Hi Everyone, you may have heard in all the E3 hype that we are launching a new premium subscription service called PlayStation Plus, so I just wanted to give you all a quick heads up on what you can expect to get from this great new service so you have all the info before launch on the 29th June.
The first thing to note is that PlayStation Network is still free to join and all the current features will remain free. PlayStation Plus will be offering you a service above and beyond this, including loads of content and exclusive, member-only, PSN features.
From 29th June you’ll be able to purchase a 1 year or 90-day membership from PlayStation Store and instantly get your hands on the following premium features. Plus, if you sign up for a 1 year membership between 29th June and 3rd August, we’ll also throw in a free downloadable copy of the award winning LittleBigPlanet.
Games:
As a member you can expect to get your hands on at least four games a month at no extra charge. Each month there will be a selection of one PSN game, two minis and one PS one classics available on PlayStation Store for you to download. You also get premium avatars and dynamic themes each month, many of which are exclusive to members.
Talking of exclusive, there will also be discounts available on loads of PlayStation Store content, just for members, so make the most of them as these will change each month as well.
Finally, wherever possible we’ll be making sure that members are included in some selected demos and beta trials before they go live to the public so you can be the one to tell all your mates about the next big game they ‘must’ get.
Just the games, avatars and themes alone are worth at least £200* per year, so even before the other benefits, this service is great value for money
Full Game Trial:
This premium feature gives you the chance to try PSN and Blu-ray disc titles before you buy them in a whole new way. We are not talking normal demos of selected parts of a game here. With Full Game Trial, you can download the full game and play it as if you owned it for approximately one hour, depending on the game, before you decide if you want to buy it or not. So you can check out the online modes, play against friends or anything else you’d normally do with a game.
The other great thing is that your progress and trophies from the trial will all be unlocked if you buy the game so no need to go back and start again.
Automatic Download:
We wanted to offer members the speediest service possible so sign up and you can set your PS3 to automatically receive the latest game updates for all the games you play, PS3 system software updates and even have game demos sent directly to your PS3 without lifting a finger.
Just set the time you want to receive them and your PS3 will automatically wake up and download everything, ready for when you next want to play. No more waiting to play your favourite game because there is a new patch or having to remember when the latest system software is launching, let your PS3 do the work.
Details of this great new service, including a list of content available for the first 2 months will be on playstationplus.com between now and the 29th, but don’t forget to get on the Store and sign up before the 3rd August to get the added bonus of a free copy of LittleBigPlanet.
It would be great to hear what you guys think of this new service and I’ll be back one here on Wednesday morning to try and answer any questions you have.
Cheers,
James













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542 CommentsAdd Yours
51
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 10:46 pm by stormyuk
@seany, yeh if film rentals were included it might have swayed me, but I am not paying £40 a year for game rentals, betas and auto updates.
52
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 10:46 pm by Peetee36
I doubt you lose your downloads if your subscription expires. I never saw or heard that anywhere, and it’s not on the information above. Plus it would just be stupid so I doubt it will happen.
53
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 10:46 pm by thomdibble
@ anyone saying that ‘you can’t keep what you’ve paid for’ please find me where it makes that statement from the E3 press release. please. stop assuming that and wait until it is confirmed.
54
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 10:47 pm by WrestleBlog
At the E3 Press Confrence it was mentioned that the Playstation Plus subscription would have Quore included, obviously this applies to the US only, but will FirstPlay be included for us?
An idea for the content debate, perhaps if you’ve had the content for X amount of time then they become your property and will remain active even if you unsubscribe. I think this would be an acceptable compromise if implemented, what do the rest of you think?
55
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 10:48 pm by daffycare
@53 jack said it in the e3 show
56
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 10:48 pm by seany1
@ 53 at conference tretton said u get to keep content for DURATION of your SUBSCRIPTION
57
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 10:49 pm by Danieljay1
Not being funny but xbl is like £35 and they offer so much too what sony are offering and they still havent give us cross game chat this PSN + was a chance to overtake xbl but i cant see it doing it theirs like 3 features in PSN +
I suppose it can expand and get better over the months
58
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 10:49 pm by lardteamaker
@PeeTee Jack Trenton actually said it while talking about the service
59
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 10:50 pm by seany1
i just dont get how they will get anyone subscribing who has bought a lot of games already , i have wipeout hd and feildrunners mini so what if i pay 40 im gonna get less than others but for same price lmao FAIL
60
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 10:52 pm by seany1
they just gave away age of zombies mini with firstplay couple weeks ago too lmao this is terribly thought out
61
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 10:53 pm by Peetee36
@lardteamaker
It would just seem like a stupid thing to do. Although I suppose it’s like not being able to play online on the 360 when the subscription runs out. But we’ll have to wait and see what they say in the morning.
