July 30th Update: The content per month isn’t determined as day one content and is content that will be made available through the month.
PlayStation Nation — First off, thank you for all of your feedback regarding PlayStation Plus. There have been a lot of comments and questions surrounding some of the details of the new subscription service so we wanted to provide a little clarification leading up to its availability on June 29th. It’s a lot of info, but hopefully this helps answer most of your questions.
First off, at launch, PlayStation Plus will offer subscribers the full PlayStation Network game, WipEout HD, PSP minis and PS One Classics such as Fieldrunners, Age of Zombies and Rally Cross, full game trial of inFAMOUS, as well as free monthly episodes of Qore – our high-definition, interactive gaming lifestyle show.
With that, here are the basics of the new subscription service that lives on top of the current PlayStation Network:
- The current PSN features will remain free. We are still very committed to PSN as a free comprehensive entertainment service and are certainly not planning on reducing this service following the launch of PlayStation Plus.
- PlayStation Plus is an evolving service and the features included at launch will be:
- Games
- PS Store Discounts
- Exclusive offers on select demos, betas and early purchases
- Full Game Trial
- Automatic Downloads
- PlayStation Plus can be purchased through PlayStation Store on PS3 as a one-year package or a three-month package. The three-month package is available for $17.99 and the one-year package will be available for $49.99. We will also be offering three additional bonus months for free if you purchase the 1-year package — that’s 15 months total for $49.99.
- Payment is a one-time fee for either package and can be purchased with any of the current PSN Store payment methods – credit card or PSN Cards.
(More info on these below)
Here are more details on the features of PlayStation Plus:
Games & Special Offers: As a subscriber, you can expect to get your hands on free monthly PSN games, minis and PS One Classics from the PSN Store. You will be able to download these games during the month they are available until the new selection replaces them.
Once downloaded, the games are yours to keep and play as long as you are a member of PlayStation Plus. If your subscription lapses and then you re-subscribe, the games you have already downloaded will reactivate, so you still have access to them. Additionally, if you delete one of the titles from your PS3, but decide you want to get it back, then you can re-download from the PlayStation Plus section of the PSN Store if the game is still there, or, if the game has expired from the PlayStation Plus section of the PSN Store, you can simply search for it on PS Store and download it again at no extra cost.
Each month there will be dynamic themes, premium avatars and premium game elements/add-ons for you to download and many will be exclusive to PlayStation Plus members only. These are yours to keep forever once you have downloaded them.
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.
Finally, wherever possible we’ll be making sure that members are included in selected demos and beta trials before they go live to everyone else, so you can be the one to tell all your friends about the next big game they ‘must’ get.
Subscribers will get hundreds of dollars of value through the year and, in the first month alone, will receive more than $50 worth of content.
Full Game Trial: Each month we will be offering members the chance to download full games and try them out for a period of time (one hour, unless otherwise stated). After the game trial is complete, simply purchase the game to carry on where you left off. This is a unique way to trial the full game experience and means you don’t have to be restricted to certain levels/game modes when you test out a game.
The games in Full Game Trial will become available to all PS Store users to purchase, but only PlayStation Plus members will have the chance to ‘try before you buy’.
The other great thing about this feature is that you can continue from where you were at the end of the trial period if you decide to buy the game. All game saves and trophies earned during the trial will be unlocked and will show up on your trophy list and your trophy level when you purchase the game. You don’t even have to re-download the game, just purchase and go back to the XMB to access the game.
Automatic Download: Subscribers will be able to set their PS3 to wake up from standby at any time of the day or night, download and install any game updates for the games you have been playing so you don’t have to think about it. Also, select demos and videos will be pushed to your PS3 ready to go. System software updates will also download automatically (manual install still required) and then the PS3 will turn itself off again.
Game updates and demos will also automatically install and the next time you turn on your PS3 you will see a brief on-screen message letting you know what has been downloaded and updated.
Here are some more answers to frequently asked questions from the last blog post:
- Cross-game voice chat is a feature we know our passionate user base has asked for and we’ll continue to look at as a viable offering for the PlayStation Network.
