubt I'll keep it after it expires (12 +3 months is the current deal).

[Laner]

Here's a questions I have about Playstation Plus - if I subscribe, and buy a game at the PS+ reduced price, what happens if I let my subscription lapse?  Am I charged for the difference?  Am I no longer able to play it?

[metallicorphan]

Here's a questions I have about Playstation Plus - if I subscribe, and buy a game at the PS+ reduced price, what happens if I let my subscription lapse?  Am I charged for the difference?  Am I no longer able to play it?

i believe from what i have heard is that you no longer have access to it

[leo8877]

Here's a questions I have about Playstation Plus - if I subscribe, and buy a game at the PS+ reduced price, what happens if I let my subscription lapse?  Am I charged for the difference?  Am I no longer able to play it?

i believe from what i have heard is that you no longer have access to it

I thought that was only for the free games, but I am not 100% sure.

[The_Man]

I just signed up about a week ago and so far I'd say it's definitely worth it.  I signed up just for Stacking but there is a lot more available.  A lot of the minis are free.  I downloaded Let's Golf to my PSP and you also get Quore, the monthly Playstation video magazine for free.

I look at it this way.  I'm gonna beat Stacking and probably never go back to it.  If they give me 8 games like that a year out of 12 months, I'd say I got my money's worth even if I drop out.  But why drop out when it's only $4.00 a month?  They also give you a bunch of dynamic themes for free as well and I hear there's some PLaystation Home stuff that's free too, but I rarely use it.

I'd say with Stacking free this month, there's probably not a better time to join than now.

[metallicorphan]

Here's a questions I have about Playstation Plus - if I subscribe, and buy a game at the PS+ reduced price, what happens if I let my subscription lapse?  Am I charged for the difference?  Am I no longer able to play it?

i believe from what i have heard is that you no longer have access to it

I thought that was only for the free games, but I am not 100% sure.

yeah i may of been wrong actually not quite sure,i looked about and found this

PlayStation Plus subscribers will also be given exclusive PlayStation Store discounts each month that are above and beyond the current PSN Store discounts available to everyone. These discounts will range from 20% to 50%, and anything you buy with these is yours to keep and enjoy forever.

not 100% sure if that means 'keep and enjoy forever'(as long as you continue to subscribe)

the way i read it is that its yours full stop,whether it runs out or not

[The Grue]

Yeah, if you buy something for a sale price given to PS+ subscribers, they aren't going to come back at you and ask for money or not let you buy it.  The only time they block you is if there is a game that is given to you free.  If you cancel, you would no longer have access to one of those games.

[Hetz]

I got it about 2 months ago and so far I have by far gotten my moneys worth.

Lets see....I got and am getting: Stacking, Sega Collection, Sam and Max: Season 3 + a bunch of PS1 games all free. I also get major discounts on many other PSN games. I also get Qore for free as well.

Not bad at all.

[shon]

I just signed up to get stacking and I think it's worth it. 
Games you buy are always yours no matter if you quit your
Sub and if you do renew a year later you get access to your
Free games from when you were on before

Also the auto download of patches and firmware is great.  I hate
Turning on my Ps3 and having to wait for an update.

[CeeKay]

tomorrow they're going to be adding cloud storage, 150mb for save files.

[metallicorphan]

is it really worth it?,i am guessing that 150mb is the maximum for ALL saves,not just for one,as most saves are in the KBs anyway..and if you have 60gig 150mb isn't really gonna make a difference if its on your HDD or on the Cloud service...maybe i am missing the point

[leo8877]

I wish they had this when I got the slim and my KZ2 saves would not transfer over...also my Fat Princess stuff.  All lost!  Not anymore!!

[Kevin Grey]

is it really worth it?,i am guessing that 150mb is the maximum for ALL saves,not just for one,as most saves are in the KBs anyway..and if you have 60gig 150mb isn't really gonna make a difference if its on your HDD or on the Cloud service...maybe i am missing the point

For one, it protects you if your HDD an individual save becomes corrupted.  Yes, you can just do it to a USB stick instead but cloud is easier.  

Also, if you have multiple PS3s (I do), it makes it easier to play the same game on both consoles.

Personally, I wish they implemented it for PS1 saves as well.  Sometimes I'll play the same game on my PSP and PS3 and I have to physically hook the PSP to the PS3 to transfer the save back and forth.  

[Harkonis]

is it really worth it?,i am guessing that 150mb is the maximum for ALL saves,not just for one,as most saves are in the KBs anyway..and if you have 60gig 150mb isn't really gonna make a difference if its on your HDD or on the Cloud service...maybe i am missing the point

I think the point you're missing there is the whole cloud thing

[Caine]

That would have been very helpful to have before my 60gb ps3 died. Now I'd just make sure to copy the saves to a USB drive or something.

[Canuck]

I'm thinking of getting this as I've got the 1 month trial thanks to the welcome back program and it really seems like good value for the money.  I wish I had subscribed back when Stacking was free as that's an awesome game.  They've got Magic on for free now but I already have that one for Steam.  Perhaps I'll keep my one month free version for now and wait until some really good deals come up.  Is it possible to get any discounts on the PSPlus membership like Xbox Live or is it always the same price?

[EddieA]

Playstation Plus has been awesome lately.  For April, they offered Shift 2 Unleashed, Shank 2, Silent Hill for PSOne, and Frogger Returns and May looks even better with Trine 2, Awesomenauts, Rock of Ages, Castlevania : Symphony of The Night, and Castlevania Chronicles 

[Bullwinkle]

PS+ does keep getting better, I have to say.

[Darren8r]

It is an amazing service. I've had it since it's inception and I recently found myself in a tough situation... I ran out of HD space and needed to delete some older games to make room for all this great booty in April!!

[Morgul]

I tried it, they gave it for free for a month or something.   Pretty much worthless for me.

I do not care about their free games, and I do not care about backing up save games.  If it dies and the game was really good, I will restart it.

[Laner]

Wow... this is a massive amount of free gaming:

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/06/05/playstation-plus-e3-2012

Virtua Fighter 5 – June 5th
inFAMOUS 2 – June 5th
Little Big Planet 2 – June 5th
Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One – June 5th
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine – June 5th
Just Cause 2 – June 5th
Saints Row 2 – June 5th
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light – June 5th
Hard Corp: Uprising – June 5th
Choplifter HD – June 5th
Zombie Apocalypse Never Die Alone – June 5th
Sideway NY – June 5th

Most of my console gaming has been done on the Xbox this generation and last.  But Sony is *really* making the PS3 compelling with steep discounts and outright free games via PS Plus.  And the save game backup was handy when my 20GB model died a couple of months ago.

[leo8877]

Can you only play these games for a month, or are they only downloadable for a month?

[Laner]

I'm assuming they're downloadable for a month, but you can play as long as your subscription is active...

[metallicorphan]

you can download all those titles,and then delete them.....and as long as you are still a PS+ member,then for example 6 months down the line,you can still download them again and play them

which is a godsend for someone like me with 60hdd,so if i have not got the space for them all i will at least start the downloads so that they get checked on my account
Eurogamer

UPDATE: Sony has confirmed that you can play games downloaded under the new PS Plus scheme for as long as you subscribe.

"That aspect is the same as before - the dates for availability are regarding your initial download of the game - the same as now," Sony's Ross McGrath explained.

"If you make sure that you go and opt to download a game before it exists Plus, then you can download it and keep playing it for as long as you're a subscriber. Likewise, if you are running short of space, you can delete it from your hard drive and retrieve it from your download list at ANY time - but you have to keep your subscription active."