What's the point in PS Plus?

[Derri]

Some of you might be aware but once again PSN is experiencing issues, not all are effected but from the @Askplaystation twitter a lot of people have been. https://twitter.com/AskPlayStation

My question is: What is the point in a Playstation Plus?

Free Games
If you're like me you don't particuarly care about the free games. Quite often these are games that I've played or have no intention of playing. So I can live without the free games.

Discounts
Its true I've seen plenty of PS+ discounts but alas these aren't too significant discounts and I don't think I've actually ever bought anything that's been discounted via PS+ (maybe one game but I can't honestly remember)

Exclusive access to Beta's/Content
I've not seen anything exclusive as of yet either be it a Beta or Content

Storage
I sometimes use the storage but I've never been like 'OMG STORAGE. THANK YOU STORAGE YOU'VE SAVED MY LIFE'. In short I lived for years without it and now that I have it, all I think is 'meh'. Its nice to have but I can live without it.

Online Multiplayer/Gaming

Now this is the big thing, the thing that most PS4 users will have bought PS+ for is the Online Multiplayer access. I thought with the PS4 going to a subscription model for online gaming would mean improvements but I've seen jack all of an improvement. In fact I'd hazard to say that its been worse than the PS3 in its first year. I honestly DID NOT mind when the PS3 used to go down because I didn't pay for it but now that I am when it goes down I'm pissed.

Not only hasn't it improved but I have a few annoying things. First of all my friends list takes ages to load and sometimes won't display friends, quite often it takes forever to load, especially while online gaming. The fact is my friends list on my PS3 can be up and displaying faster. Inviting friends takes an age as well for some reason.

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So what is the point in me paying for something when the PS3 has better quality online?

It takes a lot for me to get pissed but I had a free evening tonight where I wasn't busy and I wanted to game with some friends but alas our plans are dashed because once again PSN is experiencing problems.

 

[Ridge]

Yeah, looks like there shant be any Destiny for me this afternoon... Anyways more to the topic at hand.

I think PS+ 100% pays for itself just on free games alone. But on the topic of PSN going down. In the year or so I've had my PS4 PSN has been down 2 times that has affected me. So paying $49.99 for a year of PS+ so it costs me essentially $0.14 a day. There were two days I wanted to play and couldn't and still paid for. That works out to $0.28. Even if i bought PS+ only for the online play(i had it long before this was needed) I can't really be mad about 28 cents..

 

[Haze]

I feel the quality of games you get for free with a PS Plus membership has declined in a way. I remember when it first came out (or the first year at least) the titles were much better and not just smaller indie games (nothing wrong with indie games, I just prefer the "bigger" games is all).

Aside from that I feel PS Plus is a great service. But I will admit the online stability was and is better on the PS3.

 

[Ridge]

We can't expect free AAA games this soon into the PS4's life cycle. Most AAA PS3 games PS+ had were a year old or more.

 

[Haze]

We can't expect free AAA games this soon into the PS4's life cycle. Most AAA PS3 games PS+ had were a year old or more.

Oh yeah I agree. It will be a while until that happens.

 

[iamthenight90]

I feel the quality of games you get for free with a PS Plus membership has declined in a way. I remember when it first came out (or the first year at least) the titles were much better and not just smaller indie games (nothing wrong with indie games, I just prefer the "bigger" games is all).

Aside from that I feel PS Plus is a great service. But I will admit the online stability was and is better on the PS3.

binding of isaac next month will consume my whole life

 

[Sekelani]

As stated above the only reason why I use it is for the online experience multiplayer and the storage. Other that that it doesn't matter to me

 

[Derri]

Yeah, looks like there shant be any Destiny for me this afternoon... Anyways more to the topic at hand.

I think PS+ 100% pays for itself just on free games alone. But on the topic of PSN going down. In the year or so I've had my PS4 PSN has been down 2 times that has affected me. So paying $49.99 for a year of PS+ so it costs me essentially $0.14 a day. There were two days I wanted to play and couldn't and still paid for. That works out to $0.28. Even if i bought PS+ only for the online play(i had it long before this was needed) I can't really be mad about 28 cents..

Its not so much the cost that gets me, if you're into the free games across the three platforms then the obvious value is fantastic, I'm not going to deny that. However if you're like me and the only reason you own a subscription if for the online play. Then you do kind of expect the quality of the online to be better.

PSN has caused me a lot of issues this year in terms of maintenance times, down time and finally little bugs such as friends lists not loading or not loading when in a game. I made a thread about that particular issue and a lot of people have experienced this.

On the PS3 I don't have the friends list issue and because the PS3 is free then I have no issues with the general service because it is free. However I kind of expected Sony to add more care now that for the PS4 its a paid subscription but they haven't.

