Morgan Haro
Community Manager, PlayStation Digital Platforms
29Author Replies
Welcome to this week’s PlayStation Plus update, where we highlight the latest free games, discounts, and features that PS Plus members can expect in the coming week. Many have already jumped online to play Guardians of Middle Earth, which arrived free for PS Plus members last week, and this week we’re bringing you one of the bright indie stars in gaming with Closure; a PSN-exclusive that turned heads when it debuted last year. Read on and also check out some of the great discounts on amazing titles like Critter Crunch.
Don’t have PlayStation Plus? Go to the PlayStation Store on your PS3 or PS Vita or click here to get access via the Sony Entertainment Network online store.
Closure is a unique and stylistic puzzle platformer that takes the concept of light and shadow and twists it up into something never before seen. In Closure’s dark and foreboding universe, the only things that exist are what you can see. An object properly lit up is physically there, yet an object shrouded in darkness ceases to be. Experience this mind-bending puzzler free as a Plus member.
80% off for PS Plus members (Original price: $6.99; PS Plus Price: $1.40)
Developed by the geniuses at Capybara games, this award-winning, critically-acclaimed puzzle game asks players to take control of the cuddly Biggs, a loveable jungle creature with an iron-clad stomach. Biggs is in search of the jewel-rich critters that invade his habitat once a season, and using his tongue to pluck them from their vines, stuffs them into the waiting mouths of larger critters. This sets off chain reactions of bursting critters that drop the tasty jewels for Biggs to regurgitate for his hungry family. Sporting an 87 / 100 on Metacritic, with 1up.com giving it an A and praising it for its “”Beautiful visuals and inventive puzzles…worth sinking your teeth into.”, you owe it to yourself to hop on this gem for only $1.40. Plus, it has a ‘Barfing Tutorial’. I mean… c’mon, how can you pass that up?
20% off for PS Plus members (Original price: $9.99; PS Plus Price: $7.99)
This PSN re-release of the original run-and-gun shooter features cross-platform multiplayer between Vita and PS3, as well as ad-hoc/local and online co-op on respective platforms. With new content packing 30 levels of carnage, you’ll find much to love with options for original or enhanced visuals, and leaderboards for the more competitive among us. This launch week discount is exclusive for PS Plus members, so don’t miss out!
50% off for PS Plus members (Original price: $7.99; PS Plus Price: $4.00)
Another PSN gem hitting a great price for PS Plus members; Derrick the Deathfin is a fast-paced arcade action title set in a unique aquatic world made entirely out of paper & card. Rampage around the globe munching on paper creatures under the guise of avenging the death of his parents. With a unique art style that sets it apart from other games, and great gameplay to boot, check out Derrick the Deathfin for only $4.00 as a PS Plus member.
20% off for PS Plus members (Original price: $47.99; PS Plus Price: $38.39)
With the NHL season in full swing, hockey fans may want to take notice on this deal. NHL 13 accurately captures the speed, creativity, and strategy of today’s NHL with revolutionary True Performance Skating. Sync up with friends with the real-world of hockey in GM Connected, the first-ever online multiplayer dynasty mode with cooperative and Online Team Play, or relive the greatest moments from today’s NHL in NHL Moments Live. With core gameplay innovation, connected experiences, and the deepest feature set ever, NHL 13 is the definitive hockey experience. Don’t forget to also check out NHL GameCenter video app which is free to download!
What are your thoughts on this week’s update? Let us know in the comments below and don’t forget to use the poll links to speak your mind about what content you liked the most. If you want to see what the rest of the PlayStation community is talking about, head over to the PlayStation Community Forums in the PS Plus space to continue chatting about PS Plus, or find other great topics to contribute your thoughts to, or start one for yourself. See you in the comments!
I’m old enough to have been a troll during the heyday of trolling, so “I see what you did there” would be an understatement. I don’t need a chart, and won’t be making one to please one lone troll. I’ve convinced several people over the weeks I’ve been posting by simply asking them to look and compare.
