[Square Triangle]

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2010/...rial-and-more/ Ghost of Sparta Demo. Neat.

Hell yes!

[Railer]

So uhm.. they didn't update the PSN+ page in the PAL stores. Only way to get (most but not even all) the September stuff is to search it yourself...

Yeah. And when i checked, Episode 1 of Sam & Max Season 3 wasn't free, but the 2-5 was. Maybe that's changed now though.

[DeVeAn]

I think I can safely say I totally regret getting PLUS. It has been useless for me. Live and learn I guess.

[spats]

So uhm.. they didn't update the PSN+ page in the PAL stores. Only way to get (most but not even all) the September stuff is to search it yourself...

Haha, I was wondering about that but figured I had gotten the dates mixed up or something :lol

Kebby must've contracted a bad case of Gracechenitis.

[Majine]

Christ, didn't even know it was Plus update week :lol

[AndyD]

I thought next week is update week.

[SolidusDave]

Yeah. And when i checked, Episode 1 of Sam & Max Season 3 wasn't free, but the 2-5 was. Maybe that's changed now though.

Yeah this had me scratching my head at first.

You have to download the demo version (of episode 1) with the same account, then download the full version unlock key (free via PSN+). This will unlock episode 1 (and also changes episode 1 to "bought" status).
Once you got the full version unlock key, episode 2-5 will suddenly appear as free downloads (note that 5 seems to be only in the "latest" section of the store).

I thought next week is update week.

nope, September 1st.

[spats]

I thought next week is update week.

Here’s the list of great content that is available to Plus members from September 1st – October 5th PSN: Sam and Max: Devil’s Playground (entire season) minis: Vector Tower Defense, Echoes PSOne Classic: Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee Full Game Trial: Warhawk (Plus 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 – 50%, 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

It's not like I'm in a rush to get the content but that's a pretty inexcusable thing to do to your customers who are paying for a "premium" service. At least push a PSN message to your customers to apologize or explain what's going on.

This was on the SCEE twitter:

we've all gone home for the evening but I've sent out a few emails to get to the bottom of this as it's unusual. Apologies.

[Square Triangle]

Sept 1st for Euros right? The NA update had nothing and the US blog says all the Plus goodies are coming next week.

[Chris_C]

We're actually only getting one full game trial a month? I didn't think there was any possibility they would really be that inefficient.

[SolidusDave]

Sept 1st for Euros right? The NA update had nothing and the US blog says all the Plus goodies are coming next week.

Yes I was talking about PAL PSN+. We get (almost) all of the months content on the first Wednesday (= first PAL PS store update) of a month.

[snap0212]

It's not like I'm in a rush to get the content but that's a pretty inexcusable thing to do to your customers who are paying for a "premium" service. At least push a PSN message to your customers to apologize or explain what's going on. This was on the SCEE twitter:

Yeah, I'm not mad because they haven't "fixed" the PS+ Page yet. Stuff like that can happen, but I'm pissed because SCEE doesn't say anything about it. They leave their office and just hope that things will get fixed somehow.

[Fuzzy]

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2010/...rial-and-more/ Ghost of Sparta Demo. Neat.

Mind as well post the entire thing.

NA update next week.

PlayStation Plus Highlights for 9/7: Full Game Trial Warhawk Free Games Blast Off – mini – FREE Early Access Game Demo God of War: Ghost of Sparta (PSP Demo) Game Discounts Ratchet & Clank Dynamic Theme (50%) Free Game Add-ons UFC Undisputed 2010 TUF Unlock Key Warhawk Booster Combo Free XMB Themes Warhawk Dynamic Theme Mystical Fractals Theme Free Media Qore September Issue Last Chance, Get Them While You Can – Coming down next Tuesday (9/7): Early Access Game Demo TerRover Free Offers to PlayStation Plus Subscribers Minis: Aero Racer (original price – $2.99) Themes: Nebula Tunnels (original price – $1.99) Qore: August Episode (original price – $2.99) Discount Offers to PlayStation Plus Subscribers Wipeout Fury HD DLC – 20% Off (PlayStation Plus Offer – $7.99, regular price – $9.99) High Velocity Bowling – 50% Off (PlayStation Plus Offer – $5.00, regular price – $9.99) Uncharted Eye of Indra comic bundle – 50% Off (PlayStation Plus Offer – $1.25, regular price $2)

[SuperSonic1305]

Do game trials create a permanent spot on your trophy list?