So I have been questioning why decided to go from a free model in PS3 days to a paid model for the PS4 days when they haven't improved their service a whole much.

 

[FrostWinds]

Speaking of PS+, what the heck happened with Drive Club in the end? At the beginning it was supposed to free, then it got changed to being full retail, then I thought that PS+ subscribers were supposed to get somewhat of a glorified demo with a few of the tracks and vehicles available. I never got this demo and I don't see anywhere to get it, can anyone clarify?

 

[Oberon]

I never bought PS+ on PS3 (other than have free trial periods) and if the PS4's MP online component was free I prob still wouldnt have PS+.
Free games are just an extra,there have been many great ones on PS3 but as has been said many times already,PS4 free titles have been mediocre at best so far.But that really doesnt bother me,as I said,I mainly bought PS+ for the PS4's multiplayer component.
Thing is,since getting a PS4 on launch day I have'nt played a great deal of online MP.

Speaking of PS+, what the heck happened with Drive Club in the end? At the beginning it was supposed to free, then it got changed to being full retail, then I thought that PS+ subscribers were supposed to get somewhat of a glorified demo with a few of the tracks and vehicles available. I never got this demo and I don't see anywhere to get it, can anyone clarify?

Cause of the still ongoing server issues with the game Im guessing they are holding out releasing the PS+ version until its fully sorted.
As releasing the PS+ version now would see a whole lot more players online and Im sure the devs wanna fix the online aspect fully first.
But yeah,rest assured the PS+ version AFAIK is still coming,we just don't know when yet.

 

[Haymansafc]

I've never experienced or had PS+ in order to comment. To be honest, it seems like a feature that I would have little use for. I’m in no way a 'serial gamer' any more to get the use out of it. I'm doing well to have one gaming session a week – which is usually the weekend.

I don't really have any friends to actually play with. That's the first negative. To go along with this, unless others are physically in the same room as me, I don't particularly want to talk to other people when gaming. It would irritate me. I also don't particularly like the FPS genre – which seems to be the bulk of what this online gaming business is all about. That's a second negative.

On the positive side, I do like indie titles – which could very well be about it's only saving grace for me. I get more pleasure out of many sandbox and indie games than I do out of a lot of the mainstream these days.

Another possible positive is that I presume these DLC's you get with some games are available via PS+ and included in your subscription? I honestly don't know… This 'positive' is disputable. I might want to give one or two of them a try if it's just a case of downloading them but how you actually or that or make them work from there remains a mystery to me as things stand. I just want to slot in a disc and go…! If they're not included in the subscription and requires yet more money then stuff it – I'll just watch them on YouTube instead.

As I've said before, I'm more than willing to give it a go to see what all the fuss is about when I get a PS4. I want to try and get into this 'online' scene as it seems just about every man and his dog does now, but I can't see me renewing the subscription after getting it (whatever the smallest/cheapest one is). It would have to offer something pretty special for me to part with more money just in order to keep it. Especially considering I don't get involved with all this multiplayer business. I'm very much a 'single player mode' gamer.

 

[Oberon]

I don't really have any friends to actually play with....To go along with this, unless others are physically in the same room as me, I don't particularly want to talk to other people when gaming. It would irritate me.

You will make friends when playing online.
After a while you may find yourself talking to people while playing,some are irritating yes,and you can mute those if you want,but there are still plenty of decent people playing multiplayer,thats how I made many 'online PSN friends' and thats how I joined a clan and also even keep in contact with some via facebook or even phone.
Also,while playing online with these friends it can make gaming more enjoyable,games will have a longer lifespan,games that may feel average are much more fun to play while chatting,you find yourself talking about general things,just like we do here on the forum,or you may find yourself talking and helping each other ingame,pointing out enemy locations etc,and having the odd whinge about being 'shot' by another camper..lol.(That bit ofcourse ties to FPS gaming)

I also don't particularly like the FPS genre – which seems to be the bulk of what this online gaming business is all about.

Hmm,you may be correct there,if you dont like FPS gaming at all there are still other mulitplayer game options.

On the positive side, I do like indie titles

Im not overly keen on them.

Another possible positive is that I presume these DLC's you get with some games are available via PS+ and included in your subscription?

No,these are game dependant and so seperate to PS+ but its up to you whether or not you want buy them or not,some are free,but they are few.

If they're not included in the subscription and requires yet more money then stuff it – I'll just watch them on YouTube instead.

Looks like its youtube then.

 

[FrostWinds]

Cause of the still ongoing server issues with the game Im guessing they are holding out releasing the PS+ version until its fully sorted.
As releasing the PS+ version now would see a whole lot more players online and Im sure the devs wanna fix the online aspect fully first.
But yeah,rest assured the PS+ version AFAIK is still coming,we just don't know when yet.

