March 30, 2011March 31, 2011

Coming to PlayStation Plus: Stardrone Discount, Dungeon Hunter and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Exclusive

Hi everyone,

We have some exciting offers coming to PlayStation Plus, with huge discounts and free games across the board, including PSN newcomers Stardrone and Dungeon Hunter! Check out some of our highlighted offers below, along with the full list that follows. Also, some of you may be wondering about the Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds avatar bundle. We’re making the bundle available on April 12 exclusively for Plus subscribers for $3.99, which has been moved from its original March 29 launch date.

Free Games and DLC
As a continuation of the SEGA Genesis Collection we’re offering Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on April 5, early and free of charge to Plus subscribers. Includes trophy support!

Destroy wave upon wave of bad guys in the PSN minis title Duael Invaders. This classic shoot ‘em up game is free and exclusive to Plus subscribers on April 5.

Get in touch with the Japanese underworld, because we’re also offering Yakuza 4: The Men of Yakuza 4 Dynamic Theme, free to Plus subscribers.

As we mentioned above, the Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds avatar bundle is coming your way on April 12, offering you a whopping 38 avatars to choose from.

Huge Discounts
PSN newcomer Stardrone goes on sale for 50% off to Plus subscribers on April 5 for $4.00. With a unique mix of physics-based mechanics and classic brick-breaking gameplay, Stardrone is a truly unique PSN title.

Also on April 5 the Marble Madness-esque puzzler Hamsterball will be go on sale on the regular storefront for $4.99 (normally priced @ $9.99), but Plus subscribers will get an additional $1 off the sale price!

Coming a little later in April to PlayStation Plus subscribers is Dungeon Hunter, which will be offered at a 25% discount of $9.74 on April 12.

Exciting Exclusives
For the assassin in all of us, we will be offering a full game trial of Assassin’s Creed on April 12 as well, so go get your knives sharpened.

As always be sure to check the full list of new items as well as items that are being taken down from the PlayStation Plus storefronts below:

PlayStation Plus Highlights for 4/5:

Featured Games

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Free and exclusive to PlayStation Plus subscribers)
Duael Invaders minis (Free and exclusive to PlayStation Plus subscribers)

Featured Qore Episode 

Qore April Episode 35 (Free to PlayStation Plus subscribers, regular price $2.99)

Discounted Games

Stardrone (PlayStation Plus price $4.00, regular price $7.99)
Hamsterball (PlayStation Plus price $3.99, regular price $4.99)

PlayStation Plus Highlights for 4/12:

Full Game Trial

Assassin’s Creed

Featured Games

Dungeon Hunter (PlayStation Plus price $9.74, regular price $12.99)

Featured Themes & Avatars

Marvel Vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds 38 Avatars bundle (Exclusive to PlayStation Plus subscribers for $3.99)
Yakuza 4: The Men of Yakuza 4 Dynamic Theme (Free to PlayStation Plus subscribers, regular price $2.99)
Crane Dance Static Theme (Free and exclusive to PlayStation Plus subscribers)

Last Chance, Get Them While You Can – Coming down on April 5:

Featured Offers to PlayStation Plus Subscribers

Sonic the Hedgehog (Free to PlayStation Plus subscribers, regular price $4.99)
Wakeboarding HD sale end (PlayStation Plus price $3.99, regular price $9.99)
Swarm Full Game (PlayStation Plus price $11.99, regular price $14.99)
Mini Squadron PlayStation minis (PlayStation Plus price $1.00, regular price $1.99)
SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs Multiplayer Beta (Free and exclusive to PlayStation Plus subscribers)
Qore March Episode 34 (Free to PlayStation Plus subscribers, regular price $2.99)
Mega Man 3 (PS one Import) (PlayStation Plus price $3.00, regular price $5.99)

Last Chance, Get Them While You Can – Coming down on April 12:

Featured Offers to PlayStation Plus Subscribers

Dragon Girl Theme (Free and exclusive to PlayStation Plus subscribers)

Discounted Games/DLC

Boom Beats PlayStation minis (PlayStation Plus price $1.50, regular price $2.99)

Enjoy!

Comments are closed.