Posted on 16 June, 2010 at 12:07 am by James Thorpe
Like many subscription services some of the content you have access to is there for you to own as long as you are a member, just like live and the basic ability to play online if you are a member. However, with plus you get to keep exclusive items like avatars and dynamic themes, anything you purchase with the great member-only discounts and the free copy of LBP. Hopefully the access to all the games and content, and exclusive PSN features will make this a membership you want to keep anyway!
62
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 10:54 pm by Danieljay1
should off brang out new xmb to freshen PSN up abit and made PSN more in-depth
63
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 10:54 pm by Caemgen
WHERE IS OUR CROSS-GAME VOICE/PARTYCHAT?
Seriously Sony, the above isn’t worth 50 euro/dollars a year. I’ve officially given up on PSN now. This is going nowhere.
Four years after launch the PS3 still hasn’t catched up to the Xbox 360 in terms of (social) features.
These cross-game invitations and joining your friends through the XMB that you have been working on – and work great in Modern Warfare 2, by the way – are very cool… but the developers are too lazy to actually use them in their games.
What the PSN needs is CONSISTENCY. Inviting friends and joining them should work the same in EVERY game. Currently, Modern Warfare 2 is the ONLY game that supports it. So, STEP UP YOUR GAME and make these things mandatory for ALL future games.
64
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 10:55 pm by OttoT
“you own those games while subscribed” was in the E3 presentation.
[DELETED]!!!!???
65
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 10:56 pm by seany1
so we dont even get too keep avatars or themes if we unsubscribe too lol what exactly is 40 for a rentals service
Posted on 16 June, 2010 at 12:21 am by James Thorpe
you do keep all the avatars, themes and selected game add-ons. you get access to all the games while your a member, plus the other features, like the full game trials, automatic downloads. And of course you keep anyting you buy with the member-only discounts on the Store. Plus you keep LBP if you sign up in time. hope that sounds appealing
66
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 10:56 pm by VictorAnalogy
Doesn’t happen often but I agree with Seany1. I’m not paying £40 a year to rent 1xPSN + 1xPSP + 2xMinis per year.
Give me those four (or fewer games I’m not greedy) to keep forever when I buy a yearly sub and we’ll talk. But otherwise. nothankyou.jpg
Posted on 16 June, 2010 at 12:26 am by James Thorpe
you get the 4 games each month, so access to 48 games a year, plus the discounts will work out at way more than 4 games a year for free, plus the other features.
67
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 10:57 pm by Sigmatic88
“you re-sub though and you get them back instantly so not a problem its priced the same price as live subscription and you don’t see MS giving you free games and discounts for being a gold member do you?”
Actually, MS give discounts to Gold members on games every single week.
“looks like a great thing for ppl who buy psn games every week.”
Not really as each month you get a “selection” of one PSN game. The first month it’s gonna be WipEout HD, but I already own that, so I’d be paying (in part) to get a rental of a game I already own. What if I also own next month’s game? What if I have no interest in next month’s game? It would be like signing up for a Blu-Ray film rental service where you get sent 1 random film a month, instead of being able to choose what you want. You’re paying in advance for a lot of unknowns, cos you won’t know what games are coming up or what discounts will be offered way in advance.
68
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 10:57 pm by SmoggyPhil
I actually hope PS+ gets a makeover. The 2 other features offered aren’t really groundbreaking (AutoUpdate should be a standard feature, to be quite honest, although the one-hour game test is decent, I guess) while the revelations of the service essentially being a glorified rental service is going to hurt sales. I mean, its assuming people will go and buy and buy and buy loads of stuff when they can with this.
I’m all for the service, but it needs to offer a juicier worm (Something which Sony has failed to do for quite some time) Cross game chat is the biggest cry (Listen to us for once, Sony) which would see sales explode. Toss in an improved XMB, a few added features to the PS (Maybe something stupid like a word processor or something, just ANYTHING NEW) and I can guarantee you would see great sales.