[anddo0]

Two more games I already own, and a demo that will soon be available for free.. I don't know, does Sony NOT want my money?

[SuperSonic1305]

Two more games I already own, and a demo that will soon be available for free.. I don't know, does Sony NOT want my money?

If you already own those games then don't they already have it?

[YianGaruga]

Do game trials create a permanent spot on your trophy list?

I was just about to ask that. Anyone know the answer?

[shagg_187]

Two more games I already own, and a demo that will soon be available for free.. I don't know, does Sony NOT want my money?

From the sounds of it, they already got your money... >_>

[Filldough]

I think I can safely say I totally regret getting PLUS. It has been useless for me. Live and learn I guess.

Really? I used to download a shit ton of stuff and still managed to find plenty of freebies and good discounts. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it hasn't paid for itself at this point and have no doubt I'll have soaked up my money's worth by the time my year subscription ends. The only bad thing is that I don't really want to buy anything off PSN for fear that it will be a free download in the future. :lol

Did you get the year or just 3 months? Hopefully you find some value in it at some point... buyers remorse is a bitch.

[anddo0]

If you already own those games then don't they already have it?

From the sounds of it, they already got your money... >_>

Indeed they do, but they aren't giving my any incentive to spend more. I guess Plus isn't for me, or any other long time PSN store users who are heavy purchasers. It seems right now all they're doing is unloading old content.

[DangerousDave]

I think I can safely say I totally regret getting PLUS. It has been useless for me. Live and learn I guess.

I've been lucky. I have a lot of PSN games, but i didn't had any of the games of past month and this two next months, in EUR (Zen Pinball, Sam & Max Sesion 1, Street Fighter HD). I didn't bought any mini or PSX games, so with some more luck, the year fee will be worthy.

But they should find a way to compensate people who own the games that they give for free. For example, giving some points, or exchanging it for a PSX game of choice.

[SolidusDave]

Do game trials create a permanent spot on your trophy list?

I tested my first full trial now (Inferno Pool).
Short answer: yes (local) and no (online).



detailed description of the full trials:


- once you click on the trial in the store, it disappears and the full game is marked as "bought"

- after the download&installation, the file shows an expiration date of 365 days (with the note that the actual time will be 60 minutes but you can wait a year before testing it). After the first time you start it, a timer of 60 minutes begins. This is real time, not game time, so you should plan ahead (this is stupid imo).

- in the XMB the trial has a special yellow bar icon on the left side. First I thought it would maybe deplete over time or something but it never changes. Instead of the creation date it displays the time left under the name.

- During the trial time you have full access to the game as if you bought it and a Trophy list is installed on your PS3. Earned trophies are displayed with the usual popup.

- if you are in the game, you will get a warning via popup message about the time left (I got a warning for the last 5 minutes, there may be more as I only played it briefly, it's kinda shitty compared to Hustle Kings and I don't care for billiard games anyway)

- the game will automatically quit once the timer ends (if you are still in the game obviously). Clicking on the game will then give you a notice about the expiration and links you to the full game in the PS store (no purchase link ingame or in the XMB like the normal PSN demo trials)

- I'm not sure at which point it happens, but the trial gets deleted from your download list (either after it expires or the timer starts. Until that you can redownload it if necessary). The full game is marked with a blue PS store icon ("bought" status is a red one).

- the Trophy list entry stays on your PS3 (to mock you forever I guess), but it won't show up online (like when you or anyone else compare trophies or on the Sony website). You would make them "real" once you buy the game, so I guess that's why they have to stay linked to your account.



btw I think it's ridiculous to offer such a trial for a 3€ game.



edit: at least the free EyePet avatars include a deal-with-it variant:

[jvm]

Ok, I'll try to update ASAP, but I'm too beat for this tonight. :(

SolidusDave, I would like to work your experience into the FAQ in the OP.