- You need to be the master account holder on the PS3 and be over 18 to purchase PlayStation Plus, but other accounts on that PS3 will be able to play the games you download for as long as you are a subscriber.
- The “free” games you can download each month are yours to keep for as long as you are a subscriber.
- PlayStation Plus is for PS3 owners as subscribership can only be purchased on the PSN Store. However, some of the content – minis and PS One Classics – available each month will also be playable on your PSP if you have one. Download them on the PS3 and transfer to your PSP, or download directly from the PSP Store or Media Go for PSP.
PlayStation Plus is a continually evolving service and we are always working on identifying new partnerships, developing new features and providing new content that our users want. So thanks again for all your comments and questions and please continue to offer more ideas at PlayStation.Blog Share.
Will there be two separate stores? Like the current one and then when it comes there will also be a Playstation Plus store? And by the way this actually beats Live’s Gold membership “Either you buy Gold or there’s no point getting Live” where as Playstation “You can have our original service where you play online for free and other good features or you can have Plus where you have the original service AND all these amazing features as well” Thank you for Playstation Plus
sounds awesome to me, i’m gonna be a first day subscriber. question on qore, will we get new episodes, the back catalog of past qore episodes, and be able to get the downloadable extras that come within qore?
also one feature i’d like to have added is the ability to deactivate my account on certain ps3 systems using the playstation website on a pc and also a “cloud” based server to backup saves and downloaded games.
This service is a complete rip off compared to Xbox Live so for me I’ll stick to the free PSN.
Until features that people actually have asked for, like cross game voice chat, built-in netflix, espn, better web browser, context sensitive PS button, etc, you won’t get my money for PSN+.
Ok this does seem like a value for money offer, but I allready own Wipeout HD. Now I want to take up on this early so I get the extra 3 months for free, but I do not want to pay for this when the first month offers most of what I have allready purchased. Will the offer for 3 months extra be available for the next month when PS+ may have something I do not allready own..?
I hardly want to buy into something that is going to give me what I allready have purchased at full price. Also will PS+ offer anything in the way of film or tv downloads..?
How come you call it a “one-time fee”? Once my year is up won’t I have to pay for another year? Also how will the trophies work? If I cancel my subscription and lose the free games will I also lose the trophies I earned?
Based on the responses, those including both “TrueFFVIIFan” and “whitwhit” have stated, some clearing ups are needed. Based on what I have read, their talks of “rentals” ignore the definition of that word, as well as the actual services the subscriber is paying for.
So feel free if I am incorrect on any of this.
The subscriber is paying for the permanent services. The advanced downloads, the subscriptions, and any permanent demos you get before everybody else. The selected, temporary games are there for your amusement while you await to take full advantage of the services you are truly paying for.
So yeah… For me, this sounds great for hardcore gamers. But for gamers like me, I think I’ll pass in favor of what this service may not be able to offer me. (^_^;;
If i have two PS3’s am I restricted to only having Playstation Plus on one system, or can my one account be used on both systems? I really do not want to have to purchase Playstation Plus twice just to have it on both of my systems.
The fact is that much to-do has been made in the press and amongst gamers about the “free” games that we’re supposed to get as subscribers to PSN+, more so than any of what in my opinion are its comparatively flaccid companion features. That’s what has captured people’s attention, and it’s going to be what sways a lot of folks to jump on board, if the comments to this very blog are an indicator.
That said, as soon as our subscriptions expire, we’re out those free games unless we re-up. Being granted the use of property contingent upon a recurring payment is the very definition of a rental. Being that I was never all that interested in a majority of the stuff on the PSN anyway, and bought what little I was interested already, paying fifty bucks to rent a bunch of games that I couldn’t care less about doesn’t appeal to me.
Keep working on it Sony, and maybe PSN+ will be worth it one day. For now though, I’m gonna pass.
