PS+ Jan (Jan 7th): Infamous: First Light, The Swapper (PS4) Ducktales, Prototype 2 (PS3) Whoa Dave, Duke Nukem (Vita)

[Garwoofoo]

Like others here, PS+ has almost completely swayed me over to the PS3. I've let my XBL Gold subscription lapse for the first time since the PGR2 days and I literally only turn the 360 on now for Rock Band (admittedly I play a lot of Rock Band). Pretty much everything else including new releases is now played on the PS3.

I'm not sure it has drastically affected my spending on new titles, but it's definitely removed that middle ground where I'm short of something to play and thinking of picking something up second-hand. Which, I guess, is exactly what Sony want. They might as well have my PS+ subscription money if I'm going to play old games, rather than me buying something preowned and giving all the money to GAME.

[Mr Do 71]

I'll never get rid of my 360 Gold subscription, as I need my fix of online GTA and some other games.

[TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap]

I quit XBL this year for the first time, as I find I don't have the time or enthusiasm to get involved in online gaming on anything remotely close to a competitive level, and playing 2 or 3 nights of the year's big online games isn't worth the money. The whole discount / free games stuff of PSN+ is interesting though. I might just sign up for it. Or maybe not. Both my PS3 and PSVita are pretty much 'full', but I DO have a new 32GB memory card for the Vita on the way

[MW_Jimmy]

I prefer physical media too, but an annual subscription currently costs 30 quid. That's £2.50 per month. Surely that's worth paying to have access to a bunch of digital games *in addition* to your physical stuff?

Not really. I'm completely swamped with games as it is, as I suspect you are as well. Plus, games get reduced so quickly these days that I would rather spend my time and money on the titles I actually want to play.

The thing is, by the time the content is 'taken away' through discontinuation of the service the disc will be pennies.

If the discs are pennies then why do I need this service? Some digital content is already not purchasable anymore - if this content was subscription only would we still have access to this content?

Fucking hell, no one is saying that Sony's online is suddenly perfect and all hail the Kaz but given that you can pay less to Sony for more features and games than you get just for the right of playing online multiplayer on the 360, it's a no brainer.

No it isn't. Everybody I know plays online on the 360, therefore this is just some added expense for not very much benefit. Plus, I wouldn't really like to go over to PS3 without its party chat and Halo if that is alright with you.

[Dudley]

It's the only reason I use my PS3 (I've been told I hadn't logged in for 7 months before Plus@E3).

As I said elsewhere, digital distribution of the PSN/360 style is renting not buying anyway. Might as well be honest about it for a fair price and this is.

[Doc NI]

since I went PS + about 6 months ago I haven't bought any retail boxed games.

I don't think I will for a while either, just too much great stuff I am getting for free.

I beat infamous the other day having never played it before and loved it, what a great game (free under the psn hack reward thing)

And now thanks to PS+ I have the sequel to play. I also have strangers wrath and red dead on my to do list, again free. Not to mention all the other interesting titles not on my radar but actually worth a play. Sitting on about 150gb of games right now, in my pipeline (and the virtual pile of shame doesnt upset me either as it take no space on my shelf , and they are free! )

Its like the netflix of the gaming world. "Fancy a good new game, not fussed what it is, check PS+ and you are all good"

I still cant believe how cheap it is, I havent bought a single xbox live title either and last summer I bought piles. In fact those that know me on live will notice I havent been on much at all. Months now pass between sessions on xbox live. MS better pull their finger out or they will lose my custom for xbox 720. They are making buying and playing games hard why Sony are serving them up on a plate for free (do I really pay MS 30 quid for cross game chat, the only real difference in services now?)

I have been a xbox live subscriber since the test drive days (8+ years) but MS's recent "hide games away" shit has been turning me off xbox live, Sony are now pandering directly to my desires.

I know I will end up with both consoles next time around, but I will be buying the PS4 first, Xbox second, not the other way around like I did last time.

Jesus Microsoft, you invented the online experience on consoles and set the bar for everyone else. When did you drop the ball?

[TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap]

Well, if you didn't get Trials Evolution and Mark of the Ninja on XBLA, you've missed two potential GOTYs.

