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.
Typical response calling someone a fanboy. Fail.
Thank you God of Gaming. :)
Great! Susan Panico = Grace Chen = NO REPLIES!
I Need to know the samething PlayStation
Hello Playstation, I’ve had a sub-account since launch. I’m about to be 21, so that means that a little over 3 years ago, I was 17 and unable to legally make a master account on my own. So I could not make use of the Facebook feature that you guys put out a while ago. And now you’re saying that I can’t buy Playstation Plus? I want these new features. Not just the games. I am part of your main demographic, and you didn’t think of adding the ability to change a sub-account to a master account? What happened guys?
Except i got my PlayStation 3 in 2007 & i’m 18 now but i created my account when i was 15.
@ThePerfectMurder…Which, thankfully, it is not.
Will there be an app for Sony’s customer care can suck a little less!? I swaer I am about to go crazy!! I have to send in my system in again, becuase they keep sending be brinken PS3s! I just want my money back and I will buy a new PS3……
Why do people ask so many questions here? No one is going to reply to you! You’ll get more answers asking the walls in your house! XD
@257…you think people havent been asking “with honey?” They KNOW we want it. No doubt, 3 years from now they will be using that same tired excuse. “We know you want cross game voice chat, we are looking into it”…hilarious. If the ps3 is SO POWERFUL, (even more than other consoles) what is the deal? Why dont they tell us the REAL reason…they do not know how to do it. Or they state it already has games that have voice chat enabled…fuuunny. Dont hold your breath, we are not getting Cross Game Voice Chat. (till the next Sony made console) If they released CGVC now, it may sell them a few Sony Headsets, no way would they want that…
I am very interrested in joining day 1 but like many other posters here I need to at least know 1 or 2 month’s content in order to finalize my decision. Also, I need to know if this is good for up to 5 consoles like almost any other content purchased from the psn store? Thank you!
@242
Netflix has a way lot more value of thousands of videos *Even NEW Releases* and dvd by-mail, not just 4 games a month!!
Sure if ~75% of PS1, PSN and Mini games were Free (maybe future PS2 games) …Sign me UP at $9 month!!!
Please SONY PlayStation
GIVE US THE ABILITY TO CHANGE SOMEONE FROM SUB-ACCOUNT TO MASTER ACCOUNT ONCE THEY ARE 18. I’M MISSING OUT ON SOME FEATURES & I WILL MISS OUT ON PlayStation Plus JUST BECAUSE I PUT MY REAL AGE I SHOULD OF JUST USED A FAKE AGE BUT I THOUGHT YOU COULD GET BANNED FOR PUTTING A FAKE AGE THATS WHY I DIDN’T. I GUESS YOU CAN’T GET MY MONEY NOW FROM PlayStation Plus & I WON’T GET ANY OF THE GOOD CONTENT. =[ =[ =[ =[ =[ =[ =[ =[
@270, trade for a slim from sony, use same repair money will cover swap.
@270, if its a 60gb cech ao1
re-read the FAQ:
“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.”
Paying money for “free” stuff… It doesn’t make sense.
good luck selling this lol
discount for current qore subscribers?
@perfectmurder and 257…oops, misread.
Would be great. Sadly PS makes buying stuff from outside US so darn hard, it turns many people down and they let it pass.
i sure hope that you are saving XGC for everyone in a future update.
give us what we want.
so question: say I have my account on two systems. System A my account is the Master Account. System B my account is a sub account. Will this change the features(such as the auto-download) on System B?
Do we still get demos of certain games if we don’t subscribe? Because it says that now only PS+ members can “try before they buy”.
As for me, I think it’s worth it if you plan to re-subscribe each year. If not, then you lose all your content you got from the subscription, which sucks. Unless I change my mind, I’m gonna pass.
And by the way, WHERE IN THE HELL IS THE FEEDBACK?
Regarding Comment 4 & 7:
I too would love to see a cloud or network save system in place. My original PS3 eventually gave me the yellow light of death and I lost ALL OF MY SAVE FILES. I do backups FAR more frequently now, but it would be great to have a simple service out there to help us in times of dire need. I was so close to beating Demon’s Souls for the first time when my system cacked. Totally sucked.
At any rate, I vote a HUGE thumbs up on a cloud save system.
The hour trial is a joke. Let’s take xamount of time downloading to play an hour. At least give it a 5hour trial or something.
@DeadCell34 in comment 272:
You will still have access to standard demos without issue. The “try before you buy” comment was concerning the new full-game trial they’re implementing. PS+ members will be playing the actual full game in their demo instead of just a demo program. You will still be able to download free demos without PS+, but it won’t be the full game. If you read that part of the article again, I’m sure you’ll see what it is they’re offering and how it’s different than a standard demo.
