Playstation Plus Launches Today
By sizu 16 Comments
So update 3.40 has hit, and Playstation Plus launches today.
I was interested in seeing how Sony approached the area of a subscription based online environment without damaging one of the unique benefits that PSN has over XBL which is of course free online gaming. Content is their approach which could be a nice added bonus.
Ffor this to be worthwhile the content must be relative now, not 12 months ago which unfortunately Sony appear to be doing. I have no qualms about subbing to Playstation Plus alongside my XBL Gold subscription and had every intention in doing so today. However after looking at the release schedule for the first two months of the service it appears to be completely worthless to a gamer such as mysekf.
Lets see
Month 1: June 29th – August 3rd
• Intro offer: LBP (standard edition)
• PSN PS3: Wipeout HD
• minis: Field Runners, Age of Zombies
• PSone: Destruction Derby
• Full Game Trial: Shatter, Savage Moon
• Discounts: LBP God of War Pack – 50%, LBP: LocoRoco costume pack – 50%, Gravity Crash – 20%, Fat Princess DLC – 20%
• Premium Game Element: KillZone 2: Steel & Titanium DLC
• Push demo: ModNation Racers, Heavy Rain
• Themes: LBP Theme, SCEE produced: PlayStation “Game Is Just The Start” Dynamic Theme
• 2 x Fat Princess Premium Avatars
Month 2: August 4th – September 1st
• PSN PS3: Zen Pinball
• minis: Blast-Off, Alien Zombie Death
• PSone: Medievil
• Full Game Trial: Inferno Pool, Mushroom Wars
• Discounts: Zen Pinball Earth Defence Table – 20%, Warhawk Triple Combo Pack – 50%, Super Stardust HD - 20%, WipeOutHD Fury – 20%
• Premium Game Elements: Motorstorm Pacific Rift: Adrenaline Pack
• Push Demo: Flower, Pixel Junk Shooter
• Themes: “SCEE produced: PlayStation + Dynamic Theme (in production), Heavy Rain Crime Scene Theme
2 x Heavy Rain Avatars (Bird and Butterfly)
Absolutely nothing jumps out. Granted Wipeout HD is cool, but I already have purchased and downloaded HD and Fury.
The issue here is that it appears to be restricted to SCE produced content which if this continues could pose a problem. In my mind the initial offer seems to be all over the place. I would love to know why the product manager would beleive that Killzone 2 map pack would be a key offer. The game has it core fanbase who still play it online and it is fairly easy to imagine that that base will already own the multiple packs which are out there. And I hardly see that this offer will encourage gamers who have never tried Killzone to make the jump now 14 months after the title hit the street shelves. Don't worry though as next month it is Zen Pinball....BAM!
Less old content, more new content Sony and you will get a subscriber. I wonder how many people out there are going to activate their subs today, and who find the initial line up an exciting proposal. TIme will tell I guess.