[SMD]

No it isn't. Everybody I know plays online on the 360, therefore this is just some added expense for not very much benefit. Plus, I wouldn't really like to go over to PS3 without its party chat and Halo if that is alright with you.

And if everyone goes over to Sony?

[scottcr]

When did you drop the ball?

as soon as that new interface came out... having to be a gold subscriber to get Netflix is just a JOKE.

[MW_Jimmy]

And if everyone goes over to Sony?

Won't happen with PS3 - next gen is a different ballgame so we shall see then.

[Dandy_Sephy]

If the discs are pennies then why do I need this service?

You were saying digital content can disappear. I'm saying by the time it does it'll be irrelevant. The discs aren't 'pennies' now, although they will be cheaper than current games of course.

Some digital content is already not purchasable anymore - if this content was subscription only would we still have access to this content?

Can you name something that wasn't digital only in the first place? Sony have removed a couple of digital psp games for security reasons, but aside from those unusual cases (2 games iirc) removed titles can still be redownloaded if you already own them on both services (Doom before it was relicensed, Outrun etc)

[SeanR]

pros:

I see games I want to play, that I've not got on the 360.

I can't bring any more physical media into the house atm. She'd notice.

It's £30!

Cons:

That controller

I'd have to get it out to play, and then pack up when finished, so she don't notice, until the gamesroom is finished.

I hate you guys!

I love you guys!

bestest bargain ever!

yeah, i done folded like a wet paper towel. the only game in the ("full") current collection that I already have on 360 is Saints Row 2, and I NEVER play that anyway, so no great loss.

FINALLY I'll be able to play RDR, the sequel to the flawed Just Cause, an infamous game, and motorstorm title... not sure why I'm kinda ignoring the "indie" stuff, but there you go.

So, if you want to get back into my BAD books, list what I've missed so far.

also, when do they change titles, and I just have to add them to my cart and "checkout in order to download them later, right? currently got over 20GB on the way down, and I've only got a 160GB PS3!

[JamesTW]

Not having this, you pay for nothing, you don't own anything. If you play the game, it's something at the time but then tomorrow it's nothing, If you buy it from the shop at least you own something.

[Timmo]

I don't really see how it's any different to Live Arcade games. These games will be available as long as they are (if you continue to pay the subscription).

[Mr Do 71]

I hate you guys!

I love you guys!

bestest bargain ever!

yeah, i done folded like a wet paper towel. the only game in the ("full") current collection that I already have on 360 is Saints Row 2, and I NEVER play that anyway, so no great loss.

FINALLY I'll be able to play RDR, the sequel to the flawed Just Cause, an infamous game, and motorstorm title... not sure why I'm kinda ignoring the "indie" stuff, but there you go.

So, if you want to get back into my BAD books, list what I've missed so far.

also, when do they change titles, and I just have to add them to my cart and "checkout in order to download them later, right? currently got over 20GB on the way down, and I've only got a 160GB PS3!

It changes every month, the first Wednesday.

[SeanR]

Until today, I had exactly TWO PS3 titles. MW2, which I got for a quid, and Haze, which I think was £4.99? Now I have more.

This? it's 67p per title to "rent one" of 45 games for a year.

this first collection, for my personal preferences, is the equivalent of 7 games for one year, at £4.28 each, and the more I get, the cheaper it gets.

obviously I'll have less time with the games I get towards the END of my plus membership, IF I CHOOSE NOT TO RENEW, but all things being equal, if I perceive it to be VFM then the next twelve months, and beyond, could well be "the year of the PS3".

no one can accuse me of not enjoying collecting, and hanging onto, my physical media, but I still managed to trade in 60 of my "unwanted" 360 games when GAME were offering £10+trade-in prices for stuff. Games that I never went back to, nor will I miss. This is the flip side of the same coin, that means whereas before you could SPEND £40 on a title, and eventually getting, say, £8-£10, this is paying £5 a game and whilst having NO trade-in value, it's better to lose a fiver than £30.

That's how I see it, and like someone said, if you want to keep it, just get the disc version.

[Hitcher]

Yeah but... Most of those games are fairly old aren't they? The reason I keep going to sign up and then stopping is because by the time a game is 18-24 months old, which most of those games are, I've either bought it or rented it if I had any interest by this point.

