PS+ questions

[Skykid]

Housemarque were kind enough to send me a free yearly subscription to PS+ for winning the Resogun tourney the other day, but I'm not too sure about how it works as I had to sell my PS3 when I went abroad last November.

I had a look on Sony's info and it looks interesting. They're offering a bunch of free downloadable games - I'm not sure whether you can have one of them or all of them? It also seems that the selection changes monthly?

A few of the Vita ones are quite interesting (SFXTekken / Katamari / Gravity Rush) but how does it work with the region biz. For instance if I pick up a Japanese Vita would you still be able to DL all the stuff and use the account normally if it's registered abroad?

Any insight would be appreciated, many thanks chaps.

[Fudoh]

PS+: you get a bunch of games every month. You can download them all. Includes PS3 and Vita games and will also include PS4 games later this year. Offers change monthly. You can keep the games as long as you don't delete them. Re-downloading is only possible as long as they're still on offer.

Vita accounts: to access a certain marketplace's PS+ offers you need a PSN account for that region. Vita hardware doesn't matter, but to change the account you need a Memory card per account and you need to reset the Vita for each account switch.

[Ruldra]

Keep in mind that all those free games you download will disappear from your collection once your subscription is over. They will show up again once you renew it.

Any game you buy with a PS+ discount will be yours forever though.

[shmuppyLove]

Keep in mind that all those free games you download will disappear from your collection once your subscription is over. They will show up again once you renew it.

Any game you buy with a PS+ discount will be yours forever though.

To clarify this -- there are two classes of "free" games --

The first are games in the "Instant Game Collection" which are the ones that are only available to download for a limited time (anywhere from 1 week to 1 month I believe?), but as long as you have already downloaded it and still have a PS+ subscription you can use. If your PS+ subscription expires, you can no longer play these games, even if you have already downloaded them.

The other are the free (or discounted) PSN titles (or DLC) that pop up from time to time. These are FREE free, as in, even once your PS+ subscription expires, you can still use them and redownload them. They remain in your purchase history basically forever.

I don't actually have PS+, so I could be wrong on the finer points, but I did research it quite a bit so I think it's correct.

[Skykid]

Ok, that sounds way less intriguing when you get through the small print. Non-physical games that disappear when you're not paying £40 a year. So they're like rentals, essentially. And that Vita resetting/memory card switching sounds horrible.

Well, can't bawk at it, it's a nice freebie and I'll make some use of it at some point. Thanks for the info.

[Jonathan Ingram]

Basically, every month Sony offers a bunch of downloadable PS3 and Vita games(and I think PSP and PSX ones, too) for free to the subscribers. You can have all of them, there`s no limitation involved here. The selection does indeed change on a monthly basis. So, after just a few months of being a subscriber, you`ll likely be hoarding tons of games.

Another benefit is that every now and then there are games and demos that become available to PS+ subscribers earlier than to ordinary PSN users. I don`t think it happens often, though.

One thing to keep in mind is that the games are not completely free. The moment you stop subscribing to PS+, you lose your access to all the content you got through it. On the bright side, should you renew the subscription, it will become accessible again that instant, regardless of the amount of time that has passed since you stopped subscribing to the service.

PS+ is region specific. So, don`t even think about plundering the Japanese PS store with your European PS+ ticket. It`s not gonna work.

Re-downloading is only possible as long as they're still on offer.

I think it`s possible as long as you don`t delete the links from your download history, but I`m not completely certain. Somebody needs to confirm this.

[ZellSF]

You keep the games as long as you're a PS+ subscriber. You can delete them from your console and redownload them later (I do so often). If your PS+ subscription expires and you resubscribe, you get all your old games back.

Ok, that sounds way less intriguing when you get through the small print. Non-physical games that disappear when you're not paying £40 a year. So they're like rentals, essentially.

Think of it like Netflix, except you're not subscribing to cheap DVDs but expensive video games. that 40£ a year will pay for itself easily. There's also discounts and stuff. In half a year of subscribing for PS+, I've gotten content I otherwise would pay 150$ for (I'm a US subscriber), yeah in half a year it basically paid for itself for three years.

The "free" games disappear when you stop subscribing, but the games you bought discounted won't, and I think over half a year of PS+ I've already saved closed to 50$ in discounts.

A EU PS+ voucher is nearly useless I think, as said you want your Vita to be one region only and you only want one PS+ subscription (since they share a lot of content)... And Europe gets delayed and expensive games on PSN. Might want to redeem it to take advantage of PS3 sales though as PS3 allows multiple accounts easily.

Other reasons to get PS+ include that it's required for online play on PS4 and it's required for automatic updates for games on PS3/PSV. Also gives you cloud saves, which is very convenient for Vita save game management, since it's the only way to separate the saves from the games. Will also probably be very important to anyone who's planning on switching between PSV/PSVTV.


Oh, one thing I feel I must mention whenever the whole PS+ games are rental thing comes up: all your digital titles are rentals, just under different conditions.

[Skykid]

Think of it like Netflix, except you're not subscribing to cheap DVDs but expensive video games.

That's one way of looking at it I suppose, although I don't do Netflix either. But I have a year so I'll start and some point and see what it's all about.

The "free" games disappear when you stop subscribing, but the games you bought discounted won't, and I think over half a year of PS+ I've already saved closed to 50$ in discounts.

Very doubtful I'll buy much of anything even if discounted. I don't like non-physical gaming unless that's the only way said game exists (like Journey or something.)

Oh, one thing I feel I must mention whenever the whole PS+ games are rental thing comes up: all your digital titles are rentals, just under different conditions.

And that's why I don't do digital downloads!

[Ruldra]

Oh, one thing I feel I must mention whenever the whole PS+ games are rental thing comes up: all your digital titles are rentals, just under different conditions.

And that's why I don't do digital downloads!

I can see why someone would not want to go digital but there are SO many good digital-only games, it's totally worth it IMO. I had shitloads of fun with Spelunker HD, Renegade Ops and my 20+ Zen Pinball tables.

[brentsg]

Oh, one thing I feel I must mention whenever the whole PS+ games are rental thing comes up: all your digital titles are rentals, just under different conditions.

And that's why I don't do digital downloads!

I can see why someone would not want to go digital but there are SO many good digital-only games, it's totally worth it IMO. I had shitloads of fun with Spelunker HD, Renegade Ops and my 20+ Zen Pinball tables.

There are also so many MASSIVE discounts at times. I can understand wanting physical copies, but sometimes the discounts are huge and the need to retain a game just doesn't weigh heavily enough. (see Steam sales)

[BulletMagnet]

If anyone's thinking about trying the service now might not be a bad time to do it, as Sony's having another "spend 50 bucks and get 10 back" promo through the end of this month: grab a year of Plus (using funds from your PSN wallet) and you're pretty much there.