119 Comments

fathead170
March 30, 2011 at 5:19 pm PDT

i feel like i keep gettin the same stuff and not the good stuff :( all i know is unless some big things change not gonna renew my subscription until E3 i have feeling this service will remain subpar cloud saveing might be to little to late unless some new features are released. its one of those looks good on paper but not worth it!
ElektroDragon
March 30, 2011 at 5:36 pm PDT

Nice marketing speak, but this lineup is really rather WEAK. I’d MUCH prefer all my free Plus games to be PSN exclusives, not games I already purchased ages ago on my 360 when they were being offered for half price, no less.
Autoxfool
March 30, 2011 at 5:41 pm PDT

Hamsterball for $3.99 for +, count me in as I wouldn’t pay more than that for it anyways…at least judging from the preview but looks fun at least.

Dungeon Hunter with discount, now we’re talking. I’ll shall get. If it’s anything like Baldur’s Gate 2, I’ll be happy as a pig in slop.

Was hoping to see a newer releases (and I mean a NEW game, not some *yawn* rebooted Sonic game that’s isn’t updated visually/musically to show what it SHOULD look like on a PS3). Can I get some real PS3 games for my PS3…call me insane to think you would do something like that. Enough of the past. Been there, done that 1000x, have no desire to keep playing old games that have been ported as part of my PSN offering in Plus. Show me what my machine can do….and Comet Crash isn’t it, but at least it’s not some port. Sonic is nothing more that a ps1 classic comparable offering at best. How about something that at least looks like it was made in the past 5 years?? If you want to offer something in the vain of the good ole’ days, how about Ghostbusters or Hard Corps as examples. At least they are actually new games.

And I thought Angry Birds was going on sale in March???
Autoxfool
March 30, 2011 at 5:55 pm PDT

Oh, and let me add, if you’re going to offer me (i.e. PS+) members a ‘free’ PSN game that, once downloaded, reveals trophies for an expansion that we didn’t get offered at least a sale too, don’t tell me you gave me a free game since I can not totally complete it for free. *cough* Comet Crash *cough* Nice bait though….download…oh, i need to get expansion to complete the trophy list….oh, i need to fork out $4.99…..

Care to explain how this ends up being “free” ??
KidCommando
March 30, 2011 at 5:57 pm PDT

@Kristi

I just wanted to thank you for the replies. Very rarely does this happen on the blog, especially on posts made by Grace Chen, so it is refreshing to see. Hopefully it will continue.

Your replies have answered some of my own questions.

Thanks
- Kristi Fernandez
  March 31, 2011 at 9:37 am PDT
  
  Thanks for the kuddos!
Tank_Baked
March 30, 2011 at 5:59 pm PDT

Thanks for clearing up that Sonic 2 is in addition to our regular psn game of the month . That was my only worry . A little something for everyone is all we want(us rational people anyway) . :)
Daigr
March 30, 2011 at 6:17 pm PDT

Just wanted to say thanks to the team there at sony for replying to people’s questions. Also keeping us upto date with future plus offers.

Not to sound like another playstation plus subscriber complainer but is there any chance we will see exclusive discounts for PSP titles.

As a new PSP owner it would be nice to see some good discounts. PSP minis are well.. not for me.

Seems like a no-brainer since the new Sony portable will be out soon can’t see the masses have much interest in the PSP back catalog.
OldKai
March 30, 2011 at 6:40 pm PDT

StarDrone & Dungeon Hunter are new, and they look good, but reviews and/or demos are required first even with the discount. I played the demo for HamsterBall a while back and was waiting for the discount to come, it’s here, and it will be bought. And it could of said before, but I’ll say it here, I’m happy to see more free games besides the SEGA ones, had us worried for a while though.
MarkakaJin
March 30, 2011 at 6:53 pm PDT

Needs moar free PSN games. We don’t want any of those PS minis. Would be awesome if Castle Crashers or something better for free to download. Last game was Comet Crash and I been having that already.
Senjutsu_Dav
March 30, 2011 at 7:20 pm PDT

I’m wondering about dongeon hunter, hoping it’s gonna be good. I’ll wait for the reviews 1st and see.
GoldenGotGame
March 30, 2011 at 7:21 pm PDT

I just wanted to log in and acknowledge Kristi, I think it’s very cool that she’s addressing some of the concerns of Plus subscribers. I’m a Plus subscriber since day one, and I’m more than happy with my purchase. There may be some updates where I already have or have no interest in what’s being offered, but overall, I’ve gotten far more than my 50 dollars worth.
GoldenGotGame
March 30, 2011 at 7:23 pm PDT

By the way, I had to pull out my phone to post, since I still can’t post from my PS3…
corey2788
March 30, 2011 at 7:30 pm PDT

Awesome! I love the sonic games!!!
scorpio182
March 30, 2011 at 7:44 pm PDT

Nice collection, I will be getting sonic 2.

