PlayStation Plus Update: Guardians of Middle Earth Free; Karateka 50% Off

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PlayStation Plus Update: Guardians of Middle Earth Free; Karateka 50% Off

Welcome to this week’s PlayStation Plus update, where we’re excited to bring news that the Guardians of Middle Earth MOBA greatness will be coming free to PS3 for PS Plus members! If you’ve never tried this unique genre that’s taking the gaming community by storm, give Guardians of Middle Earth a download and see what all the excitement is about. While you’re at it, check out a handful of discounts on some pretty amazing games you may have missed out on for both PS3 and PS Vita.

Friendly reminder: The deal is on through March 4th: purchase a one-year membership of PS Plus and get three bonus months free. Current members can stack this value on to their existing membership as well. Learn more about the offer here, or click the link below to go to the SEN online store.

Don’t have PlayStation Plus, or just want to add more time to your existing membership? Go to the PlayStation Store on your PS3 or PS Vita or click here to get access via the Sony Entertainment Network online store.

February 5th PlayStation Plus Update

Guardians of Middle Earth (PS3)

Free for PS Plus members (Original Price: $14.99)

Take up arms in the clash over Middle-earth with the most powerful heroes from the greatest fantasy epic of all time. Form alliances with and against friends and jump into the wildly popular Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) gameplay. With 20 iconic guardians from Middle-earth, and new guardians coming all the time, it’s the perfect time to get lost in the multiplayer fray in epic 5 versus 5 battles.
Karateka (PS3)

50% off for PS Plus members (Original price: $9.99; PS Plus price: $5.00)

A beautifully simple premise with a fun pick up and play fighting system, Karateka blends old school gameplay charm with fluid combat animations and gorgeous backdrops and music to provide an amazing adventure with a ton of replay value. Are you skilled enough to rescue Princess Mariko with the fighting finesse of her True Love? Or will you need the power of the burly brute to topple the opposition? For more on Karateka, check out PS.Blog’s post from Assistant Producer Heather d’Evelyn.

Big Sky Infinity (PS3 and PS Vita – Cross Buy Enabled)

40% off for PS Plus members (Original price: $9.99; PS Plus price: $5.99)

Big Sky Infinity is a lightning-fast, randomly-generated game that adapts to how you play; which means, it’s never the same game twice. You pilot a spaceship that’s flying straight into an alien armada. The further you progress, the harder it gets, with giant bosses, streams of enemies, and unique events that shift the gameplay to keep you on your toes. It’s Cross Buy enabled, so this purchase will get you a version to play on both your PS Vita and PS3. Check out more Big Sky Infinity from the game’s director James Whitehead.

Knytt Underground (PS3 and PS Vita – Cross Buy Enabled)

40% off for PS Plus members (Original price: $9.99 $14.99; PS Plus price: $5.00 $8.99)

Knytt Underground tells a quirky and strange tale that’s set in the future, hundreds of years after the humans disappeared from the planet. Sprites, fairies and various other lifeforms roam tunnels in the underground. With a curiousity about their origin and the meaning of life, they strike out to find those answers they try to understand the ones who had obviously figured it out: the humans. It’s a beautiful adventure with a vast environment to explore and story driven quests that will keep you hooked. Read more about Knytt Underground in the PS Blog’s post featuring the Creative Director Nicklas Nygren.

Thanks for reading this week’s update. As usual, you can join the PlayStation community over on the PlayStation Community Forums in the PS Plus space to continue chatting about PS Plus, or find other PlayStation topics to discuss, or even start one yourself. See you in the comments!

PlayStation Plus Update 2-4-2013

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877 Comments

12 Author Replies

  • @JoeGoodsnake, oh I see you already saw Morgan’s reply. In that case you can disregard the beginning of my previous comment

  • FANTASTIC!!! Really fantastic Plus update! Keep up the good work!!!

  • @BlueBl1zzard

    What Morgan stated was:

    “That said, there are a lot of factors that come into play in what games we’re able to place in Plus; and we’re not able to select any game at will from the PS Store. Publisher agreements differ from region to region; but rest assured, we always work to get you guys the best games possible.”