Also, I didn’t realize the Playstation Plus blog adheres to all the same bureaucratic ideals as Congress. :P
Getting Sony to budge on my own is ineffective. On the other hand, doing the opposite of what Morgan Haro is supposed to be doing (creating positive buzz) by showing the facts and arguing here every week creates a culture of dissatisfaction. The more customers that are dissatisfied, the better the chance that something will happen.
No amount of “going through the appropriate channels” will fix that. You’re telling me to write a letter to the congressman, I’m telling you to convince a group to stand outside his office and picket. What’s gonna have more pull?
@DaGimp13 – Yes I dont, cuz I care only abt the plus updates, if Morgan can’t respond to posts here cuz of other posts in the community, he should seriously think of other ppl to be dedicated here. CUZ week after week lot of complains are going unanswered and what makes u think the complainers will decrease, if they dont get a reply from the NA+ ppl?
@DazeOfWar
Life is not fair, buddy. Also you are being a bit facetious.
That is not a situation that would occur.
If Square Enix wants sales of sleeping dogs to go up in EU then playstation plus offers a way for Square to connect with EU. Should EU suffer for the interest of fairness. I’m actually glad EU is getting good games.
That’s not to say I won’t be taking you up on your offer.
When I get the chance, I will start stinking up the Community Forums as well, and as for the FB Plus page, it’s being run by TransAMGrafx, not Sony, so that’s going nowhere.
You’re willfully ignoring Daze’s argument. He stated that he was concerned with value, not particular games. So if Square Enix wants EU to get that particular game, then NA needs to find a comparable value in NA. If not a game of equal value, then a collection of games whos collective value is equal.
I’m not sure if this applies here but for the next PS Vita update would it be possible to implement a way to switch accounts without having to restore the PS Vita. On the PS3 the ability to switch accounts does not require that the PS3 is restored to original factory settings.
I’m bringing this up because I currently have a Canadian, U.S. and a UK PSN account ( I just had to do it because I couldn’t take not playing my favorite PS1 classics such as Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen and Fear effect 1 and 2, not to mention MGS: Portable Ops on my PS Vita; to be honest it is the main reason I purchased the Vita, when Sony announced Ps1 Classics would be available for the Vita.)
Now I don’t mind having a memory card for each PSN account, but why should I have to restore my PS Vita every time I choose to play a different game specific to a certain PSN region. It just seems to be such a minor thing that could be easily fixed.
In response to everyone talking about value, I think if someone would take the time to add up the cost of our free games (including all of the initial entries to the IGC which I believe were better for the US for both PS3 and Vita) and the value of all of our sales and discounts and did the same for EU and adjusted for currency it would be interesting. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s closer than people think. Just because Street Fighter or King of Fighters suck doesn’t mean they weren’t expensive.
well, good luck with your endevours gentlemen, I wish you the best, however I won’t be joining you until reputable evidence can be put forth. I won’t do the comparisons in my head like most children here will try to, and instead would prefer a visible comparison. People will do mental gymnastics to try and convince themselves of anything, so without the evidence, I’m afraid I won’t be paying any further attention to your value wolf pleas like the children have been. good luck to you in the future though, Joe.
Mr. Haro, there really needs to be a two post limit on this update every week. These never-ending arguments between some of these people is getting extremely tiresome.
I would really really like to know if PSOne Classics, minis, themes and avatars will ever be a part of Plus again in the future?
We’re looking into ways to make these comments a bit more conversational so that if folks do want to debate a topic, they can do so and it not overpower the remainder of the comments. Unfortunately, that’s a ways off. I like the idea of people debating good issues, but yeah, I agree it gets a little overpowering for others who may not be interested in that specific debate. Thanks for the feedback though!
you might wanna drop sab as your sidekick though, he doesn’t help your argument by insulting others constantly and making statements like “Yes, I Don’t”….lmfao derp
I might be wrong, but I think it’s because the Vita is region locked. By switching account regions you have to switch Vita regions. That is the reason offered to me when I asked and I didn’t research further, so that could be wrong.