Thanks from a recent ps+ member.
ToFeY
March 30, 2011 at 8:22 pm PDT

a yakuza dynamic theme :D thanks sony
hush404
March 30, 2011 at 8:30 pm PDT

Question! Are all of these genesis games the same ones I already have on my “Sega Genesis Collection” ??? I dig that they’re free… but what’s the point, if I can get the disc (already own) and get a ton more of great genesis games.

Also, out of everything listed… I think I’m looking forward to just one, Dungeon Hunter… and even then I think I’d need a demo before I slapped down $10 for it.
DazeOfWar
March 30, 2011 at 8:35 pm PDT

I may pick up Stardrone and Dungeon Hunter but everything else is pretty much crap for PS+. Hell yesterdays update was crap too. Also Kristi we have not had free avatars in quite a while. The last set was Feb 8th. I’ve also realized the faq has change on what we actually get now from what was the offer when Plus first started.
DazeOfWar
March 30, 2011 at 8:36 pm PDT

Here is what we currently get:
Q: What do I currently get with PlayStation Plus?
A: PlayStation Plus offers a variety of discounts, games and exclusive content. In general, you will have access to at least the following, which rotate monthly:
1 PSN game or PSone Classic game
2 minis
A monthly Qore single episode
Currently, there are categories from our partners at Midway and Tik-Creat Games that offer 20% off PSN games and free add-ons.
We will continue to regulaly update PlayStation Plus with XMB themes and avatars, exclusive items, select game demos and additional discounts. We will also offer exclusive opportunities only made available to PlayStation Plus members such as our current Hulu Plus Preview and the discounted two-year PlayStation Protection Plan.

Here are a few links to articles that have what was offered when Plus first started:
http://www.ps3trophies.org/forum/general-ps3-discussion/55011-playstation-plus-thread.html
http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2010/06/17/playstation-plus-the-faq/
http://www.okaygeek.com/blog/what-do-you-get-with-a-playstation-plus-subscription.html
DazeOfWar
March 30, 2011 at 8:36 pm PDT

Now don’t get me wrong I have enjoyed Plus which has given me some cool stuff but when things start to get less than what I signed up for it irritates me. Also I really don’t feel that old Genesis games count for PSN games just because they have trophies. There is plenty of games on PSN that would be great for free games of the month. New games are always a big plus too. I really enjoyed getting Stacking for free. That is something that should happen more often. You would probably get a lot more subscribers. You can also start hooking us up with some cool and better DLC. Even if it’s for a lot cheaper. It also can’t be something like a free skin or update to the game like Move support. I have a lot of faith and hope in Plus in the future will resubscribe but you got to bring more to the table for people still on the fence. You also have to make to competition jealous.
DazeOfWar
March 30, 2011 at 8:43 pm PDT

I also want to say thanks to Kristi for getting a lot more responses out to people. That is something that has been really lacking on here.
Link01
March 30, 2011 at 9:01 pm PDT

I don’t know if anyone else is having this issue, but I just got the tutorial trophy in Comet Crash.. and now I can’t seem to sync my trophies. …. just throwing that out there

That and for PS+ people, you guys should really add an auto sync option…
shawtymann
March 30, 2011 at 9:21 pm PDT

I haven’t bought Pixeljunk Shooters yet because Im afraid its gonna be discounted through PS+
Emerald_Swords
March 30, 2011 at 10:21 pm PDT

Keep the great deals coming guys!
northen_cail_209
March 30, 2011 at 10:30 pm PDT

loves it
annatar3
March 30, 2011 at 11:06 pm PDT

I am confused about psn plus. Do I get to keep the free games like sonic 2 even if I quite psn plus? Thanks.
- Kristi Fernandez
  March 31, 2011 at 9:47 am PDT
  
  Hi Annatar3- Thanks for the question. Free items (like Sonic 2) and online storage for game saves are only accessible with an active subscription. If you quit Plus you won’t be able to play them. Anything you pay for in Plus is yours to keep forever.
  
  Keep in mind if for some reason you cancel your subscription and later rejoin you can access again all free items you downloaded in the past with Plus.
  
  Hope that helps.
SwoleRN
March 30, 2011 at 11:35 pm PDT

Can’t wait for Stardrone! Move controls + 3D is an amazing experience!
NotoriousGamer
March 31, 2011 at 12:08 am PDT

lame. still no as advertised free dlc monthly nor proper avatars like it said when i purchased Plus.

stop repeating the same lame items for free, new stuff needed.

put up some god of war, killzone avatars for plus.

tekken 1 and tekken 2 for plus.
andXyetXnotXwant
March 31, 2011 at 12:27 am PDT

When we were offered Mass Effect 2 as a one hour trial I picked it up real eager to play the game. I ended up purchasing the retail version instead. I have a problem where the few trophies I earned during the trial do not show up as unlocked when I compare them with friends. This leads me to believe they are not syncing at all. As you may be aware trophy count is VERY important ; ).