Please sony we really need cross game chatting.If you added this feature to the playstation plus everyone would buy it. If i don’t recieve the cross game chatting soon im selling my ps3 and going for the xbox360
Please discount the service to current Qore subscribers. You are essentially ripping us off, especially those of us who renewed or joined in the last couple months. Don’t try to label it as a perk for new PSN+ users; $25 of the subscription to PSN+ is going towards Qore.
i have 1 teenie tiny question since im hittin onto da 600th comment N couldn’t read all posts (just sum) plz explain how da fuuk do uu expect us too start DLin 10GB+ games??? although im not hatin i knw sony got sumtin hugh in store 4 da HOLIDAYz trust me truuuuuuuuuuuuuuust, uu ppl think dat shat BOX gonna get away witta 260gb HDD or wateva it iz, itz still a xBRICKz witta fail disc drive itz 2010 ppl get wit da program PLZ i get it Downloadble blueray games rr da future but hey microsoft got sum catchin up too do thanxz sony i would buy da whole plus package since i want wipeOUT N all, online dat b!tch but supa iffy on da blueray game rentalz just sayin if this gets explained by august since datz round da deadline or so den iLL bee a must buy 4 all i mean it must be cleared up i dnt knw anyone who even DL on PSN more den 6 too 8 GB of data just sayin on average but come HOLIDAYz we knw sony got sumtin ready too drop dat price on microsoft productz WE ALREADY KNOW homie relax relax uu HOMIEz im talkin too <—– 'wink' 'wink' dozen't exactly make it clear p.s. great job on releasin dat shiny black slim Xblock dnt uu think it was a lil too early "wink" SONY comin 4 uu holidayz
We need more answers. Answer up! Look at my previous question!!
When the hell are we going to get cross game chat? Seriously first I read we are, and this is making it sound like we are not or “maybe”. This is getting ridiculous. I want a concrete answer and date damn it.
Sorry if this has already been covered but are there any plans to offer a PSP-specific version of PS+? Maybe lacking the pushing of content as my PSP is usually pretty full.
@ima_crash_u
LOL. Please stop posting. OR, if you’re gonna post at least clean up your grammar so people could read past the second line without vomiting. You did the same exact thing before comments even got to 400, only back then it was “hittin onto da 400th”
All silliness aside, I very much was excited for PS+. That was because I read an article off Joystiq..
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/06/15/cross-game-party-chat-coming-to-ps3-with-strings-attached/
and thought we finally made it. I thought we have reached an understanding with sony. I thought that people wanted it so bad, they’d be willing to pay 50$ annually just for the Xgame chat being the main perk. After all, that really is the ONE greatest thing xbox live has over us..
I guess I am mistaken though. Not including THE ONE AND MOST DESIRED FEATURE that competition got right from day one really makes me question my loyalty and love for everything sony (my room). Sony just lost 50% of Playstation Plus subscribers indefinitely because they refuse to provide on this front…
Specifically for the inFamous Full Game Trial: I rented it a while ago, and beat it once. Since I have save data from that, will it let me do the trial at all, or will it just start from the beginning?
i heard LBP and inFamous will be available for DL… if we already own these on blu-ray, but would LOVE to have a digital copy instead, can we dl it free or discounted?
I’m also signing up at launch I think. Ive read and re read the info on it and thought long about how it could apply to me. After some consideration, the money I already spend through psn I could almost certainly see being completely worth it. The three free months is a nice touch to, bumped me up from a 3 month consideration to a full year.
I always wondered what Sony could add to Playstation Plus to make it worth my while. Now I know I will want to buy it ASAP. Oh and question about it: If a master account buys it for them, will the sub accounts under that master account also get it? I am not a master account, but if it will not register me (sub account) for the PS Plus, I will definitely register a new Master :)
@smkalot: I highly doubt that Sony will lost 50% of their potential PS Plus customers jsut because they didn’t add XChat. To be honest, I don’t give a S*** whether or not I have XChat. Oh, and we do have Xchat if you get plus. I am 99.99% sure they will include that.
ima_crash_u: That was the hardest comment I had to read in my entire life. I do think I will get the new Xbox because it is the same as my slim PS3 (250gb hdd, wifi, online, practically same games) at $50 cheaper than the PS3. There is not really a difference between the two. And I can also get the online for 1 year and STILL be cheaper than the retail price of a PS3 slim. Why not buy it?