I'll stick to using LoveFilm then.

[Dudley]

Not having this, you pay for nothing, you don't own anything. If you play the game, it's something at the time but then tomorrow it's nothing, If you buy it from the shop at least you own something.

This is also true if you ever bought a game on XBLA, PSN and arguably, Steam.

[Ferine]

Plus does get brand new releases, they just aren't retail releases for obvious reasons. For instance this month there's Machinarium and Double Dragon Neon, with Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit in October.

The question of how Plus could be applied to the PS4 around launch was raised earlier. Obviously content would be pretty lean, but with every release likely having a day-one digital version perhaps they could have a blanket 10% off policy. Feasibly Sony could also throw in different promotions to what we currently have, such as a number of free movie rentals a month or even an extended hardware warranty. I'd say the biggest question is around backwards compatibility: if they manage to implement it, PS3 owners could have the draw of shifting across and continual access to the Instant Game Collection they've accrued.

[TehStu]

as soon as that new interface came out... having to be a gold subscriber to get Netflix is just a JOKE.

I let my Live subscription lapse and for the same price bought a rather nifty Sony media box. It's a real shame how quickly hubris appears to have set in, but I suspect this was the actual long term picture of success for the Xbox.

[idespair]

...also, when do they change titles, and I just have to add them to my cart and "checkout in order to download them later, right? currently got over 20GB on the way down, and I've only got a 160GB PS3!

Not to worry - I've still got a 1st gen 60GB PS3, so just start downloading each title and then cancel it immediately. That way they remain in your purchase history and you can download again at any time as long as your Plus subscription remains current.

[Dudley]

I solved the problem a more direct way by spending 80 quid on a 1tb hard drive.

[Fury4k]

.

[SeanR]

I let my Live subscription lapse and for the same price bought a rather nifty Sony media box. It's a real shame how quickly hubris appears to have set in, but I suspect this was the actual long term picture of success for the Xbox.

I'm not sure what I'm even paying for live anymore? It's not like I actively play games online anymore.

I probably won't renew it, come may 2013...

[whizzo]

Do you get free Vita games on this? I think I might have to partake!

[BeeJay]

Vita service isn't live yet but is on the way

[Dudley]

Do you get free Vita games on this? I think I might have to partake!

Not now, they've announced there will be a "Vita Plus" but whether it'll be included in this, separate or some kind of bundle deal or what might be in it we don't know.

Yeah, but then it's £120 to play those games.

True but it's also £200 for the console to play these games if you want to be like that

[The Tall Man]

Seems very good to me, out of the current free games I've only got RDR so to play the others, let alone what'll come along in the next year, is money well spent. And no more clutter! Plus (pun intended) it'll mean I use my PS3 again.

[Yasawas]

I love PS+. The saving on the store and the 1GB of cloud saves (done far better than the 360 equivalent imo) is almost worth it on its own. I had to make a choice between 360 and PS3 recently and given I've only played Street Fighter online in the last three years I had to go with the latter. Add in ads on the dash, the marginalising of game content, and making the YouTube/Netflix/whatever Gold only and the decision kind of makes itself. It's a shame I can't play people from here any more but for me the 360 has got to the point now where it was just so transparently fucking me over I couldn't take any more of it.

Not having this, you pay for nothing, you don't own anything. If you play the game, it's something at the time but then tomorrow it's nothing, If you buy it from the shop at least you own something.

See this is just crazy talk. I know exactly what I'm getting for my £30 - a selection of games over the course of a year with, going by recent choices, a significant number of games I really enjoy and then at the end of the sub it's over unless I renew. It's not fucking tomorrow, it's a years time. I know when I sign up there's no resale value so it's not like you can be angry about that and I can count on one hand the number of games I've bought this gen that I'm still playing a year later so it's kind of an incredible deal.

[Looper]

Game 'collections' do seem a bit archaic these days. Calm down obsessive shelf building collect 'em all fans, I just mean it's nice to have a huge range of games at my beck and call and not have to dick about looking for discs. I care less and less about physical media every year.

The auto update at 4am thing with PS+ is one of the best bits - if you're a new subscriber open all your games and cancel the inevitable unskippable update. If you have the auto update thing turned on they'll all be updated for you next day.