The main part of my argument is that Sony is not god and doesn’t control what other gaming companies are willing to offer so if one company wants to give one region a better deal than the rest then by all means go for it. Its not like Sony is deliberately trying to give EU better stuff. Its just the luck of the draw. If sales for Sleeping dogs was lower in the US who knows maybe we would get it. What @DazeOfWar is suggesting is unfair because it would rob the value of region specific deals that would not have ever existed otherwise.
Closure! this is the kind of games that we need free on ps plus! indie, artsy and experimental ones. I join ps plus just for the PSN exclusives. Great improvement over that middle earth game of last week
@Alkaiser: First off I know life isn’t fair. I’ve know that for quite a long time. I’d say at least for the last 20 years or so of my 34 yrs. Also how am I being funny or humorous? Is it because I want Plus to be as good as it use to be and you find that funny?
If Squeenix wanted sales to go up on Sleeping Dogs giving it away to Plus members isn’t going to help that. Dropping the price will or having a big sale on it.
I also don’t understand why you are bringing up SD cause I’m not asking for that game. I’m asking for value.
Thank-you for the response. I’m just hoping there’s a way to avoid the pain of having to constantly re-watch the PS Vita Intro video, since I switch accounts at least three times a day to play the games I have.
It would be great if I could just switch user accounts change memory cards ( for each specific region) and play, just like I do with my PS3. Simplicity is the key.
Game looks fun. Its stupid some people are so blinded by the price of the game that they consider it dumb because of how much it costs. I’m pretty sure these people have IQ’s in the double digits.
What would make US PlayStation Plus better all the cry babies stop buying Sony products and go cry somewhere else. Why buy Sony if you hate Sony so much and disappointed in them so much.
@Mr. Haro i know i probably wont get a reply but im curious is it possible that in the near future Skyrim may become downloadable?, i don’t care if its free or not but if plus users can get a discount that would be great, ive been trying to find a good cheap copy but its not easy most copys ive seen go for over 50 dollars and thats used lol
@TitleOne: You calling people dumb because they don’t like a game makes you just as bad. People don’t have to like everything you like.
I bought the game when it first came out and it’s a great game but it’s not for everybody. It’s not just the one game value it’s Plus as a whole. If we get all PS3 full games and EU gets some PSN games it’s a little unfair. Yes PSN games are great and there are many awesome games.
Why not just have all of us get 2 PS3 full games and 2 PSN games, same with Vita stuff. Than it’s equal across the board.
IIRC Closure was previously on sale with a PS PLUS discount, and I believe that’s when I grabbed it.
I do have a question about Alien Breed though, when playing this one on the VITA, how is it different from the one that was released on the Playstation Mobile platform for the VITA? Not considering the PS3 for a second, if I have the game already on my VITA through Playstation Mobile, what incentive do I have to purchase the game again?
Full games on the agenda , yeah right bro ! Or how about this, all December it will be better next week and all we got was NBA JAM , REALLY ! This service use to be sweet , now you just give out games that were a failure ! I would cancel your service , but I got a PS VITA with a year of this crap , which I won’t have bought if I knew the memory card was a $100 (RIP_OFF) . Seems like this plus thing is just advertising now . You would be lien if you said these games that are free , are worth anything at all because there not ! Yet EU gets mainstream games because they don’t buy into your crap like us Americans ! Not a happy customer SONY ! @ Morgan get a new job dude !
You bought a Vita, not knowing you had to buy memory cards that were priced at $100(for 32GB)?
Wow, you are really one smart consumer.
LMAO, While I do feel for some people who just arent into the games being offered (because of different tastes) am I ever so happy that people like you are dissatisfied with the service.
@DazeOfWar just where you know I’m on PlayStation Blog always When i read people saying Sony I’m ashamed of you Sony I can’t stand what you’re doing Sony I don’t know why I bought you Sony Plus is bull crap and I can’t wait to get rid of it f you Sony! that is somebody that doesn’t like Sony
I think I finally get the argument that JoeGoodsness is stating. While I’m fine with what we get and it’s value I don’t see that this is unreasonable. The same games might not be possible for whatever reason behind the scenes, but value is possible.