Sounds good, i’ll get the 1 year then
Im sorry but I find this plus thing really lame. First off whats the big deal with automatic downloads. I just go to turn off system and put the setting to turn it off after all my stuff has downloaded. Second the whole get a free game every month thing seems shady to me because your releasing LBP and Wipeout, 2 very successful games (That almost everyone already has) in the first month. Are we just going to get low quality games after that. Third the get exclusive betas thing isn’t that great either when you could just walk to the store and preorder it and get the beta. Enough said. Personally if Playstation Plus ONLY came with crosschat I would buy it. I could care less for all these other features, It just seems like a waste of hard drive memory to me.
NAW rabid_sheep: watchu talkin bout itz da same as a ps3 slim datz beside da point if their is a price drop on sony productz guess wat happenz too da xbox!!!!!
I hope the MARCUS (PSP) ads get posted to PSN+ just like KB. STEP YOUR GAME UP!
Sony, this is ridiculous letting everybody’s questions unanswered… please hire people who are ready to do their job instead of those wo just pretend doing it. You need people to subscribe for your service, ok good but answer our d*** interrogations.
When the MMO games like Final Fantasy XIV Online come out will it be connected to your PPlus Membership so there is nothing to pay or will it have a subscription to be paid with a disscount as you are a member or will it be the same as everyone else who isn’t a PPlus member? Thanks Liam
This WAS the reason I didn’t renew my Qore subscription, but I think I’ll just be saving up for some Move bundle anyway.
Wow…
@45 madness23 | June 24th, 2010 at 11:20 am
How does this service affect those of us who already subscribe to Qore? If we are only have way through our subscription will there be any compensation if we purchase plus?
@ Susan Panico | June 25th, 2010 at 9:51 am
We realize that some Qore subscribers will also want to subscribe to PlayStation Plus. We are sure that you will find there is a ton of great content, special deals and cool features in PS Plus and recongize that adding Qore is a bonus for Plus users and not the main contraction.
Way to dodge the question.
/golf clap
I need to know something.
I have multiple accounts on my console and need to know if each account will beable to access the features of plus or if it is linked to the one PSN ID that makes the purchase.
If someone could be kind enough to post a reply it would make my decision on purchasing plus
So. . . . XGC is going to be a free service? Hmm from the sounds of it, unless i’m mistakening something, it will be free.
With that being said and reading the details about P+, i think i’m gonna have to pick up the service. . . . .
Way To Go Sony!!!!! +1!!!
Im getting it day one.
Why?
Sony has done really well by me. Including there customer support with my account problems. I will probbably get the annual one. If theres some actual improvement in the service by this time next year ill renew.. but i have no desire to rent PSN games.. I want to own them.
And sony? cross game voice chat please..
Question: How long is “launch?” I’m hearing this phrase a lot, and I am curious to know what that window actually is.
Thanks,
-J.
what about exclusive dlc’s what game s should we expect to see or look forward to? I WANT IT JUST CURIOUS.
What happens at the end of your subscription? Do you get any warning to re-subscribe? Is your credit-card automatically charged for the following year?
Dear Sony the solution to the Qore problem is so easy to fix. You don’t even need to refend any money. All you need to do is for the people that have Qore Subscriptions but want to join Plus, is that one the person purchases a 1 year subscription, you give them and extra month for every 2 months they have left on Qore.
How does that sound…?
Because let me tell you right now. By not compensating those that still have Qore subscriptions left, you are pissing off your most dedicated fan base. That is something you do not want to do.
Please dont make the Marketing mistake you are about to do by not compesating those that have a full year of Qore left. How can you possibly ignore this people?
It is your obligation to come up with a fair solution to this issue. You can tell by reading this blog, that you have pissed off a lot of people over this issue.
And if you ignore this issue, well i dont know… it will be one of your more stupid mistakes, or arrogant. a little of both i guess.
Anyways, let me say it one more time.
YOU ARE PISSING OFF YOUR MOST DEDICATED FAN BASE…. BIG MISTAKE!!!
A BIG — question For Sony.
—————————–
1. playstation 4
____________________________
Why?