    This only explains the exact games we’re getting, but it does not explain why the -value- is so wide between ourselves and EU. I understand that games will be different (this is actually beneficial for me due to the fact that I have both subscriptions, its better when they are different). What I don’t understand is why I am paying nearly the same for both subscriptions but getting screwed on one. Furthermore, I’m Canadian, and damn proud of it. I do not want to support SCEE, its SCEA that my money should be going to. I want their service to be better, don’t you?

    Hell, if it was perfect I’d -still- be pushing for better, because it’s in my (and in your) interest to do so.

  • Yes, some nice sales for the Vita! I’ve been having my eye on Knytt for a while. (By the way they have a pc demo on the publishers website for those who want to check it out). Big Skys is also tempting.

    I won’t be complaining about Plus not being as good a deal for Vita only owners (even thought it isn’t) because I no longer fall into the category. I got the new white bundle this weekend which goes to show that Sony can tempt Vita owners into buying a PS3 not just the other way around. I

  • @DaGimp13

    You’re still on that coffee metaphor, eh? (Montrealer here, btw)

    Alright, well if you insist, the comparison is more like two branches of Starbucks. At one branch you pay 5$ for a small fancy coffee (I apologize, coffee is not my thing), and at the other branch, paying 5.50$ will get you a large of the same coffee. The option to pay 50 cents more is not available at the first location.

    Do you have a right to ask the parent company why there is a discrepancy between the two kiosks/locations? I think so, but you still don’t I presume. What I don’t comprehend is that you’re the customer. If anyone is getting screwed, it’s not a particular branch of Starbucks, it’s you. The crap starbucks is the one down the street from your house, and you shouldn’t have to travel half the city to get a good deal. Why would you defend this sort of absurd corporate logic?

    What I don’t understand is your motivation, it seems to be the same as the other anti-complainers, that people are whiny and bratty and so on and so forth, but these people are defending -your- investment. They are asking for more for -you-. Why does that bother you so much that you actually argue for the side that is screwing you over?

  • WE WANT SLEEPING DOGS – NO GARBAGE RPG

  • If you guys don’t already have Sleeping Dogs, you don’t deserve it; one of the best games to come out last year, it’s a must buy as far as I’m concerned.

    Don’t wait for it go buy it right now, it’s that good.

  • I imagine Guardians of Middle Earth didn’t sell well, so they decided to give it to PS Plus members. I didn’t like the demo.
    This update is very weak, nothing good for me. =(

  • Thank you Mr. Haro for the response. It puts things into perspective now. I’m more aware now than I was 2 hours ago. My post was definitely not to further encourage chaos or praise PlayStation Plus. I was merely just getting a voice of concern across without ital threats of termination or moving to another platform. (It’s not that serious!)

    You certainly have your work cut out for you, sir. You’re handling this quite well. That’s what a good community manager does. Keep your head up. Here’s to more content in the future!

  • this is not a bad update but when we gonna see Modnation Racer Roadtrip PS Vita free for PS+ members?

  • @JoeGoodsnake

    Sure you can ask the parent company, but Sony is the parent company of SCEA & SCEE….this is a SCEA site, meaning you’re barking up the wrong tree. try going to the main Sony site and getting your answers from them for region discrepancies.

  • yup i knew that game was gonna be free lol i knew it xD

  • @Morgan

    Nice add for PS+ I’m definately intrigued by MOBA games and LOTR looks like a decent example of the genre. Keep up the good work!

  • for everyone whining about the free game… remember we only get ONE retail PS3 game a month.. everything else is the 15 dollar crap.. and when we DO get that retail game its usually the 3rd week of the month… point being.. wait until we see what THAT game is before start whining about how “EU got sleeping dogs and we got…. whatever the game will be”

    besides i hope we DONT get sleeping dogs considering I have that already.. had it since day one… you know.. what anyone would do when they actually WANT a game?

