PlayStation Plus FAQ

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We’ve received a lot of questions in regards to PlayStation Plus: How to use it, what content is available, and more. Today we’d like to present some answers to some of the common questions we’ve heard.

PlayStation Plus

Q: What is PlayStation Plus?

A: PlayStation Plus is a subscription service offered to enhance your experience on the already free PlayStation Network. It offers you, the user, exclusive services for added convenience:

  • Automatic downloads where select game demos and other content get delivered straight to your PS3 system, so you don’t have to think about it.
  • Full game trials which allow you to play up to 60 consecutive minutes of a game. When you purchase the full game (or when you insert the Blu-ray disc of that game), you will get the PSN trophies that you earned during the trial.
  • Special discounts on the PlayStation Store and exclusive opportunities like select betas and select early demos.

Our goal is to deliver a valuable enhancement to your gaming experience.

Currently, you can purchase a three-month subscription at $17.99 or an annual subscription at $49.99 with an additional three months free. Subscriptions can be downloaded from the PlayStation Store, or you can purchase PlayStation Network cards at a retailer near you now; dedicated PlayStation Plus cards are coming in October.

Q: How do I use PlayStation Plus?

A: After you purchase your three-month or one-year subscription, your account will be branded as a PlayStation Plus account with a Plus logo next to your PSN ID. There is a PlayStation Plus category in the PlayStation Store where you can see all the offerings available to you at that time, or you can peruse other parts of the PlayStation Store and you will be able to see discounts, exclusive content and games, themes and avatars that are available to you in each category.

Q: What is the PlayStation Plus release schedule?

A: PlayStation Plus has a monthly rotating schedule of content that we post on a bi-weekly basis or, to rephrase, we post new content every other Tuesday. We plan to feature PlayStation.Blog posts the following Wednesday so you will see what’s coming (and what’s being taken down) for the next PlayStation Plus update.

Some content that was posted will be removed from the Plus category but not from the PlayStation Store. As long as you have downloaded the content and are an active PlayStation Plus subscriber, you will be able to re-download your content, even if it is removed from the Plus rotation or if you have deleted the content.

Q: What happens when my PlayStation Plus subscription ends?

A: The content you have downloaded as part of your PlayStation Plus subscription at no charge is only accessible as long as you are an active subscriber. The exceptions are free themes and avatars, which you will continue to have access to, even if you are no longer a subscriber. Anything you have purchased (even if you purchased it at a discount) will remain available to you even if your subscription ends.

Q: My subscription expired, but I renewed it late. Will I get my content back?

A: Yes you will.

Q: What do I currently get with PlayStation Plus?

A: PlayStation Plus offers a variety of discounts, games and exclusive content. In general, you will have access to at least the following, which rotate monthly:

  • 1 PSN game or PSone Classic game
  • 2 minis
  • A monthly Qore single episode

Currently, there are categories from our partners at Midway and Tik-Creat Games that offer 20% off PSN games and free add-ons.

We will continue to regulaly update PlayStation Plus with XMB themes and avatars, exclusive items, select game demos and additional discounts. We will also offer exclusive opportunities only made available to PlayStation Plus members such as our current Hulu Plus Preview and the discounted two-year PlayStation Protection Plan.

Q: Is Qore included in PlayStation Plus?

A: Yes, the current monthly single episode is included in PlayStation Plus — the same episode found on the PlayStation Store (regular price $2.99 per episode). Annual Qore subscribers still receive their monthly subscription including their additional downloadable content.

Q: What about those exclusive game betas?

A: Betas have limited invites and based on selection criteria not every PlayStation Plus member will get access to every beta; however, we’re working with game developers to make qualified PlayStation Plus members the first to gain access.

Many game betas are done to test certain parts of a game or certain functionality (like previous game add-on integration) so that when the final version of the game launches, it’s the best it can be. Oftentimes, betas are extremely limited as well. We need to ensure that members of Plus meet that individual beta’s requirement to be issued an exclusive invite.

There are two betas for PlayStation Plus members coming up shortly and more details will be announced soon.

