The Advantages of PlayStation Plus

PlayStation Plus, the service many people were scared of when it first started has become one of the most rewarding services for the price to date.  A service that gives 6 free games a month, many discounts, and also allows you to play online this generation.  What Plus really is though is an evolution of gaming that is bringing a similar situation to consoles that steam brought to PC's.  When it was first announced many Sony fans were not happy as one of the big draws to the PS3 was the free multiplayer gaming and video apps, whereas Xbox gamers were being required to pay for their service.  Although, most will say Xbox live was worth the money due to the stability, Sony fans were still thinking Sony was going to way of Microsoft and would no longer allow for free online gaming. What Sony did next was probably what got them ahead of the 360 in regards to sales and why the PS4 has been such a success: free games!

Sony added the Instant Gaming Collection to the service as well as discounts and sales with up to 75% off on some games.  The first year alone brought a number of great titles, and they weren't just older games from previous generations or simple downloadable titles either.  Games like Uncharted, Infamous, Resident Evil, and Little Big Planet have been free through the service.

The first year of PlayStation Plus

Now with the success of Plus, Sony could have backed off and still beat Microsoft with value by taking some games away or even raising the price, but instead they gave even more games away with the PS Vita and extending Plus to the other platform for free.  Each Plus subscriber has been getting 60-100 games a year, which with the cost of $50 a year comes to a total of a $1.20 per title for games like Demon Souls, Sleeping dogs, and Borderlands.  A lot less then buying the games separately.  

With the release of the PS4, Sony did make a surprising move by requiring PS Plus to play multiplayer just like Microsoft, except yet again they did not take away any of the other features of the PS Plus subscription.  They even added PS4 titles to the Instant Game Collection, bring the total to 2 games per platform per month.  However, unlike Microsoft they did not charge people to use apps such as Amazon or Netflix.  Since the release of the PS4 PS Plus subscriptions have increased exponentially.  The biggest thing I have found from people is that they never realized what a value Plus was.  Even I didn't purchase Plus till this past October, which makes me a little bit mad about all the games I missed out on.  It is a must for any Sony lover, PlayStation owner, or bargain finder.  The success of PS Plus is noted and Sony really hit it out of the park regarding the service.

The program has been so successful, it has caused Microsoft to change a lot about the Xbox live gold subscription, now including games and also taking video apps out from behind the pay wall.  But is it enough for Microsoft?  We have already seen a large number of Xbox users jump over and be won over by the PS4 and PS Plus.  Only time will truly tell, but since I am one of those people I will say it is amazing what Sony has done for core gamers and the value cannot be ignored.  Not to mention that the $50 price tag being $10 cheaper than Xbox live gives it an even better leg up on the competition.  However, you can get it even cheaper than that during the holidays when sales for $20-$30 is fairly common.  If you own any PS platform, I recommend you get Plus right away, you will not be disappointed.