Tracking Playstation Plus: October

Low and behold, I do believe I'm actually beginning to see some real value start to emerge out of the Playstation Plus scheme.  Whatever do I mean dear reader?  Well, read on....

This is the content that featured as part of October's Plus content:

• PSN: Street Fighter 2 HD Remix
• minis: Aero Racing; Yeti Sports
• PSOne Classic: Kula World; 
• Full Game Trial: Ferrari The Race Experience; Tomb Raider Underworld
• Exclusive Discounts: Burn Zombie Burn – 50% discount; Trine – 50% discount; Alien Breed: Impact – 20% discount; Gravity Crash – 50% discount; Ace Armstrong Vs. The Alien Scumbags – 20% – day 1 discount; Shatter soundtrack and Dynamic Theme – 50% discount
• Exclusive DLC: Fallout 3: Point Lookout; Fallout 3: Mothership Zeta; Fallout 3: Operation: Anchorage; Fallout 3: Broken Steel; Fallout 3: The Pitt
• Dynamic Themes: Exclusive Move ‘Start the Party’ theme; exclusive ‘Halloween’ theme
• Premium avatars: Pain: Jarvis and Le Toot Avatars; SingStar: Wannabe and Rising Star Avatars; Exclusive Plus Halloween avatars
• Burn Zombie Burn PlayStation Home item

In anticipation of the release of Fallout: New Vegas, the DLC for Fallout 3 was released. Sony also released a Killzone 3 theme, the first 5000 to be downloaded scored the lucky lot a slot on the beta of the game.  I was fortunate enough to be one of the first 5000 and have been playing Killzone 3 since the last week of October.  This is what I was (partially) referring to when I said I could see some value in the service, especially as the alpha build of the multiplayer is pretty darn good.

In addition, new subscribers get an extra 3 months worth of Plus for free - 15 months for the price of 12.  There was more value to be found in a subsequent announcement that the zombie-tinged DLC for Red Dead Redemption was going to be discounted for Plus customers.  Nice.

This is what October's spending looked like for me:

Hmmm.  Had I bought all the things I downloaded they would have cost £80.87!  However, I already owned much of what was given away in October.  After I remove these the October savings come in around £18.65.  I'm not convinved I would have paid for the minis or the PS1 game.  Last time I checked in the value of savings came in at £64.56.  After four months these savings now amount to £83.21.

The real value came in the discounted price for Trine and RDR's Undead Nightmare - a saving of £5.29 in total.  It's these kind of discounts I'd like to see more of in the future in order to say Plus is worth the money.  

Oh yeah, that and the Killzone 3 Beta ;-D

Tracking Playstation Plus: August and September

I kind of forgot to review the Playstation Plus proposition for August so I figured I'd bundle that month in with September. It's been a while... since I last updated this series of posts but in the last one I covered the content on offer for August.

Below you should be able to see a little table charting the content I grabbed and an overview of the estimated value for that month...



Back in September Sony released the following content for Plus subscribers:

• PSN: Sam and Max: Devil’s Playground (entire season)
• minis: Vector Tower Defense, Echoes
• PSOne Classic: Abe's Odysee
• Full Game Trial: Warhawk (Plus exclusive 50% discount for Plus members on purchase), Inferno Pool
• Exclusive Discounts: LittleBigPlanet Ico and Shadow of Colossus costume pack - 50%; Metal Gear Solid (PSOne) – 50%; Warhawk – 50%; Pixel Junk Shooter – 20%
• DLC Exclusive: UFC Undisputed 2010
• Dynamic Themes: Exclusive PlayStation Move theme; Exclusive ‘Fish Tank’ theme
• Premium avatars: Eye Pet Blue Goalie Avatar; Eye Pet DJ Avatar

On top of that there were a few additional add-ons.  New subscribers to the annual package were given the full game (digital download) of Ratchet and Clank: Quest for Booty to keep permanently.  Early access to the following demos were also given: God of War: Ghost of Sparta (PSP),
 PES 2011 and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow.  If that wasn't enough on the 27th of September Plus subscribers were also given exclusive beta access to the multiplayer version of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood - this was something worth having! Oh, and an exclusive Infamous 2 theme, although that wasn't much to shout about.  Below is the table of content I downloaded:




The total monthly savings for August (£20.34) and September (£29.45) had I paid for this would be £49.79.  If we include the £14.77 from the month of July then the running total quarter way through the year stands at £64.56.