Q: Why did X country get this and we didn’t?

A: Different countries have different rights, release schedules and, as many of you know, have different things available in their PlayStation Store for this reason. We are constantly working to align our content globally, but to also ensure that our North American audience gets the content that is available to them as some games are released globally on different schedules.

Q: What about Cross-Game Chat (or other functionality)?

A: We are constantly working on new services and features to enhance your PlayStation experience; however, Cross-Game Chat was not announced as a part of PlayStation Plus’ features. We know that Cross-Game Chat is a functionality our fans are extremely interested in and we are always striving to improve the PlayStation Network experience and services.

We invite you to send us your feedback and suggestions using the PlayStation.Blog Share tool (located to the right of this post) and stay up to date on what we are doing by signing up for newsletters, our forums, and following us on the PlayStation.Blog, Facebook, and Twitter.

Comments are closed.

316 Comments

46 Author Replies

  • I don’t know how users of this blog didn’t already know all this? But, good I guess. :-\

  • Wheres some of the betas? I feel robbed.

    • We were happy to announce a beta in the last Plus blog post:
      Red Faction Battlegrounds! Select users will be notified via an XMB message and email, so check back often.

  • I wish we could get some of the release schedule a couple of weeks in advance.

    • Starting this week, we’ve updated our blog posting schedule so that you can get what’s coming down the line sooner. Tuesday will still have the current Plus content in the store post, the following day will give you the next Plus content, so you should get the full month.

  • All we really get from Plus is PS Store content. I’m waiting on the features. So for the “subscription service offered to enhance your experience” part, that isn’t really happening yet. I like the Automatic Download feature though because it has done much for me already. But, please try to get Plus members in more Beta tests, users on the PS Forum are asking for Beta tests like crazy, although it was said to be “Select/ Priority Beta tests”

    • Thanks for the input footballrule. We are listening and we’re working on making Plus the best it can be and we’re striving to bring you new features all the time.

      Glad you like the auto download feature, we dig it too. Also, Red Faction Battlegrounds will be our first Beta, so stay tuned for more details!

  • Thanks for the update but people will still complain.You could give out betas to Killzone 3 or the next AAA game and people will still complain. I like plus. It’s just an added feature to the PS Network. If you don’t like it don’t buy it.

    • You’re welcome! Great to hear your enjoying Plus. Again, we’re working to bring you the best content/betas/games/other schnazzy stuff all the time, so stayed tuned!

  • Ugh…Can you guys please just add cross-game chat already??

    • We know Cross-Game Chat is a functionality fans are extremely interested in and we’re always trying improve the PlayStation Network experience and services. Keep giving us your opinion and ideas (I recommend the share ideas widget above)!

  • Wait… one PSN game OR PSone Classic game.??????

    1 PSN game or PSone Classic game
    2 minis
    A monthly Qore single episode

    I believe it was initially both of these a month not one or the other. For me the real value of PS Plus was the PSN game, if it is now reduced to one or the other that is a major decrease in value. I hope that statement was meant as every other week was one or the other. THis constant changing of content for which I already paid for is getting kind of ridiculous.

    Also, originally it was a dynamic theme a month but now i notice on the PS Plus ad in the store it says discounted dynamic theme. How can you keep changing what plus offers?

    • Don’t worry, dpearson558,we try to go above and beyond what the “basics” are in Plus so that you have a richer experience. We’ve posted additional content in past months and don’t want to limited what can be offered, so this was to give you an idea of what we’re going to try and do every month no matter what. We will continue to update Plus with XMB themes and avatars, exclusive items, etc as often as we can.