Is this a problem with all other trial versions if I opt for the retail version instead?

Can this be fixed?
that-acmilan-guy
March 31, 2011 at 2:07 am PDT

I agree, we need some good add-ons.
GUNBEHINDTHESUN
March 31, 2011 at 3:25 am PDT

Nice to get these Sega classics coming. I hope we get the Streets Of Rage games too. I wish Sega would make new games based on the Streets Of Rage universe. Those games rock!
- Kristi Fernandez
  March 31, 2011 at 9:49 am PDT
  
  Good news GUNBEHINDTHESUN- Streets of Rage 2 : Available for Plus May 3 – May 31. It’s a early release and free for one month in Plus.
DazeOfWar
March 31, 2011 at 4:19 am PDT

@70 Link01: That’s a good idea. That would be something worthwhile to add to Plus.
nchoco09
March 31, 2011 at 4:20 am PDT

I love it… DHA forever…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEC-2xp7DDY
honkayjeezus
March 31, 2011 at 5:26 am PDT

Glad to see Trophy support for Sonic 2, you guys should offer more DLC bargains and giveaways. Also, have more semi-old games available for digital download. I don’t buy retail games as they are too easy to sell, please let me spend money.
zombie9
March 31, 2011 at 5:31 am PDT

@73 Free games you do not get to keep(but all the trophy’s are yours). Discounted games that go for low prices you do get to keep. Thanks for the update I’ve all ready got my $50.
Lapwner
March 31, 2011 at 6:42 am PDT

Assassin’s Creed?

That’s weird…because EVERY game that has been released as a Full Game Trial and Full Game on the Playstation Store so far has had trophies. Assassin’s Creed does not have trophies…I thought that all of these Full Games were supposed to have trophies. Anyways, I’d probably buy Assassin’s Creed online if it had trophies :D

Oh, and did Europe ACTUALLY get ALL the Fallout 3 DLC for free? AND a MS:PR map pack? That’s insane….none of the free DLC that PS+ has offered so far I have been interested in. And the only free game that I’ve gotten and actually liked was Mushroom Wars. I think that you should give us more stuff, since Europe got ALL of that, which is pretty crazy.
MRGamer01
March 31, 2011 at 7:01 am PDT

I can see now that the Sonic 2D series is coming out as stand alone games as opposed to Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection. If Sonic 3&K and Sonic CD gets released, I’ll seriously consider getting Plus again.
turb3
March 31, 2011 at 7:33 am PDT

Thanks for the comments Kristi. We still haven’t gotten any response on why no PSOne title this month. Oddworld was just put back up and that was offered just a few months back. Are the Genesis games supposed to replace this? Advantage-Trophy Support; Disadvantage-Much older games than PSOne classics and available with literally dozens of other games on a $20 compilation. Nothing against the Genesis classics and I’m sure they are great for some, but this latest version now makes at least the 5th version of the Sonic games that I own. It’s way oversaturated.
- Kristi Fernandez
  March 31, 2011 at 9:54 am PDT
  
  Hi Turb3- Thanks for the question. Technically, we’ve offered 2 PS ones in March (Spyro Year of the Dragon and Abe’s Exoddus). The next PS one will come out Apr 26 and I think it’s a good title. The SEGA Genesis is a bonus for Plus not, so it’s not tied to our base monthly offering (1 PSN title, 1 PS one, etc.).
- Kristi Fernandez
  March 31, 2011 at 9:55 am PDT
  
  meant ‘SEGA Genesis Collection’ sorry.
JonJonXD
March 31, 2011 at 8:54 am PDT

Glad to see that there will be PSN titles made available for “free” along with the sega genesis collection stuff. Good work there.

I look forward to get all of the trophies in Sonic 2 as I did Sonic 1 :). Just hoping that there is no button lag like there was with Sonic 1 :/

Glad to see that you guys are offering more Day 1 discounts…they really make the difference between me buying or not buying a game Day 1.