Thanks for the info, I heard something about PSN server issues but didn`t know it was about Drive Club specifically.

 

[IraqCombatVet]

I've enjoyed PS Plus and think that it'll take time to be really relevant on PS4. The free games on PS4 aren't AAA titles but they're good enough for now.

 

[Ciel]

The point of Playstation Plus? Did you use PS3 online at all? That thing was slow as bawls. Do not be ignorant and say otherwise. I will laugh you out of the room. You know why PS4 is smoother and has faster download speeds? PS+. So what is the point of paying for the thing? Faster speeds for you. So what if it goes down once a month for maintenance.

How many times has it been down over the course of the last year? I hardly turn it on and go, "Oh shoot its down for maintenance" then again, I'm not glued to my console--which isn't entirely true, thanks Realm Reborn! Quit being entitled, move on. You pay under $5 a month for the thing. I think a few hours away from it is good for you. As far as the connectivity issues are concerned, I think that is primarily on your end as I have not run into slow speeds with inviting people, loading friends lists, etc.

Also your most recent game played is a free PS+ games.

My point is you need to quit being bitter. You will have other days to play with your buddies.

Moving on.

 

[Derri]

The point of Playstation Plus? Did you use PS3 online at all? That thing was slow as bawls. Do not be ignorant and say otherwise. I will laugh you out of the room. You know why PS4 is smoother and has faster download speeds? PS+. So what is the point of paying for the thing? Faster speeds for you. So what if it goes down once a month for maintenance.

Well of course I did play Online and it wasn't slow for me. Can you describe where it was slow? I can log on fast, load up games fast and be online in about a minute of me turning on my console. I wouldn't say that PS4 is any faster if I'm being honest in terms of getting me online. Its about the same. I can load up say MW3 on PS3 and be online and ready to search for a game in one minute. Ghosts takes the exact same time on PS4. Same with other games that I've played on PS4. I wouldn't say its any smoother or better because of PS+. The reason why it can be smoother is because of the better hardware, PS+ doesn't make a damn bit of difference. I'd say that I have noticed a slightly better experience in some games e.g. Watch Dogs but then again I put that down to the hardware being better.

How many times has it been down over the course of the last year? I hardly turn it on and go, "Oh shoot its down for maintenance" then again, I'm not glued to my console--which isn't entirely true, thanks Realm Reborn! Quit being entitled, move on. You pay under $5 a month for the thing. I think a few hours away from it is good for you. As far as the connectivity issues are concerned, I think that is primarily on your end as I have not run into slow speeds with inviting people, loading friends lists, etc.

I'd say its been down at least once every month either with planned maintenance or unexpected downtime. I don't actually play that much, 95% of the time I'm signed in I'm not doing anything. I'm more or less just signed in because I'm around, I don't actually game that much. I would not say the friends list issues I've experienced are on my end because

A) My PS3 friends list loads fine even while in games.
B) Many others are experiencing the friends list issue (I've seen topics on the PS forum and their are known issues with friends list)

Also your most recent game played is a free PS+ games.

Point?

I've got the game sure, but I honestly could live without it and I didn't find it that entertaining. Its a nice game but at the same time I honestly could live without it and if I'm interested in a game I'll pick it up on launch or later down the line. I haven't actually played Dust all that much.

In fact I've been playing CoD recently so I don't know why it hasn't updated to show it.

Overall I don't think that PS+ is worth it if you only care about Online because the Online experience isn't that different from the PS3, slightly faster in some areas but exactly the same in others.

 

[Titan]

I never bought PS+ on PS3 (other than have free trial periods) and if the PS4's MP online component was free I prob still wouldnt have PS+.
Free games are just an extra,there have been many great ones on PS3 but as has been said many times already,PS4 free titles have been mediocre at best so far.But that really doesnt bother me,as I said,I mainly bought PS+ for the PS4's multiplayer component.
Thing is,since getting a PS4 on launch day I have'nt played a great deal of online MP.


Cause of the still ongoing server issues with the game Im guessing they are holding out releasing the PS+ version until its fully sorted.
As releasing the PS+ version now would see a whole lot more players online and Im sure the devs wanna fix the online aspect fully first.
But yeah,rest assured the PS+ version AFAIK is still coming,we just don't know when yet.

I've been disappointed too with the PS4 titles. Though can't fault that since the free games are usually older games for the console and PS4 has only been out just shy of 11 months. Haven't logged in yet on the PS Store on my PS3 to check out the free games (though the load time for the store is so abysmal on PS3, I usually have to select it, go make a sandwich, watch some tv, screw around on the internet and take a nap and it MIGHT load when I'm done).