  • Nice one doing this. May sway some users into buying it or not which is probably good!
    However being a member what i myself would like to see is more 3rd party gear generally for the service (free game trials, PSN games) and more features than just automatic downloads. Maybe when Music Unlimited comes out include that into Plus and if you do implement Cross Game Chat for Plus users? Many thankss! :)

  • i’m really happy that you guys are trying to improve plus. however, you guys should act quick

  • Ok, nice summary. But screw PlayStation Blog.Share. You might as well ask God to strike you down with lightning, it won’t happen. Blog.Share is just there to simplify the answer to the hordes of people making requests with one sentence “send us your feedback and suggestions using the PlayStation.Blog Share”

    How about addressing any of them? can anyone mention 1, just ONE of the top 20 requests in blog.share than has been taken care of? and another question is, before this year 2010 ends, will any of the top 10 requests be granted to the delusional-wishful dreaming masses?

    • Hi MarinoBrea. We are reading them and we do try and incorporate them wherever and whenever we can. You can always hit us up on the blog itself as well as send us a message on Facebook.

  • Q: What do I currently get with PlayStation Plus?

    A: Discounts on games that are at least one year out of date which you already bought a long time ago.

    • We’re working on bring the best content to you to enhance your PSN experience. We also offer themes, the monthly Qore episode, and premium game elements (like the UFC Undisputed content). So keep your eyes out for great stuff we’re working on.

  • Oh and btw Cmon guys we know your almost there with Cross Game Chat and we know you can get it into every game somehow! You did it pretty much with In Game XMB! :D
    All of Psn is routing for ya!

  • Also, can your team work with the Playstation Home team to try to get PS Plus content in Playstation Home? I don’t know if we would be able to get discounts on virtual content, but at least a few PS Plus virtual items would be really appreciated. Maybe a virtual shirt and hat.

    • I’m wearing a Home shirt as we speak! We do chat with the Home team often *waves to GlassWalls two cubes down* and we like to hear what you want in Plus (and Home too!)

  • My last comment that I hope you reply to: Can we please get Full Game Trials of newer games from maybe 2009 or 2010, or why not games that are about to release, and please keep them all disc games too. So far your team has done a good job with this. We got a Warhawk Trial which is really no different the Warhawk demo. W

  • Cross game chat is all I really really want. All the resources you guys at Sony spend on everything else is just wasted IMHO. You want my money? Give me cross game chat please. I cannot stress this enough.

    Please dont get me wrong though. I think PS+ is a good idea, but you need to get your guys’ priorities straight. Also, why the heck is Dragon Warrior 7, Xenogears, and Chrono Cross on the psn yet? Are you guys that work on the psn even gamers? Makes me wonder. Just saying.

    • As previously mentioned, we’re working on getting you the best features to make not only your Plus experience better, but to make your PSN experience more awesome as well.

      We are constantly talking to developers to get new content (from betas to games) into our fans hot little hands.

      And I still have my original psone box for Chrono Cross and SNES cartridge for Chrono Trigger (Radical Dreamers FTW!)

  • Remove the age limitation and get cross-game VoIP up and running, then you just might get my $50… Until then, I’m going to stick to my $25 Qore annual subscrption…

  • Would like to see the extended warranty in Canada soon…

  • I’m a Plus subscriber but CROSS GAME VOICE CHAT BETTER BE FREE FOR ALL. I don’t think a basic feature like that should be limited to only a segment of the community, and I don’t want a gimped feature that only certain people have access to. It’s a COMMUNITY feature. The entire community should have access to it.

    But I doubt this’ll happen. The fact that CGVC is only mentioned by SCE in relation to PS+ means that we’re already screwed. The decision’s been made. We just have to wait for the announcement.

  • Does PS+ include a discount for Qore subscription? I know it includes the individual episodes, but what about the “Qore subscriber” benefits? To get the full benefits, do I have to be both a Qore AND a PS+ subscriber?

    • Plus includes single episodes. The Qore Subscription also includes the regular episode plus the additional downloadable content.

  • Btw please reply to what we write users do appreciate it alot! :)

  • @ #10/MarinoBrea: We’ll see the Team ICO Collection announced at TGS. Bet on it. :P

  • Q: What is PlayStation Plus?

    A: Worst $50.00 I have ever spent!!

    • Bummer to hear that Dzormagen. What do you think we need to do to make it better for you, we really want your feedback.

  • We should have automatic invitation to Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood or at least LittleBigPlanet 2 since it’s a first party title.

