Since the earlier announcement of the PlayStation Plus service, Sony have clarified a few details. These include the exact cost of the subscription packages and what the exact features subscribers can expect are.
The first of the confirmed features is the Full Game Trial service. This will allow members to download and play full versions of PS3 and PSN titles, including PS one games. The titles will be available for a set period and will change each month. After the "trial" period expires, users will be able to continue playing by purchasing the title online.
Alongside this quasi-rental service, members will also be able to download and play certain PS3 and PSN titles, again including PS one games, with no time limit at all. The only restriction on this is that the player's PlayStation Plus subscription must remain active. The games in this program will be available to PlayStation Plus subscribers for no extra cost. Cool, but some people might not appreciate losing access to favorite games if they choose not to continue their subscription.
Special content such as avatars and themes will be available exclusively to PlayStation Plus members at no extra cost. Less excitement at this news, but it's nice to get some "freebies" for the subscription cost.
Members will also have access to exclusive discounts on PS3 and PSP titles purchased online. The exact games which are discounted will vary from month to month.
Subscribers also get access to demos, beta tests and trial versions before vanilla PSN users. Certainly more convenient than entering into those various beta key lotteries around the Internet.
And finally, the PlayStation Plus service can be set up to automatically download and install game demos, software updates and system updates. The PS3 can be set up to start up at a designated time to download content and turn itself off after the download is completed. This is a nice feature, but sounds like something which should really be included in the firmware for all users, not just subscribers. PS3 game updates in particular are notoriously slow - perhaps Sony know that this might convince some users to make the switch to PlayStation Plus anyway.
PlayStation Plus has several subscription packages which vary by region. Japanese and Asian gamers get the option to pay monthly, but American and European users don't. North American and European subscribers have the option of either the 90-day or the annual package. The 90-day package costs $17.99 in the US and €14.99 in Europe, while the annual fee is $49.99 for Americans or €49.99 for Europeans. Quite why the discrepancy between the US and European prices for the annual fee exists isn't clear at this time.
Altogether, the service has people cautiously interested. The fact it offers a service similar to a rental program like Gamefly is enough to make it worthwhile for gamers who like to save their money. And the early access deal will surely get people who like to be at the front of the line for everything interested.
PlayStation Plus launches on June 29, following the update to the 3.40 system software due to take place on June 22.
UPDATE: The official UK UK PlayStation Blog says that gamers who sign up for an annual subscription prior to August 3 will receive a free copy of LittleBigPlanet. No word yet on whether American subscribers can expect a similar deal.
The first of the confirmed features is the Full Game Trial service. This will allow members to download and play full versions of PS3 and PSN titles, including PS one games. The titles will be available for a set period and will change each month. After the "trial" period expires, users will be able to continue playing by purchasing the title online. Alongside this quasi-rental service, members will also be able to download and play certain PS3 and PSN titles, again including PS one games, with no time limit at all. The only restriction on this is that the player's PlayStation Plus subscription must remain active. The games in this program will be available to PlayStation Plus subscribers for no extra cost. Cool, but some people might not appreciate losing access to favorite games if they choose not to continue their subscription.
Special content such as avatars and themes will be available exclusively to PlayStation Plus members at no extra cost. Less excitement at this news, but it's nice to get some "freebies" for the subscription cost.
Members will also have access to exclusive discounts on PS3 and PSP titles purchased online. The exact games which are discounted will vary from month to month.
Subscribers also get access to demos, beta tests and trial versions before vanilla PSN users. Certainly more convenient than entering into those various beta key lotteries around the Internet. And finally, the PlayStation Plus service can be set up to automatically download and install game demos, software updates and system updates. The PS3 can be set up to start up at a designated time to download content and turn itself off after the download is completed. This is a nice feature, but sounds like something which should really be included in the firmware for all users, not just subscribers. PS3 game updates in particular are notoriously slow - perhaps Sony know that this might convince some users to make the switch to PlayStation Plus anyway.
PlayStation Plus has several subscription packages which vary by region. Japanese and Asian gamers get the option to pay monthly, but American and European users don't. North American and European subscribers have the option of either the 90-day or the annual package. The 90-day package costs $17.99 in the US and €14.99 in Europe, while the annual fee is $49.99 for Americans or €49.99 for Europeans. Quite why the discrepancy between the US and European prices for the annual fee exists isn't clear at this time.
Altogether, the service has people cautiously interested. The fact it offers a service similar to a rental program like Gamefly is enough to make it worthwhile for gamers who like to save their money. And the early access deal will surely get people who like to be at the front of the line for everything interested.
PlayStation Plus launches on June 29, following the update to the 3.40 system software due to take place on June 22.
UPDATE: The official UK UK PlayStation Blog says that gamers who sign up for an annual subscription prior to August 3 will receive a free copy of LittleBigPlanet. No word yet on whether American subscribers can expect a similar deal.
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