It's very difficult to measure how much the exclusive content costs, especially as the beta for Assassin's Creed has been rumoured to go on a more general release for non-subscribers at a later date, but it certainly did sweeten the deal.  It's also not the last beta to be announced - read on.

October's content


The following material has been announced by Sony for October:

• PSN: Street Fighter 2 HD Remix
• minis: Aero Racer, Yeti Sports
• PSOne Classic: Syphon Filter
• Full Game Trial: Ferrari The Race Experience; Tomb Raider Underworld
• Exclusive Discounts: Burn Zombie Burn  - 50% discount (inc. free exclusive Home item for Plus members who buy); Trine – 50% discount; Alien Breed: Impact – 20% discount; Gravity Crash – 50% discount; Ace Armstrong Vs. The Alien Scumbags – 20% – day 1 discount; Shatter soundtrack and Dynamic Theme – 50% discount
• DLC Exclusive: n/a
• Dynamic Themes: Exclusive Move ‘Start the Party’ theme; Exclusive ‘Halloween’ theme
• Premium avatars: Pain: Jarvis and Le Toot Avatars (2); SingStar: Wannabe and Rising Star Avatars (2)

October did look a little underwhelming in terms of content (with the exception of the acclaimed Trine at half price) until the announcement that Killzone 3 would be an exclusive beta for the first 10,000 Plus subscribers who sign up on October 13th.  This is a real draw as Killzone 2 is one of the best FPS games on the system.  Also, any new annual subscribers get an extra 3 months of Plus for no extra cost. IS ta enough to make you buy?

Tracking Playstation Plus: July update

In this post from a few days ago, I outlined some of the upcoming content for Playstation Plus subscribers in which the following material was to be offered throughout August:

• PSN: Zen Pinball
• minis: Blast-Off, Alien Zombie Death
• PSOne Classic: Medievil
• Full Game Trial: Infamous, Mushroom Wars
• Exclusive Discounts: Zen Pinball Earth Defense Table – 20%, Warhawk Triple Combo Pack – 50%, GT Club PS3/PSN – 50%, WipeOut HD Fury – 20%
• DLC: MotorStorm Pacific Rift: Adrenaline Pack
• Automatic download demo: Pixel Junk Shooter, Mafia 2
• Dynamic themes: Exclusive PlayStation Plus Theme, Exclusive ‘Clock’ Theme
• Premium avatars: Heavy Rain characters x 2

The official Sony blog has responded to European PS3 owners who were unhappy that our US cousins were receiving more regular weekly content updates by saying that Europeans will get some pleasant surprises throughout the month.  It's a sign that Sony is listening to its customers and are responding accordingly, as they look to improve their Plus service.  I have to keep reminding myself that this service is only a month old and that this is new territory for Sony who will improve the offerings based on what its paying customers tell it.

The additional perks this month include:

• 1 day early exclusive preview of Mafia 2 demo
• 2 week early exclusive launch of Pixel Junk Racers '2nd Lap' (free to owners of the original Pixel Junk Racers; 20% discount to newcomers)
• 2 week early exclusive launch of PS1 classic Tomb Raider (on Monday 16th)
• [EDIT] Plus subscribers were also given early access to the demo for Ruse

The Plus service seems to be improving as it grows, but at whose expensive?  There are quite a few comments on the Sony blog claiming that the company is 'gimping' its free service in order to make the subscription package seem worthwhile (see post #20 by GrimNebulinx).  Their issue seems to be that they believe the pre-release dates are nothing more than the real release dates that would have happened before the introduction of the subscription package, rendering the two-week delay for free users as the 'gimped' service.  It's interesting to see the Sony community writer, James Thorpe, try to rebuff these claims as earnestly as he can.

What do you think of this pre-release exclusivity? Is is worth the cash or effort?  Do you believe the Sony stance?

Tracking Playstation Plus: July

A new month means a review of the past month's PlayStation Plus purchases as outlined in this post, and a speculative glance to the coming months.  In case you aren't aware of what this series of posts is inspired by then I shall endeavour to summarise... IGN asked the question "Is Playstation Plus a good deal?" and asked for PlayStation users to join in, hence these posts.  So, do subscribers to the £39.99/$49.99/€49.99 service get good value for money?