  • PS1 OR PSN game? False advertising.
    Discounted dynamic theme? False advertising.

    Luckily, $50 isn’t much to me and I still get much more than 50 out of my plus sub, but Sony should at least live up to what they promise first hand.

  • theassassin800 Said:

    Remove the age limitation and get cross-game VoIP up and running, then you just might get my $50… Until then, I’m going to stick to my $25 Qore annual subscrption…

    Why, Qore is junk, not worth any money. I can’t believe people actually pay for it. As for the others that wonder why terms keep changing, is because they are in the business for making money, not giving us everything we want. You all must be kids not to know this.

    • We love Qore, and love that other people love it as much as we do! That’s a lot of love going around…

      We do listen to our fans feedback and we are trying our best to fulfill what you’re asking for so please do tell us what you like and don’t like.

  • Game Trials should be longer than an hour and the trophies from these trials should delete if you don’t want them. Also we should have control over what the automatic update downloads as opposed to select content only

  • You know your service is in trouble when the majority of subscribers lament purchasing it and you have to create yet another FAQ after 3 months of inception.

    • But there are also a lot of subscribers who are excited for it too, and we want you to feel the same way. We really want to know what you think of the service l3rand0, so please give us your thoughts!

  • I didn’t have any questions before this came out, but now that it is out i do. Why are you guys flopping like fish over what we get every month?

    • We want our consumers to feel informed about what they’re getting, hence the schedule inclusion in this post for you. We apologize if it hasn’t been clear in the past.

  • Playstation Plus as a concept is something aimed at the more hardcore users. More casual players who don’t play on their PS3 much aren’t going to be interested in paying a subscription and watching the PSN every week for their rewards.

    But Sony really needs to put some sort of real plan together on how to bring real value that would appeal to this hardcore audience. So far, the main feature being delivered is admittedly substantial discounts on old games which were released at least one year ago and usually much older than that.

    That doesn’t appeal to your hardcore audience. Avid gamers will have already bought any of the games they were interested in when those games were first released. If they didn’t buy the game then, they probably still aren’t interested in the game now at any price.

    Betas are appealing to some hardcore gamers. But not everyone is interested in being a beta tester. And beta tests can only be for a select few anyway. So that’s a limited avenue for providing value to Plus membership.

    You need to provide value which appeals to an audience of users who play on their PS3 every day. Because that’s who your subscribers are.

    • Thanks for the feedback Skant. We are trying to provide a high amount of value to all users of Plus, from Hardcore to casual multimedia consumers (which there are more than you think!). We also want to give people an opportunity to get a lot of content at an excellent price (I got Critter Crunch when it came out on Plus and I love it).

  • I was very surprised to see that it was a PSN or PSOne game each month in the FAQ.

    I have tried and most of all deleted all PSOne game so far as it really is no value to me. I did not have a chance to one the PSOne, so there is no nostalgic effect to me and playing games like that on my HD console and TV is really of no interest.

    It has not been the case since the beginning, so I am not too worried about this “OR”, but it would be a big disappointment if I were to have only a PSOne game in a future month.

    • There are a LOT of fantastic PSOne games out there, spaque99, and that fills most of my personal PS3 Hard drive. I recommend giving some of them a shot!

  • when the 3 month bonus offer for one year subscription expire ?

  • Sorry but i will not be getting PS plus until there is more to offer. I don’t feel like playing PS one or Minis games. I’ll stick to the free service thanks.

  • Awesome keep up the great work, I’ve already gotten my $50 investment back so anything from on is free stuff! :D of course I’m also looking forward to a priority invite to a selected Beta though!

  • Special discounts on the PlayStation Store and exclusive opportunities like select betas and select early demos.

    THATS a lie you guys just said the beta were getting in the next 2 weeks is to select ps plus members….

    BUYER BEWARE! check the plus store before you buy…

    • Sorry you feel that way. We do over special discounts in the Store already and have just launched our first beta. We like to remind people that betas have limited invites and a selection criteria as they are designed to assist the developer in creating a better game.