I came here for Metal Gear Solid Rising, and am now discussing PS+, DAMN YOU SONY!!!!
69
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 10:58 pm by lardteamaker
@Peetee If unless Jack made a booboo (possible i guess) it’s very dumb move if they’re wanting people to buy into it. Also if this premium service in europe is not up to par release wise with the rest of the world and the xbl this could cause bigger uproar.
70
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 10:58 pm by GreatestACE
What links aren’t working? All seem fine to me – PlayStationPlus.com just directs to – http://uk.playstation.com/playstationplus/
But I have to echo what everyone else seems to be saying. The price is decent – but not if you lose ALL your content after the subscription period expires
Posted on 16 June, 2010 at 11:02 am by James Thorpe
Hi, membership gives you access to the exclusive features such as full game trial, automatic downloads and access to the catalogue of at least 4 different games every month, that’s getting your hands on at least 48 games every year. These features are yours as long as you are a member of PlayStation Plus. We also offer the exclusive discounts that are only for members. Content you buy with exclusive discounts or after full game trial is yours to keep and we also give you premium avatars and dynamic themes each month which you keep forever.
71
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 10:59 pm by Peetee36
Yeah, seriously, how hard is it to incorporate Cross game chat. They know that that’s probably the thing which the community has wanted the most for years. Hopefully at least in a near future update.
72
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 11:00 pm by Outofathens
almost ALL of you!!!!!! Stop crying and read http://www.playstationplus.com if you still want to cry then,be my guest!
Sony this is perfect and if the price is correct €50,00 for a year……PERFECT!!!!!!!!!!
Keep up the good work!!
Posted on 16 June, 2010 at 12:30 am by James Thorpe
Thanks Outofathens, glad you like the service, enjoy your free copy of LBP to!
73
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 11:00 pm by wiipass
can i pay for 12 months NOW ? lol
i’m definitely susbcribing to PSN+
Posted on 16 June, 2010 at 12:32 am by James Thorpe
unfotunately you can’t until the 29th but glad you like it and enjoy the free LBP as well
74
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 11:01 pm by deadmeat3171
r some of you making stuff up
every month you get acses to games themes,avatars and disconts on the store perhaps with a new tab, youre subscription ends you loose access to this tab and cant redownload the stuff for them to stop you playing it would be a pain espesially when youre transfering stuff to psp. besides where does it say every gamespy you downloaded stops working when youre subscription runs out surely they just mean autodownloading etc stoping working
75
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 11:02 pm by Peetee36
I thought there was going to be a selection of several PSN games. What is the point of ‘a selection of one PSN game’?
76
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 11:03 pm by wiipass
shouldn’t $50 be £33 ? so i’m not paying more than £35
77
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 11:04 pm by Calumba
From playstationplus.com: Cross-game Voice Chat: invite your friends to chat online no matter what game you’re all playing, even if they aren’t members of PlayStation Plus.
Posted on 16 June, 2010 at 4:04 pm by James Thorpe
Hi, the current features of PlayStation Plus are those listed in my blog post – Games & special offers, full game trial and automatic downloads. We understand that many of you are asking for a cross-game chat feature, we said during our presentation that the service will evolve over time but I can’t guarantee anything at this time.
78
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 11:05 pm by MinerWilly
Im not angry because all I really wanted more than anything is for the existing service to remain exactly as it is , namely free.
This i am surprised to see has been done and for that i am happy as I love it as it is . The premium service doesn’t appeal to me as i’d rather spend £40 on a Blockbuster title .
The 1 hour rental is interesting but not £39.99 interesting .
Again the best thing about this premium service is the announcement that non subscribers service will remain exactly the same .
79
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 11:07 pm by Bloody_Marcel
@Calumbia,
where are u reading that? I can’t find it on playstationplus
80
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 11:08 pm by nemesisND1derboy
james, whats this I see about firmware 3.40 on the Playstation Plus site? We are very eagle eyed you see
Posted on 16 June, 2010 at 11:05 am by James Thorpe
Hi, keep an eye on the blog for more information on 3.4 soon!
81
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 11:08 pm by SmoggyPhil
@ Calumbia: Nice try.
82
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 11:09 pm by ByakuganWing
Hi James!!