For me I’ll look forward to playing Closure.
@Morgan,
Can we write to your managers and present to them a positive case for allowing them to loosen up on your ability to talk about PS+ benefits and possible future content? Like somebody else mentioned Fred’s been able to mention specifically content. For example when somebody asked if Vita would come next week, you Sony PR spoke around the topic, it would be nice if you got the all clear to say yes.
Sometimes content can shift around, so I wouldn’t feel comfortable giving a 100% on something unless it’s cleared all steps. Even if there’s only a 1% chance that it could slip; I won’t take that chance of providing non-confirmed information. If I can answer with certainty, I will, but if not, I’m afraid it has to wait.
However, I’m working with our teams to test a longer view of Plus content which may alleviate that.
You guys hiding the polls now , made it private . That’s smart you don’t want the people to see how lame you’ve gotten over the last 3 months ! But I bet if there was positive feedback that would be public ! Must be over 50% now, I know it was bad last month , must be even worst now ! !
wow did morgan haro actually ban someone hahaha classic. wow// darn shame tho. These kid today never learn ,Got so much to say lol..
But Its nice to see alien breed back on psn, i will pick that up tonight err tommarrow for 10$ for ps vita, i love that franchise. wish it was 4 player co- op. Also persona 4 arena is a great game, best fighter i played in long time. I already have that game.
Now if someone can get socom 4 wth all dlc on here in a disocunt or Igc… please do.!!
is this a joke? cause playstation is def playing us subscribers like 1!! so glad this is my last month of getting old low resolution cell phone reject games ……. to gamefly i go, hell of a better deal. you cant keep the games on either unless u ”pay to play” but atleast ill get to chose which awesome games im paying to play. ps u.s should be ashamed to do this to its customers.
I’d like to see more avatars and themes. The avatars at least would be easy to make. By giving avatars away for free to PS+ subscribers, you can advertise an upcoming game. When the Kratos Eye avatar was given away for free with the GoW Ascension beta, tons of people used it. That undoubtedly reminded others of the series and the upcoming game. How long must it have taken for someone to make that? 1 minute? It would be nice to see at least 1 a week. It’s not much, but it is a start.
13 for 13 sale was the best promotion by far. I don’t mind parting with my money for deals like that. Any chance of something similar down the line? Sadly, the focus is always on free games on this blog, while the gamers who are willing to spend money are getting stifled in this debate. Also, I think a great idea would be to decrease the number of free games in a month, and replace them with 20% off all games released that month for plus members. Thoughts?
The 13 for ’13 reaction was definitely very positive. I’ve included it in the community reports and so the Plus team knows it was a big hit with you guys. What comes of that feedback, time will tell, but it’s certainly something we’re interested in following to see how it impacted game sales, etc.
Most of us want monthly updates. If it’s not possible to do that, it would be nice to see an end-of-the-month PS+ post showing all the free games, discounts, and other content that subscribers got over the month. It’s great advertising and it might cut down on the complaints.
9 weeks running now and the updates haven’t appealed to me, not even a day 1 digital God of War Ascension sale. I’m beginning to wonder if being a PS Plus is worthwhile at all now that I’ve played all the older content I want to. Also, the new release games seem to few and far between on the store (Aliens: Colonial Marines)
@DaGimp13
I’m old enough to have been a troll during the heyday of trolling, so “I see what you did there” would be an understatement. I don’t need a chart, and won’t be making one to please one lone troll. I’ve convinced several people over the weeks I’ve been posting by simply asking them to look and compare.
Also, I didn’t realize the Playstation Plus blog adheres to all the same bureaucratic ideals as Congress. :P
Getting Sony to budge on my own is ineffective. On the other hand, doing the opposite of what Morgan Haro is supposed to be doing (creating positive buzz) by showing the facts and arguing here every week creates a culture of dissatisfaction. The more customers that are dissatisfied, the better the chance that something will happen.
