Playstation Plus is Sony/Playstation's subscription service for their current Playstation platforms. All of this should already be known for those that play video games, obviously. Yet, it truly became the giant service that it is today thanks to the IGC: Instant Game Collection.With this, plus other goodies such as online backup saves and lots of discounts, this should be a sweet deal for $50 a year, right? Well, the glass isn't half full for many, as many people hate this service and its existence.
Let us talk about this.
Playstation Plus was a completely different service back when it was first introduced. Unlike Xbox's Live subscription, Plus at the time was not necessary for online gameplay. Plus, there were not many good goodies at the time; a $10 game was what people were lucky to receive at the time. So why on Earth did Sony have this pointless service? Well, it had potential. This started to bloom like a rose later on.
When the IGC was first introduced, it took the online world by storm, Free full games each month were being given out. And these were not simple $10 games, but full games you would see at your local Gamestop. Games would be introduced and new games would start being chosen each month. It was the beginning of a beautiful relationship.
And it didn't stop there. The discounts started to grow more. Online cloud saves were being introduced as well, allowing you to save games into an online cloud storage, to upload onto your other consoles (perfect for travelling folks like myself). And to top it all off, online gameplay was still free for Playstation 3 users. All of this was given to you at a cost of $19.99 for 3 months, or $50 for a year. What a great deal this was.
But like everything else, there was always a darkside.
The games you got were only yours to keep if you were a PS Plus member. If you couldn't pay to buy another subscription, you would lose all of those precious games you got from Plus. This became one of the most well known negatives of Plus.
And then when the PS4 came along, it was announced that you needed to have PS Plus in order to play online. For the Xbox folks, they were used to this system since the Xbox 360 days. But since online used to always be free for Playstation users, this brought an uproar of discontent.
For as long as Plus became notable in the video game industry, there have been two sides on Plus: those that like it and those that don't (obviously). Is there a right or wrong side? No. Is Plus still worth it, no matter what side you stand? Yes. No matter what, Plus has proven to still be proven to be savings for gamers on a budget and will always be good for business and customers.
But wait, you don't get to keep the games you play! And the problem is? The average game takes about 8-20 hours to complete, with the focus on story alone. Once people are done with a game, it is time to move on to the next game. How often to you go back and replay old games? If the game was really that good, you could simply buy a physical copy for yourself and support those that made the game. With PS Plus, it constantly brings new games that will always keep you busy, unless it is a slow month or a game game release comes soon.
But what about paying for online for the PS4? Why no more free online? Well, the Xbox folks have been doing this for years before Plus did this. Not only are they (seemingly) ok with it, but this gave more money for Microsoft to invest in their console's online features. Wouldn't it be nice for the PS4 to have the same? Playstation users want better online. But it takes money to make this happen. Wouldn't it make sense if a compromise is done to make both sides happy (slightly)? Plus, with free games and goodies each month, wouldn't this alone cover the costs?
Let us no forget how Plus literally changed how many things worked in the video game industry. Competition is major in any form of business. Plus created competition. Ever since Plus started giving away free games, sales increased. Obviously Microsoft wants some more sales too, right? So they started to do what Playstation Plus did and gave away games with Gold, in a program literally called Games with Gold. And who won in the end: the gamers. While both Sony/Playstation and Microsoft try to provide great free games with their services, we the people get much more goodies each month for less.
And talking about goodies, how much goodies does Plus give? Research has shown that the value of games given out from PS Plus in 2014 came to the amount of $1,350. That's right, a $50 per year subscription service game away that much. Now, not all games may be likes by everyone and it is spread across all of Playstation's current platforms. But still, do the math. If you got at least two or three games from PS Plus, that would already cover the cost of $50 right there.
So no matter what side you stand in PS Plus, the results will still stand. Sony gets money to provide new services. Developers get some of their money from PS Plus and get recognition (even Capcom, Square Enix, and EA give games away, seriously!). But most importantly, we the people get a fresh variety of games each month. Whether you love or hate PS Plus, it will be here to stay and be here to continue to give back.
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