Would be great if this service also included the MMO subs comming out without xtra fees. Tht would make it a Day one Buy for me
yeah, it looks like they are just going to give crap games away for free just to be able to say that they are giving us “value”. I’d rather have features than content. especially crap content. add voice chat, cloud saves, and netflix and you will have a customer. Giving me failing games for free….theres a reason i haven’t bought those games yet….they suck.
I must say that’s a pretty much weak questions and answers list. Doesn’t really answer anything.
there’d better be a boatload, a whopping S load of avatars and dyn themes to choose from. i better be able to turn off that ridiculous force feeding you call “automatic download” because memory mgmt is important to me as i am one of the cold shafted early purchasers of a PS3.
Hello Playstation, I’ve had a sub-account since launch. I’m about to be 21, so that means that a little over 3 years ago, I was 17 and unable to legally make a master account on my own. So I could not make use of the Facebook feature that you guys put out a while ago. And now you’re saying that I can’t buy Playstation Plus? I want these new features. Not just the games. I am part of your main demographic, and you didn’t think of adding the ability to change a sub-account to a master account? What happened guys?
@yung_dragon
Didn’t even think of that. That would be the perfect reason to get PSN+.
I’ll be subscribing!
definately getting this seems like i will be getting much more then 50bucks of content:)
Sign me up Scottie
I’ll subscribe..
as soon as cross game chat is released.
$280
Based on PSN EU Blog
Sorry, it looks like 2 Avatars based on One Game and One Dynamic Theme a Month.
“Subscribers will be able to set their PS3 to wake up ” so it seems it has to be enable first???
what about x game chat
seems nice and all but SERIOUSLY! why is it always “we are looking into it” when it comes to cross game chat? is it really that difficult? its the one thing just about all of us want and shouldve been available from day one. so PLEASE Sony give us cross game chat.
last month I subscribed to Qore… there will be a promo to actual or recent subscribers?
This sounds great! You answered all of the questions *I* had. If I were more single-minded about it, referring to it as a “rental service,” I think I’d have my answer right there- I’m clearly not interested.
Luckily, in such a situation, I’d be fully aware that many games don’t see much play after the initial year, and if I received only one such good game, I’d just buy it and be done with the service, or, if there were enough worthwhile downloads in the previous year, continue my subscription while potentially gaining even greater reason to continue thereafter.
And I’d know that, were I to subscribe to such a service, I would not only be gaining some prizes out of it, but the increased income would allow the PSN to improve with the kind of funding that the so-called “superior service” has had for four years. I’d be unable to phathom the kind of service we might have a year from now if the PSN had a steady flow of money rather than complaints, whiny rants and begging for free stuff.
Good thing I’d being so rational about this whole situation rather than petulant and vindictive.
Hypothetically speaking.
And still the Sony PS3 does not have cross game voice chat.
And even if it did, I’m sure it wouldn’t work right.
Sad, Very sad
is there some legal issue surronding cross game chat there is no way its that hard to implement. when we already have a chat system
cross game chat = people who can’t afford a phone/cellphone.
There’s no Cross game chat then?
@291 What does that have to do with anything?
Doesn’t sound very good to me . Goodbye to the free stuff.
You cant really choose the ‘free’ games you get though can you? So you might end up getting really bad games or just games you arent interested in, or maybe even games you already bought.. It might be cool if there were 5 free games each money but you could only choose 1.
Come on Sony… If you’re going to copy and paste from the EU blog at least be able to leave some replies like they did over on their blog… We have a ton of questions for you guys still and the content comes out next week!
One thing which is completly stupid and because of it i’m not gonna subscribe is the fact that I cannot change the country i’m living in the “account management”. I was living in France (€ zone) and I moved to Denmark. If I use my Danish Visa Card on my PSN account (french), it’s gonna take also the change rate. Sony please b4 you think that you have done the right thing, think if everybody can use it.
You are losing me as a big customer and all that because I cannot change a stupid information..
I’ll be getting the first year of PSN + (chat isn’t a deciding factor for me).
I like the idea of the 3 extra months for the purchase of the year subscription and what they do have to offer so far seems fair.
I’m already getting Qore, so getting PSN + and Qore….seems a fair deal since Qore was around 25 a year by itself.
If chat is implemented in the first year, all the better.
For those of you saying that Chat is the deciding factor for you to purchase PSN +, I guess your best bet is to wait it out and see if Chat comes later this year.
I doubt if you get the yearly subscription later in the year however, that you’ll also get the 3 free months on your yearly subscription (I think that’s a limited offer (could be wrong) to get people to subscribe).
If I don’t like it after the first year, no one is forcing me to subscribe for another year…I may not have the content that I got during the service, but that doesn’t bother me either as Sony has stated how the service runs before hand.