Just checking something… When i visit the webpage for playstationplus.com, it directs me to my country’s page. Where everything is translated from english into portuguese, except this part:
“Cross-game Voice Chat: invite your friends to chat online no matter what game you’re all playing, even if they aren’t members of PlayStation Plus.”
Care to elaborate a bit? Mistake or leak??
83
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 11:09 pm by Sigmatic88
“besides where does it say every gamespy you downloaded stops working when youre subscription runs out”
Jack Tretton said twice at the E3 conference that “you can access the free content for the duration of your subscription” (or words to that effect). He made it clear that you do not get to keep the games. There’s no way they’d offer 12 PSN games, 24 Minis, 12 PS1 titles, plus premium themes and stuff for £39.99 a year and let you keep them all. That’s not even £1 per game. How would they make any money on that? Which devs would want their games given away at those prices?
84
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 11:09 pm by Calumba
@Bloody_Marcel im on http://at.playstation.com/playstationplus/ it’s the only part in english
85
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 11:09 pm by a101k47
CROSS GAME CHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
86
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 11:09 pm by ByakuganWing
Calumba is right! I get the same thing!
87
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 11:10 pm by crusher915
how about a movie demo, say 10 min? just an idea
88
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 11:10 pm by Happy-Neko
Hello, I have a question about
“Full Game Trial
A great way to try before you buy – play a game for up to one hour, then purchase the game to unlock your trophies and continue your progress.”
What games will be available for trial: large selection of first/third party BD titles or some random game thrown at us each month? Please be first. It’ll be AWESOME features unique to PSN.
89
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 11:11 pm by niked
Great!
But Cross game voice chat?!
Improved Webb browser?
90
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 11:11 pm by VictorAnalogy
@73 deadmeat: If you go to account management -> transaction management -> services list you will see that certain titles (such as wipeout hd and sam & max) are listed, there are also fields for expiry dates. It is quite possible for Sony to end your entitlement to play these games if for example your PS+ subscription lapsed.
If no longer subscribing just means I no longer have download access that’s not *so* bad (not great mind) however I think it means that we will no longer be able to use PS+ content if we stop subscribing.
I don’t want to be held to ransom over some PSOne/PSN/Mini games.
91
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 11:12 pm by FIGHTFULL
VOICECHAT IS COMMING!!!
Look here: http://be.playstation.com/playstationplus/?site_locale=nl_BE
“Cross -game Voice Chat: invite your friends to chat online no matter what game you’re all playing, even if they aren’t members of PlayStation Plus.”
92
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 11:12 pm by crusher915
that would only be the first 10 min
93
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 11:12 pm by Gmoza
Taken from the norwegian site:
Cross-game Voice Chat: invite your friends to chat online no matter what game you’re all playing, even if they aren’t members of PlayStation Plus.
94
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 11:13 pm by GreatestACE
Those asking about where it says content downloaded will expire if you fail to renew your subscription – it says it right on PlayStationPlus.com
*Access to some content, excluding discounted content, terminates at the end of the subscription period.
95
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 11:13 pm by stormyuk
Not sure even Cross Game Voice chat is a big enough carrot for me.
96
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 11:13 pm by MairusuPawa
WHY SHOULD I PAY FOR SUCH A FEATURE WHEN YOU DECIDED TO TA KE AWAY OTHEROS?
I’m sorry, but no way I’ll encourage you down this road.
97
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 11:14 pm by imajinetion
Cross game voice chat is part of this apparently
http://nl.playstation.com/playstationplus/
“Cross-gam e Voice Chat: invite your friends to chat online no matter what game you’re all playing, even if they aren’t members of PlayStation Plus.”
98
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 11:14 pm by Peetee36
Even if you click on playstationplus.com for UK it redirects to another countries one with the Cross game chat info, when before it went to the UK one with no info on that. Hmm…
99
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 11:15 pm by phyllito1
I’m sorry but this is CRAP…. you didn’t even offer cross game chat! ( no one should give me BS about this, just because YOU don’t care doesn’t mean a lot more PEOPLE don’t) totally disappointed, this years e3 was a totally disappoint from all 3 major company’s…. but you disappointed me the most because i got the console[ps3].
at least you have the best games…
100
Posted on 15 June, 2010 at 11:15 pm by MrKipling8
I was hoping some sort of insurance would make a return as part of playstation plus, similar to continuous play which was discontinued. I really want my refurb insurred so I dont have to pay £130 quid for another. Any plans for its return?
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