No amount of “going through the appropriate channels” will fix that. You’re telling me to write a letter to the congressman, I’m telling you to convince a group to stand outside his office and picket. What’s gonna have more pull?
@DaGimp13 – Yes I dont, cuz I care only abt the plus updates, if Morgan can’t respond to posts here cuz of other posts in the community, he should seriously think of other ppl to be dedicated here. CUZ week after week lot of complains are going unanswered and what makes u think the complainers will decrease, if they dont get a reply from the NA+ ppl?
@DazeOfWar
Life is not fair, buddy. Also you are being a bit facetious.
That is not a situation that would occur.
If Square Enix wants sales of sleeping dogs to go up in EU then playstation plus offers a way for Square to connect with EU. Should EU suffer for the interest of fairness. I’m actually glad EU is getting good games.
@DaGimp13
That’s not to say I won’t be taking you up on your offer.
When I get the chance, I will start stinking up the Community Forums as well, and as for the FB Plus page, it’s being run by TransAMGrafx, not Sony, so that’s going nowhere.
@Alkaiser27 – No one is upset on EU getting good games. Everyone is upset cuz NA+ is not getting good games as its counterpart.
@Alkaiser27
You’re willfully ignoring Daze’s argument. He stated that he was concerned with value, not particular games. So if Square Enix wants EU to get that particular game, then NA needs to find a comparable value in NA. If not a game of equal value, then a collection of games whos collective value is equal.
@Alkaiser27
Thank you. I just googled facetious. I have been spelling it wrong for more years than I care to admit.
@Alkaiser27 – Yeah, Y sleeping dogs? Give us Crysis 2 and Just Cause 2, I am more than satisfied!
Hello PSN team.
I’m not sure if this applies here but for the next PS Vita update would it be possible to implement a way to switch accounts without having to restore the PS Vita. On the PS3 the ability to switch accounts does not require that the PS3 is restored to original factory settings.
I’m bringing this up because I currently have a Canadian, U.S. and a UK PSN account ( I just had to do it because I couldn’t take not playing my favorite PS1 classics such as Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen and Fear effect 1 and 2, not to mention MGS: Portable Ops on my PS Vita; to be honest it is the main reason I purchased the Vita, when Sony announced Ps1 Classics would be available for the Vita.)
Now I don’t mind having a memory card for each PSN account, but why should I have to restore my PS Vita every time I choose to play a different game specific to a certain PSN region. It just seems to be such a minor thing that could be easily fixed.
Thank-you.
In response to everyone talking about value, I think if someone would take the time to add up the cost of our free games (including all of the initial entries to the IGC which I believe were better for the US for both PS3 and Vita) and the value of all of our sales and discounts and did the same for EU and adjusted for currency it would be interesting. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s closer than people think. Just because Street Fighter or King of Fighters suck doesn’t mean they weren’t expensive.
@JoeGoodsnake & sab_krit
well, good luck with your endevours gentlemen, I wish you the best, however I won’t be joining you until reputable evidence can be put forth. I won’t do the comparisons in my head like most children here will try to, and instead would prefer a visible comparison. People will do mental gymnastics to try and convince themselves of anything, so without the evidence, I’m afraid I won’t be paying any further attention to your value wolf pleas like the children have been. good luck to you in the future though, Joe.
Mr. Haro, there really needs to be a two post limit on this update every week. These never-ending arguments between some of these people is getting extremely tiresome.
I would really really like to know if PSOne Classics, minis, themes and avatars will ever be a part of Plus again in the future?
We’re looking into ways to make these comments a bit more conversational so that if folks do want to debate a topic, they can do so and it not overpower the remainder of the comments. Unfortunately, that’s a ways off. I like the idea of people debating good issues, but yeah, I agree it gets a little overpowering for others who may not be interested in that specific debate. Thanks for the feedback though!