  • Knytt Underground looks really cool Always looking for something to play on the Vita. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

  • @JoeGoodsnake

    the analogy your using would be based on individual franchises, which not all franchises participate in specific deals/promotions. SCEA & SCEE are franchises of Sony, and therefore operate differently due to being completely different regions.

    as for my current motivation in defending Sony is that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction…you complain, therefore I defend….gosh darn it, I love trolling lol

  • @Morgan:

    Will Sony continue to support the PS3 with new IGC games and discounts for Plus members after the PS4 is released? Though my membership is good through July 8, I’m considering taking advantage of the current renewal offer, which will make me a Plus members until October 2014. I’m not an early adopter by nature and still have tons I want to play on the PS3, so I’ll probably wait at least a year before getting a PS4.

    Thanks.

  • @DaGimp13

    The parent company for a company that deals in coffee will be sufficiently small enough to address my issues. In a company like Sony that deals in multiple industries, complaining the parent company will yield nothing. Complaining to those who actually have control over the issue, SCEA, will.

    At this point the coffee analogy breaks down, which is why I don’t suggest using it.

    Again, what’s it to you if paying customers complain here anyway? You’re still avoiding this big question, and judging by your responses, my conclusion is leaning more and more towards stroking your own ego. Would I be correct in concluding this? You just want to feel better than any demographic in this world at all? You’re literally complaining that teens and pre-teens are whiny. Yep, they are; and best of all it’s helping my cause of increasing the value of NA Plus by pure number of complaints. Now what?

  • a lot of pathetic whiners on here. It sickens me how quickly you turn on a company because you don’t get everything you think you are entitled too.

    Grow up.

  • Worst update in history! Going to make a Europe account today!

  • @JoeGoodsnake

    How is it that you have both subscriptions for playstation plus? I want that. How do i get the European subscription?

  • Lots of babies in the comments. I just ignore the Plus comments now.

  • you can complain allyou want, it wont change anything, because Sony knows its a bunch of kids and pre-pubescent teens complaining….technically, they’re all sub accounts for persons under 18 years of age, meaning they didnt agree to terms of service, their parents did…if these kids want more value, they’ll have to go get mommy & daddy involved, get them to complain, and even then complaining to the particular franchise that you’re unhappy with the value compared to another franchises value will only result in that franchise telling you to go there then…which is what myself and others have said…if you dont like NA +, get EU + instead…..but its YOUR choice whether you let your sub be worthless or if you wish to take whats given to you and enjoy it. I’ve answered your questions, others have as well, including MH. if you don’t like the service, don’t sub. but for the people who do enjoy it, and appreciate the value offered, your (and others) complaining is an embarassment to the community. even the major gaming news sites have taken notice of Plus and what it offers in comparison to the other services. if you can’t see it, and don’t get it, then you never will.

  • Hello, gang.

    I’m going to go a different route than people complaining that US store isn’t as good as European store, etc. if there is one thing I wish that would change on PSN, try to get items on special/sale that never were before. For example, been waiting for a sale on:

    Xmen The Arcade game
    Castlevania LOS DLC
    A lot of the Sega Vintage Collection (e.g. Super Hang On)

    The thing that drives me nuts is that a lot of the fore mentioned was on sale thru their Xbox counterparts. I’m not busting chops but I’m just saying Id rather play on PS3.

    Also, can we get another PSP fire sale soon? Maybe in honor of the Vitas first anniversary? I’ve been waiting for LOT of games to drop in price, like Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles, Capcom Collections, and even Midway Treasures.

    Thanks again, guys and gals at Sony!

  • Guys if you want to play Sleeping Dogs that bad, go out and buy the game. It’s only 30 to 40 bucks at most retailers. Europe and Japan usually have different release dates than North America; mainly Europe has to wait several weeks to a couple of months to play games after us. Sony in Europe is different than North America. I can understand how it must be frustrating to see different releases for IGC in Europe than us, but they are almost a completely different branch of Sony than us. Any game that I sincerely am dying to play, I don’t wait for Plus to give, I go out and buy or rent it. So far since October I got Ratchet and Clank: All for One, Starhawk, Bioshock 2, Resident Evil 5, Dead Space 2 (9 bucks), Rayman Origins (7 bucks), Jet Set Radio Vita, Wipeout 2048, KoF 13, Super Street Fighter 4….and not to mention the rest I already owned previously. These are all games I have not played but was always interested in, so Plus has been a great service to me so far. I think Plus is great for games that I would not, or have not got around to purchasing but really appreciate them being free, or discounted.