Also, did anyone else have their PS+ (US) account tell them "downloaded Bioshock 2 DLC" when they woke up this morning? I didn't buy anything for Bioshock, so I'm confused as to what it downloaded and whether it cost me anything :P

[No45]

Haha, I was wondering about that but figured I had gotten the dates mixed up or something :lol Kebby must've contracted a bad case of Gracechenitis.

The comments on the link I posted are befitting that condition. Sadly not all areas of the EU blog are as well attended to as the store update threads. :(

Quite tempted to post "Fuck Grace Chen" on there myself. :p

[Sevket-Erhat]

I wish I had subscribed to EU PSN Plus as the will get Quest for Booty as a sing-up bonus. As for US PSN Plus I am still waiting for Killzone 3 or inFAMOUS 2 demos to justify the price paid for it

[No45]

How is getting content that everyone else will get justifying the price? The US got three months free and if anything has had more 'free' content than the EU, at least up until this point.

[Clipper]

It's good they will be announcing the US stuff two weeks early from now on. Updates for the 21st will apparently appear on Wednesday. From then on, we'll always know what the next update will be at the same time as the current one launches. Yes, it's still not as much notice as the EU version, but it's good enough.

On the EU/US split of content, I must say I probably would have preferred EU for content that I would have liked so far, but I'm sure that same stuff will come to the US store soon too. Qore and the three extra months are a good incentive. I'm happy with my choice for now.

[Cold-Steel]

So far I'm pretty happy with the service.

If you look at it this way - you paid $50 for a year subscription and a solid $25 of that pays for Qore.

So that means if you get roughly $25 worth of content (that you want) then it's all good.

Free stuff I got my dollars worth out of:

-Critter Crunch ($7)
-Mushroom Wars ($10)
-Age of Zombies ($5)
-Fieldrunners ($5)

So pretty much I've gotten $27 worth of stuff that I actually like and/or wanted.

While I don't necessarily own it - I'm pretty happy with just playing the games and would probably renew just based on that alone.

Not to mention I was in the early batch so I'm a part of the +3 months group. 15 months of this is pretty good IMO.

[CRD90]

Why didn't I get my free LBP when I signed up? How do I resolve it?

[Sblargh]

My favorite part are really the psn games. Critter Crunch and Wipeout were so good.
I'll pick Mushroom Wars today.
-
Still expecting for them to start with the beta invites, I always have fun in betas for some reason.

[No45]

Why didn't I get my free LBP when I signed up? How do I resolve it?

That was an EU only offer, and time limited (Think it expired August 4th? Can't remember). If you signed up in the EU for the full 12 months you should just be able to get it from the Plus section on the EU store.

[CRD90]

I'm from the UK and did sign up for a year by then =(

I'm not too bothered because I own the game, but it would have been nice to have it run off the HDD.

[SolidusDave]

PAL PSN+ page as finally been updated. There is also a free inFamous 2 concept art theme (not dynamic) that wasn't mentioned I think.

[No45]

I'm from the UK and did sign up for a year by then =( I'm not too bothered because I own the game, but it would have been nice to have it run off the HDD.

Yeah, I owned it as well. Just traded it in instead, I do like having games available from the HDD.

[MrPliskin]

Indeed they do, but they aren't giving my any incentive to spend more. I guess Plus isn't for me, or any other long time PSN store users who are heavy purchasers. It seems right now all they're doing is unloading old content.

I made a choice to change my spending habits and snag plus. I've got a lot of stuff I didn't have, and I don't mind waiting for things to roll around for a discount. If you keep buying stuff as soon as it comes out, of course plus isn't going to be worth it to you.

[MrPliskin]

Ok, I'll try to update ASAP, but I'm too beat for this tonight. :( SolidusDave, I would like to work your experience into the FAQ in the OP. Also, did anyone else have their PS+ (US) account tell them "downloaded Bioshock 2 DLC" when they woke up this morning? I didn't buy anything for Bioshock, so I'm confused as to what it downloaded and whether it cost me anything :P

Probably just downloaded the content, but you won't be able to use it until you actually purchase the unlock key.