However, I’m not cool with Comet Crash being the free game this month, since this is an aging game that has also been offered to us already. As long as the content is different than what we’ve gotten in the past, then I don’t care. However, whoever’s idea it was to release the same content even multiple times within the FIRST YEAR of this program’s emergence made a bad decision IMO. Keep the free stuff fresh and different please and I won’t complain, since I rarely complain since I am very happy with my Plus membership. Thanks.
- Kristi Fernandez
  March 31, 2011 at 10:06 am PDT
  
  Hi there JonJonXD- Thanks for the feedback. This is the first time we’ve offered Comet Crash in Plus for free.
  We occasionally will offer a title again in Plus, but it has rarely happened. I don’t have the total count handy, but we’ve for sure offered well over 200 items (free & discounts) and only offered things twice 4 times total (Fieldrunners, A Space Shooter for 2 Bucks!, Vector TD, and Abe’s Exoddus). Hope you continue to stay happen with Plus. Keep up with the suggestions!
Sindred
March 31, 2011 at 8:56 am PDT

Awesome. Was really looking forward to Dungeon Hunter. And now with a discount, even more goodness.
EggySong85
March 31, 2011 at 9:35 am PDT

Well Moon Diver looks really fun, but since Dungeon Hunter’s got Move support & a discount, I think I’ll put my cash down there first while it lasts and take on Mood Diver next.
Frejim
March 31, 2011 at 9:52 am PDT

will AC1 support trophies ?????
zombie9
March 31, 2011 at 9:56 am PDT

Hey I would also like to ADD that Today is the last day to get 3 FREE months of + after today you only get 12 months instead of 15.
rjejr
March 31, 2011 at 10:07 am PDT

To those asking about Autodownloads of PS+ “free” games – mini, PSN, PS1 – those can’t be auto DL b/c you have to check the box that reads you understand these games aren’t yours to keep you are just renting them until your subscription expires. Makes sense. IMHO autodownload is a waste for anything new, even demos, b/c the auto is always a day or two after the store updates. Have had some older games updated, but not enough, so I just keep it turned off and don’t even bother. Full disclosure, I share my PS3 with 3 other people who don’t think it’s fair the machine alwyas turns on to my account 8-)

Thanks again Kristi for the feedback. Tell your superiors if PS+ users ARE getting a PSN game every month while getting a SEGA game as a bonus they should list each MONTHS upcoming stuff in advance rather than 2 weeks at a time, they are driving their customers insane unnecessarily.
FloaterStorm
March 31, 2011 at 10:29 am PDT

Technically, we got two PS1 games in March, but Plus updates aren’t strictly tied to calendar months.

We got Spyro 1 on January 4.

We got Spyro 2 on February 1. Spyro 1 was taken down that day.

We got Spyro: Year of the Dragon on March 1. Spyro 2 was taken down that day.

We got Oddworld on March 29. Year of the Dragon was taken down that day.

While we TECHNICALLY got two PS1 games for the calendar month of March, Oddworld is basically the PS1 game for April. If the next PS1 game isn’t coming until April 26, that means Plus subscribers who got Oddworld the first time around aren’t getting a new PS1 game for two months.

The date was just moved up a week and the two games just happened to come in the same calendar month.
iCrAzy_2D_XtrEmE
March 31, 2011 at 11:52 am PDT

Sonic The Hedgehog 3
JKar275
March 31, 2011 at 11:57 am PDT

@ #18: You’re correct that PS Plus subscribers were supposed to be getting Red Faction Battlegrounds on Tues. Apr. 5. This was reported in a Mar. 19 blog posting on the Joystiq website.

I’m VERY DISAPPOINTED that we won’t be getting this game on that date.
ioanina
March 31, 2011 at 12:23 pm PDT

Uh, any official word on Trendy Entertainment’s Dungeon Defenders being ready yet? It’s been a while since we have heard from them. I’ve been wondering if they are ready to release the game or if they are still working on it. I hope it will be at least ready for PlayStation Plus members yet! Sorry. I just get impatient sometimes.
FloaterStorm
March 31, 2011 at 12:58 pm PDT

I second what rjejr said.

We need a monthly list on the first of the month detailing every piece of content we will get and when we will get it. This every other week thing is hard to keep track of and it doesn’t work well since months can have more than four weeks.

One post for the month would eliminate a lot of confusion.
FonFahbre
March 31, 2011 at 10:35 pm PDT

I can’t wait for Sonic 2, Qore and Yakuza 4 theme!. Ah, Sonic 2.. Brings back memories. Hopefully we’ll also get, Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles?.
MEATLOAF2
March 31, 2011 at 10:58 pm PDT

Absolutely loving playstation plus. Keep up the good work!