Well, that's a trick question to answer, especially given that US subscribers get more content per month than European subscribers - clearly visible in the IGN charts in which the editors list games and DLC that are not available to Europeans.  It would seem that the US 'Plus' store was updated each week or two.    Nevertheless, I shall offer a personalised account of my 'Plus' experience and attempt to offer some objective analysis of the value of the service.  Firstly, let's review the first month:

Month 1 (June 2010)

I've already covered what the service entails in the first post but I thought it worthwhile to list all the options that were available to UK subscribers in the first month (as long as I can recall them!)

• Intro offer: LittleBigPlanet (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
• Premium Avatars: 2 x Fat Princess
• 24 hour early preview: Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days

It's worth noting that LittleBigPlanet was only available to the annual subscribers and not the 3 months package subscribers.  It's also the only game content that can be kept by people if they let their subscription lapse (excluding themes and avatars).  After the break you'll find a table of material I downloaded and purchased by means of the 'Plus' service.

In the launch material Sony made much of the claim that over £200 worth of content would be given away throughout the year.  Looking at the content I consumed, that claim looks like it will hold true.  I downloaded content to the value of £36.73 in the first month alone and that figure excludes LittleBigPlanet which is now listed in the PlayStation Store as £16.99 (despite it being a bit cheaper in its physical format from stores like Shopto or Play - surely digital content should be cheaper?).  A true total figure would come in at £53.72 if we include that content.

However, there are a few caveats I need to point out.  I already owned both LittleBigPlanet and Wipeout HD, as well as the 'premium' DLC for Killzone 2.  Frankly, I'd imagine many PS3 owners will already have these games given their critical acclaim and decent sales figures since they were launched (in fact I gave away my physical version of LittleBigPlanet to a pal).  Therefore I've added an extra field to the table called 'Saving' which shows how much the downloads would have cost had I purchased them in the traditional way.  This figure is more modest at £14.77.

There's another issue here too.  Of the content that I did download, I can safely say that it was unlikely that I would have ever purchased it had it not been included in the subscription package.  I had no interest in the Minis titles or the PSOne Classic game.  That's £11.97 worth of content that would never have been paid for.  I might have purchased the theme or the avatar so the true value for money on offer looks a little dubious.  I would have taken advantage of the Wipeout HD offer had I not already purchased it so that balances out.  A more sceptical take on the value of the content I may have paid for comes to £2.90

One negative consequence of the new service is that subscribers might be a little less eager to buy PSN games, preferring to wait and see what the Plus package will offer - a point made on the official Sony blog by user GothPunk.  I have certainly held back from buying games since the inception of Plus for this reason.  I'm also a sucker for discount/sale offers, as outlined (.pdf) by the behavioural economist Dan Ariely, and like to feel like I've got a bargain.  Consumer behaviour can be difficult to predict but there are tried and tested means for incentivising customers to purchase.  I fell for the discounted DLC offer on Fat Princess - a game I haven't played for about a year - but I'm no longer willing to buy full games, just in case they appear as part of the 'Plus' package.

Looking forwards

Yesterday Sony announced what content will make up the next two months of Playstation Plus

August:

• PSN: Zen Pinball
• minis: Blast-Off, Alien Zombie Death
• PSOne Classic: Medievil
• Full Game Trial: Infamous, Mushroom Wars
• Exclusive Discounts: Zen Pinball Earth Defense Table – 20%, Warhawk Triple Combo Pack – 50%, GT Club PS3/PSN – 50%, WipeOut HD Fury – 20%
• DLC: MotorStorm Pacific Rift: Adrenaline Pack
• Automatic download demo: Pixel Junk Shooter, Mafia 2
• Dynamic themes: Exclusive PlayStation Plus Theme, Exclusive ‘Clock’ Theme
• Premium avatars: Heavy Rain characters x 2