[Railer]

I have to say. I picked up 3 months of PSN+ last month, and it's already worth the price and more for me. Been playing through 2 episodes of Sam & Max Season 3 so far and it's pretty darn awesome. I payed like 150sek (swedish coins) for the PSN+, and the whole season 3 costs more then the 3 months of PSN+. So worth it so far.

[SolidusDave]

SolidusDave, I would like to work your experience into the FAQ in the OP.

sure, I guess you should cut some of the minor details though ^^



speaking of guides, does anyone know some extensive tests of the automatic downloads feature?

I started the Stranglehold CE disc (wanted to try an old game) after I activated the automatic downloads feature and indeed it downloaded the patch (I deleted the patch data before that). The game is the US version and it still worked on my PAL PS3 with PAL PSN+ account. The disc was not needed as already mentioned in this thread.

But now I started up every PSN and PS3 game and deleted the patch data of Brütal Legend. I started about 40-50 other games after I launched Brütal Legend and the PS3 has not downloaded the patch yet.
The PS3 was activated now 2-3 times w/o downloading anything, so it's not that other downloads would prevent it from checking older games (it's understandable that the feature would not download everything in one long session).
I would expect it to check all listed games if there is no patch data for the first 10, the next 10 etc. But now I'm not sure if this list is actually limited to x number of games, so, are there any tests about this?

Also, while all of my PS3 retail games show up in the "recently started games" list, this is not the case for all PSN games (e.g. PJ Racers 2nd Lap), what about those games? (or does automatic downloading uses its own list anyway?)

[criesofthepast]

So far I'm pretty happy with the service. If you look at it this way - you paid $50 for a year subscription and a solid $25 of that pays for Qore. So that means if you get roughly $25 worth of content (that you want) then it's all good. Free stuff I got my dollars worth out of: -Critter Crunch ($7) -Mushroom Wars ($10) -Age of Zombies ($5) -Fieldrunners ($5) So pretty much I've gotten $27 worth of stuff that I actually like and/or wanted. While I don't necessarily own it - I'm pretty happy with just playing the games and would probably renew just based on that alone. Not to mention I was in the early batch so I'm a part of the +3 months group. 15 months of this is pretty good IMO.

Qore isn't worth $25. It might be worth $10 tops. Even without Qore though I think we'll all be satisfied in a years time with what we got. As of now I'm not too thrilled. I had wipeout and critter crunch already.

[jvm]

Updated OP with new releases EU and schedule for US. If you find errors/omissions, let me know.

[Violater]

Biggest fucking ripoff.
I would not have bought any of those minis at those prices to begin with.

[Vlodril]

Unfortunately i had wipeout but sam and max is really good so i am happy so far. Hope for more quality like this month and less zen pinball stuff.

[W1SSY]

Yea so far + has been useless for me. I already owned, inFamous, Red Faction, Wipeout, and Critter Crunch. I really have no interest in any of the free minis so it looks like I will just have to hope that they release some things I actually want. I will be pissed if they start giving some good free games I want at the end of my subscription while I have had the first month or so with nothing of interest.

[criesofthepast]

Yea so far + has been useless for me. I already owned, inFamous, Red Faction, Wipeout, and Critter Crunch. I really have no interest in any of the free minis so it looks like I will just have to hope that they release some things I actually want. I will be pissed if they start giving some good free games I want at the end of my subscription while I have had the first month or so with nothing of interest.

They will put up some big name games in a years time when the initial batch of PSN+ subscribers are up for renewal. To try and get them to renew. Bank on it.

[spwolf]

Yea so far + has been useless for me. I already owned, inFamous, Red Faction, Wipeout, and Critter Crunch. I really have no interest in any of the free minis so it looks like I will just have to hope that they release some things I actually want. I will be pissed if they start giving some good free games I want at the end of my subscription while I have had the first month or so with nothing of interest.

there are some really good minis there, did you even try them?