  • HOW DO YOU GET AN EU PS PLUS SUBSCRIPTION? AND WILL IT WORK ON MY NA CONSOLE?

  • No interest in any of the games for PS Plus this week, although doesn’t mean I won’t try them out. Any chance that we can finally upgrade secondary accounts to master accounts?

  • Wow….a lot of these comments are downright embarrassing.

    Morgan+PS Blog Team, please know that many of us are happy and content with PS+ as a whole. While some games may not please us as much as others, we will not partake in the snide/childish comments and base the yearly offerings based on ONE week and decide that PS+ is a failure or not worth it. You said it yourself a while ago, savings of around ~$2K last year, if someone can’t see the value in that, then you aren’t really ever going to reach that type of person.

    Seriously embarrassed to be part of this community right now with all these supposed “fans” acting like so entitled over $50. Its pretty sad and pathetic. :(

  • @DaGimp13

    Ok I dont want to complain. Let me cancel my subscription. Else, you can stop complaining abt the complainers complaining here.

  • @DaGimp13

    Looks like I’ve finally cornered you into admitting that you’re just trolling. If you’re only here to troll and have openly admitted to doing so, then there’s no further conversation to be had. Now your absurd non-rational arguments about coffee shops and “more means more” all make sense. Even the earlier strawman arguments you attempted against me make sense.

    You are a troll.

    I would say it was a gigantic waste of time, but it looks like our civil argument has actually managed to quell some of the animosity we normally see here. Anyway, no hard feelings, I only wish I realized that logic and common sense would not have worked on you earlier. Kudos, buddy.

  • And in case someone actually reads your comment and believes complaining won’t make a difference: Complaints and boycotts are the only methods a consumer has against profit-centric corporations, use them to your advantage and know that the majority of attackers against your complaint will be trolls like our good friend DaGimp13. When a company’s decisions are panned, the company has no choice but to re-evaluate their approach.

    Darksiders is the crowning example of complaints making a difference on PSPlus. A second retail game would not have been released if it weren’t for the massive dissatisfaction expressed by the majority for NBA Jam.

  • ohhh, another one comes in to complain abt the complainers thus increasing the sheer number of unrealted posts rather than helping this post. It’s really funny how they think they are helping SONY by complaining abt the complainers when actually all they are looking for is just to start an argument with no constructive intentions.

  • @Morgan Haro:
    I’ll bite and agree with you that PS+ is the best subscription service available as far as gaming is concerned, it has taken an already fantastic service, which is free, and added far more value for discounts on Full and PSN titles, as well as add-ons and that why I subscribe. Though you say regions limit your selection of free titles and that’s understandable, but why not give those asking for equality a little extra each month? Where one region gets one AAA title this month the other region should get two lesser titles to equal out the incredible difference between region PS+ benefits.

    A lot of users are butthurt that we’re not getting Sleeping Dogs, Arkham city, or what have you, but what their childish crying is really trying to say is all they want is to be treated equal to other regions in quality, and if not quality at least more quantity to even things out over the region who are getting a much better deal, leaps and bounds worth.

  • @JoeGoodsnake –

    C’mon now don’t need to rub salt over his wounds. He have already learnt lot of what he thinks is wrong. Now no need to call him troll and agitate him.

  • HOW DO I GET A EU PS PLUS SUBCRIPTION?????

  • @DigitalReveller maybe quantity if it the quality of those contents are of same of its counterpart.

  • @sangregtf

    Just create another account with european address and take a new subscrition for EU plus. Got to have a valid european address.

  • Setting up an EU account, not that hard. Just saying.

  • @XFRod

    But u need to pay for EU plus seperately, the subscription u hv for NA doesn’t get transferred.

  • @JoeGoodsnake Well I see you’re still comparing NA plus to EU plus. That aside, if you “feel like you’re getting screwed on one” (although you didn’t say which one lol), you still can’t deny that NA Plus by itself is an excellent value. And like mnstrings (#378) said, around $2,000 in savings from last year? That’s crazy (as in a crazy good deal)!