_______
Sony why make, playstation plus and playstation move?
______________________________
Being CNN said the playstation 4 will be released mid 2011 ?
——————————
WHY!?!?
How about a PSN+ T-Shirt to wear in PS HOME?
Also will PS HOME be celebrating the release of PS+ in some way come 29th June?
can we have playstation 2’s resident evil code veronica X on playstation plus ? or any playstation 2 titles with trophies and HD-Filtering ? Please??…
what if your a sub acct and your 17 if i have to buy it on my master acct how is it fair that i dont get the full features even its mainly for my sub acct this is pointless to buy if i cant use it on my MAIN acct comment?
Is there some type of ps+ plan(in the future) that is offered more directly towards psp users? I currently own a psp(though not a ps3)
From what I read, PS+ will charge me 50 for the game I already own and Qore eposide which I already subscribed for entire year. So, basically I’ll pay 50 for NOTHING?
I guess PS+ is for causal users that not use PSN a lot,because I can hardly believe a core gamer didn’t own most psn games sony listed here, and I’m pretty sure they will have Qore subscriptions since day 1. So Sony, honestly,u r expecting light users pay 50 a year for your service? Do u really believe our money come from trees? U never give compensation for your customers,that’s exactly what u do in Qore. U give out games we already have and u do it every month. Now I learnt to not spend any cash on your cheaper games, because who knows, it might appear in the next episode Qore download list. Maybe next year u announce a PS++ service that will include all PS+ service? Have fun playing us around Sony! While your oppenent MS has facebook,twitter,netflix,last fm and ESPN for its paid service, u offered NOTHING useful and U expect us to pay? Forget about it.
I need a response to post # 481 or I will be one gamer guaranteed not to buy this EVER
^^^ @493 Exactly bro…when i 1st got qore for a year some of the free games they gave me i already had and the betas they gave out started the week it was going to end and i was playing one of the betas a month before they even gave me it..and it’s like WTF…I’m staying positive but i already have a feeling its going going to offer us some other stuff. i have whipeout HD also And some other ones too They might give out
Will PSN or PS+ ever offer PS2 games? I love my PS3 and my PSP. But before I had those I constsantly played my ps2 because it has a great variety of games. None of which plyable on my PS3. I dont have a PS2 anymore and dont care to buy one while owning a PS3 and a PSP. It would be incredable if you incorperated some(not all just some) PS2 games into the PSN or PS+. Not so many that you drown out the PS2 system but enough so that people can still enjoy the same great games they played on PS2(such as youve done with the PS1 games) I know I would love it and im sure so would millions of others.
Think this is a great idea but still think adding the ability to send messages on a pc or moblile phone is the one thing the PSN is seriously lacking. Please consider this.
“No offense taken. Yes, their will be retail cards for PlayStation Plus soon.”
I know the english language is very complicated Susan. You take 24 hour to respond to a comment, only responding to stupid comments (on this post). It should be noted (apparently) that “there”, and “their” are two different words with different meanings.
Really, Sony, can’t you hire someone who can type at a level higher than 4th grade?
i agree with an earlier comment. The Playstation Plus, only seems economically viable, if you don’t own many psn games.
The auto update feature seems like something I would hate to have. When I start up a game, and there is an update, I get excited. I often will think, “Ooh, maybe they added custom-soundtracks.”
After the update takes place, usually around 45 seconds, even if there are no C.S. added, I still think, atleast they did something, and they are still supporting the title.
Even worse, who wants to turn on their ps3, to be greated with a message: “An update needs to be installed, please press x to proceed.” Then when you install the update, only to find out that it is April Fools Day 2010 all-over-again, and yet another deloved feature that was triumped by sony before launch, has been removed, never to be heard from again…
Maybe the profit from Playstation Plus can be used to pay for the results of the ongoing lawsuit against Sony Computer of America. And I hope it does. I want Sony to continue producing great games for years to come. Hopefully the extra cash comes in handy for something besides Home, and Move controllers without analog sticks.
will there be tax on this ? plz answer im buying a 50 dollar psn card and i really want to know