September

• PSN: Sam and Max: Devil’s Playground (entire season)
• minis: Vector Tower Defense, Echoes
• PSOne Classic: Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee
• Full Game Trial: Warhawk (with exclusive 50% discount for Plus members on purchase), Inferno Pool
• Exclusive Discounts: LBP: Ico and Shadow of Colossus costume pack – 50%
• Metal Gear Solid (PSOne) – 50%, Warhawk – 20%,  Pixel Junk Shooter – 20%, 
• DLC: Exclusive UFC Undisputed 2010 DLC
• Dynamic themes: Exclusive PlayStation Move theme, Exclusive ‘Fish Tank’ theme
• Premium avatars: Eye Pet Blue Goalie Avatar, Eye Pet DJ Avatar

This could be a shrewd move by Sony - by announcing what games/DLC are comng soon subscribers can decide whether or not to purchase the relavant titles.  For instance, will people hunt out cheap retail versions of MotorStorm Pacific Rift and UFC Undisputed 2010 knowing that they will be able to score on the free DLC?

Sony have also promised extra exclusive content will appear throughout the months. As for whether or not the announcements will act in Sony's favour or against them remains to be seen.  I'll report on August's value for money in the first week of September.

Is PlayStation Plus A Good Deal?

Over at IGN the Playstation team have been asking the very question: is the newly launched Playstation Plus service a good deal for users or is it a waste of cash?  For those who aren't quite au fait with what this service is or what it means, you can check out the Sony press release for full details, but I'll offer a brief summary of the main features below.

What is it?

Since it's launch  in November 2006 the Playstation 3 has had a free online network (entitled PSN) on which Playstation owners could speak to or message each other, play games with friends, browse the web and purchase content in the online store.  Everyone with an internet connection could use it free of charge - just as well, because the service could be pretty glitchy in the early days.  Microsoft have a similar service for their Xbox 360 called Live, except theirs came in two tiers: a Silver (free) and a Gold  variety (annual charge of £39.99).  The basic package allowed for some communication between members and the purchasing of downloadable content.  If you wanted extra features such as playing online games you had to pay the annual fee.  This had some advantages - namely Microsoft could invest that subscription fee into paying for servers to host content - something Sony struggled with at first.


Last week Sony announced Playstation Plus: their fee-based subscription service for the PS3 which retails at £39.99.  Unlike Microsoft, they still provide all of the online services that the PSN launched with.  Sony see Playstation Plus as a service that adds extra value to gamers by virtue of offering the following:

• Discount on games and/or downloadable content
• 4 free Playstation games per month (this includes old Playstation 1, Minis, and standard PSN titles)
• Premium avatars and themes
• Full game trials (a try-and-buy scheme using a full game rather than a limited demo)
• Early access to demos and beta versions of games
• Automatic content downloads and updates

In total Sony claim that Playstation Plus will offer subscribers content to the value of at least £200 per year.  There is a drawback though fail to renew your subscription and you lose all the 'free' gaming content you downloaded.  However, in order to offset that setback subscribers were given the excellent LittleBigPlanet game to keep even if they don't renew their subscription.  I already owned this game so it saves me nothing but some gamers may not have it.  You get to keep the avatars and themes but these are small value items.  So, the question remains, is £39.99 a good deal given that most Playstation gamers got by just fine on the PSN without spending a penny?  In order to work out if this is good value for money I'm going to join the staff at IGN in monitoring my use of the service.

Another tracking project...

In case you didn't guess, I subscribed to the service on launch day (June 29th) in order to see what the fuss was all about.  This give me the perfect excuse to emabark on another year long tracking project so it alongside my musical expenditure project.  I'm going to follow the strict rules set out by IGN:

For the next year, IGN PlayStation Executive Editor Greg Miller and IGN Guides Guru Colin Moriarty will track their PlayStation Plus PlayStation Network purchases every Wednesday. If they buy a full price game, it won't be logged here. On the chalkboards below, we'll track what the "free" content would have cost them as well as the discounts they're receiving. Now, these figures will only include new stuff that the boys have downloaded. If they already own a piece of content, it won't be included just because it has been discounted or marked as free. This is strictly what they've downloaded under the PlayStation Plus umbrella to date. 

The IGN staff are only counting the cash saved via the discount scheme, but I will add an extra field to include the value of the digital items that are kept after the subscription lapses (ie the avatars and themes).    Also, one of the PSN games that is 'free' this month is Wipeout HD - a game I already own so there is no real benefit to me this month.

If you want to see how much 'value' the Playstation Plus service is to a regular gamer check back here in a few weeks.