    Now if you still insist on looking at EU’s plus compared to ours, I already said that I didn’t sign up for PS Plus simply for free games (although it’s a nice bonus), so I (me personally) don’t feel like I’m getting ripped off at all comparing the two regions. If others feel differently, I don’t know what to say except maybe sign up for EU Plus (or maybe Gamefly) if you want their games so badly. And from what I keep hearing, normal retail games over in Europe cost more than games here, so I don’t think $49.99 for 1yr is unreasonable.

  • ‘And from what I keep hearing, normal retail games over in Europe cost more than games here, so I don’t think $49.99 for 1yr is unreasonable.’

    WOW! SO that mean EU plus members get even more value for there money than I thought they were getting.

  • Anyone other than me getting bored with Morgan’s replies?

    Week after week he says the same thing. “Hang tight”, “You’ll like what we have in store next month”, “maybe this is not for you”.

    I am attacking you, Morgan. Why? Because I don’t think you really understand what the complains are all about.

    No one is saying Plus as a whole is not a worthwhile service. Far from it. It’s a great service. That’s why we signed up. What we are saying is a huge difference in the games offered between US and EU. We have been for months. Ever since IGC was introduced. You can keep claiming that you have lots of happy customers, but don’t for a second think we that we are foolish enough to believe everything you tell us.

  • But more importantly, my beef with you is the way you handle the comments. Just look at how involved the Blog Posters are in the EU updates. 59 replies as of the last Update. Commenter make requests, they say ‘leave it with us’. They even ask ‘is it safe to buy this game on discount’ for fear of the game going into IGC the next month, and the Posters actually reply with an actual answer of whether the game will be included in IGC in the coming months. So if they can do something like that and you guys can’t, obviously someone is doing something wrong.

  • Great another lousy update. Why bother with multiplayer only games. This is also in no way comparable to EU getting Sleeping Dogs. I wouldn’t want Sleeping Dogs either cause I already own it but it’s a lot better choice than Guardians. I mean you are looking at a very small group of people to play this considering it’s MP only and a MOBA at that.

    You guys really need to pick up your game and show us something that really makes Plus shine once again.

  • Yet another week of nothing for me. Can I get a refund ? Discounts are barely worth the cost of plus at this point.

  • I have not been posting my comments for months now because I am too lazy to login every time to complain and complain and complain to no effects, and then gets blasted by your fan boys for speaking my mind.

    It’s true you can’t satisfy everyone. I agree. Even over in Eu they are asking why they don’t get the same discount that US is getting. The grass is always greener on the other side. And I have no problem with the games offered this week, or last month.

    But remembering exactly a year ago, I was jumping for joy when I read the Plus Update that gave us 17 games in the shortest month of the year. And there were Pulse, Tester, Qore. Those were happier times.

    I miss Jeff

  • Morgan,

    I’ve got an enormous backlog as it is and don’t have enough time to play everything. For me, the value of Plus is in the other features, not always the free games. I’ll take the good ones (Darksiders) but not having a free game every week is actually beneficial to me.

    I’ve been playing only Dark Souls for over a month now, if that tells you anything. Keep up the good work. Even though I’ve whined in the past Jim Sterling is right, Plus is a great value. There are always improvements to be made but you guys are doing good things.

    Looking forward to the 20th.

  • I hate to jump on the bandwagon with everyone who is complaining, but I am upset too. This is my second PS3 and both have broken disc drives. I voided my warranty and can’t afford another PS3 or repairs to the broken ones. Plus is where I get pretty much all my games from anymore since I really have no money for new games at the moment. The quality of games we are getting is just horrible. I have had Plus since it started, but I may just let it go. It’s just not worth it to me. I’m seriously considering throwing both PS3s in the trash and buying an old Nintendo 64 or something. As sad as it is, that might actually be a better option than this Plus garbage.

  • Any chance we can get 2 Vita games per month later on down the line?

    Not too interested in GOME, but I will try it for free.

    Great sales this week, thanks. Still don’t know if I should try Knytt Underground, but will definitely pick up Big Sky Infinity.

    I had never heard of Ninja Gaiden, I’ve been enjoying it on the Vita, thanks again for that one.

  • And setting the poll results to private just goes to show that you have something to hide.

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