  • I’ll admit that Playstation Plus hasn’t exactly made me feel “special” yet. But I bought it because Sony has always come through for me. Always has. So I fully expect this service to be “special” soon.

    12

  • I think there was a typo. You guys meant to say “1 PSN game AND 1 PSone Classic game” not OR but AND. I hope Sony isn’t going to only give us one or the other because Plus was definitely promised to have one of each every month. Please correct and address this.

    I think the whole Beta thing is messed up too. When Plus was announced we were made to believe that Plus would guarantee Beta access for subscribers. Plus needs to offer more features. We should have already gotten something else. All we have is automatic downloads. The video store needs to be a part of Plus also. Like a rental a week(our choice) or every other week and discounts.

    I have a horrible feeling Plus is going to get worse. There shouldn’t be anything taken away. We’re expecting things to be added. Plus is suppose to improve. The Beta access is what made me decide to finally get Plus. I took it as we would get access to every beta eventually. Maybe not when they’re closed but as part of their last phase at the least.

    I’m not completely unhappy with Plus but I did expect it to improve and now it’s sounding like we’re not going to get what we were promised to begin with.

    • Thanks for the feed back ATLRoAcH. We’re working on improving the features you’re talking about and hope to have more cool stuff for you in the future.

  • (There are two betas for PlayStation Plus members coming up shortly and more details will be announced soon.)

    is this going to be for select PS Members or for all plus members? or the yearly plus members?

  • Hold on…one PSN game OR PS classic? OR? When did it go from 1 PSN game and a PS classic to 1 PSN game OR a PS Classic…what in the world.

  • what kind of qualifications do you mean?

    • Hard to explain as they are different for every game, but more details are coming soon on the upcoming betas, so stay tuned.

  • Man, imagine what PSN could be like if Sony spent the same amount of money on it as Move.

  • I LOVE how Sony down plays the need for Cross-game chat feature..get it done already consumers have been asking for this for how long? since PS3 was released! you know damn well you should have it done by now! /=

    • We’re working on features for PS3 and PSN all the time and want to hear what you have to say. You can find out what features become available from the Blog, so check back often.

  • All I know is if i dont get into a good beta , i am done with sony and their bait and hook services . Im giving sony 1 more chance and if they fail me , im signing on to the psgroove services which sound more promising , i dont want to go that route . dont leave that as my only option sony.

  • all I want is….CROSS GAME CHAT! CHRIST..IS IT EVEN POSSIBLE ON THE PS3? I normally don’t complain but this is getting very frustrating. At least you finally acknowledged it though…

  • “Q: What about Cross-Game Chat (or other functionality)?

    “We know that Cross-Game Chat is a functionality our fans are extremely interested in and we are always striving to improve the PlayStation Network experience and services.”

    You guys have been saying that for over 3 years now. Time to start showing some progress. I’m not paying for a glorified coupon membership for a bunch of older games. Put up some new features that people actually want, then you’ll get our money.

  • Glad I only signed up for the three month stretch. If you buy a lot of PSN store content do not subscribe to plus!

  • LEX…is the 1st beta Red Faction Battlegrounds going to be for plus members who are yearly? or monthly or the select members of both?

  • “1 PSN game or PSone Classic game”

    Are you kidding me? This better have not changed. We were promised “at least” 4 games, 1 PSN, 2 minis AND a PSone Classic.

    Also, at the ‘point-of-sale’ NOWHERE did it say you “might or might not” get into a Beta. It said PS+ INCLUDED exclusive access to Betas.

    Daylight robbery. This reiteration is nothing more than a retraction of promised services.

    “Uhmm, did we say that? no no what we meant was this… Sorry!”

    • This is just our first beta announcement gillettjoe. Stay tuned for more betas, games and features coming down the pipe!

  • I understand the big thing with cross game chat, but will it really come in THAT handy?

  • whats the point of blog.share if you guys havnt given us the top requested feature ? and you guys at sony knew that the psn community wanted that feature a lot longer before blog.share

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