[W1SSY]

there are some really good minis there, did you even try them?

For me minis are something that I am not interested in. If I want to play a small gameI have my ipod touch. For my PS3 I am more interested in a little bit more. I did see GiantBomb do a quicklook of AeroRacer(I think it was called AeroRacer) and to me if I wanted to play a game like that on my PS3 I would just boot up Wipeout. I may start looking at the minis but they aren't really what I want to play on my living room television.

[Agent X]

For me minis are something that I am not interested in. If I want to play a small gameI have my ipod touch. For my PS3 I am more interested in a little bit more. I did see GiantBomb do a quicklook of AeroRacer(I think it was called AeroRacer) and to me if I wanted to play a game like that on my PS3 I would just boot up Wipeout. I may start looking at the minis but they aren't really what I want to play on my living room television.

Aero Racer (a.k.a. Rocket Racing) is quite different from Wipeout in terms of gameplay.

Also, most of the Minis (especially the ones offered on PS+ so far) are very small downloads. You could grab one in a minute or less on a decent Internet connection.

[spwolf]

For me minis are something that I am not interested in. If I want to play a small gameI have my ipod touch. For my PS3 I am more interested in a little bit more. I did see GiantBomb do a quicklook of AeroRacer(I think it was called AeroRacer) and to me if I wanted to play a game like that on my PS3 I would just boot up Wipeout. I may start looking at the minis but they aren't really what I want to play on my living room television.

well, if you are against trying psn games, then definetly PSN Plus doesnt seem like a good deal for you.

[jvm]

Early PES 2011 demo for PS+ in EU.

http://www.vg247.com/2010/09/03/pro-...ers-next-week/

Thanks for the tip, Konosuke.

[SolidusDave]

my take on the Automatic Download feature:

- you can turn it on/off as well as change the time without affecting the list of games it checks. It won't reset. The PS3 runs a list of the played games either after you subscribe to PSN+ or since they introduced that firmware feature (I suspect the latter).

- it will only start once in two days in the 2 hour period of time, even if you turn the PS3 on/off in that time frame again after it checked for updates (of course it won't check if you are using the PS3 during that 2 hours).
However, changing the time (and back) etc. will allow you to force it to check as many times as you want. Just choose the current time and shut down the PS3, it will immediately turn on again to check for downloads.
Btw the PS3 obviously finishes the downloads (e.g. push demos) so it will still be on after that 2 hour period which is only to specificity the start up time.

- It logs you into PSN during the downloading, I don't know if people can see you online though. Pressing O on the controller will stop the feature and the PS3 will just start normally. However you will then lose not fully downloaded (or installed) game patches.

- As far as I'm concerned, the PS3 only checks for updates for the last 10 played games. They said it would check the 10 next games if the first 10 games need no patches. But I let the PS3 do its thing for over a week and it did not download a patch for a game placed at about position 40 on the non-existent list. I additionally check "manually" by changing the time + shutting the PS3 down, repeated that several times.
It works e.g. if the game is on position 5, but it stops working on position 11, even after multiple automatic download attempts.

It downloads&installs:
- the few "Push Demos" per month (which apparently will be automatically deleted if you don't use them within a month)
- patches for the last 10 played games (PSN&PS3, region doesn't matter, game discs don't need to be inserted). Maybe this includes XMB apps like Home, not sure.
- your unfinished PS store downloads
- PS3 firmware (no install though, needs to be confirmed first)

The next time you start your PS3, before you enter the XMB it will display a screen which lists the things downloaded (only game titles, no further descriptions).

additionally:
- it creates those 15 second icon previews for any video file on the PS3 HDD which doesn't have it yet (always uses the first 15 sec).





I'm not bothered at all if a game I currently play has a new patch. I was looking for a feature that automatically keeps all my games up to date. In many cases patches mean new features, my favorite being the integration of custom music. I would then check out the patched games to see whats new etc. Especially for small games not all patches get a news or thread or you can miss it.
But as the list seems to only contain the last 10 games (and sorry, even if it has more than 10 games, I could not get it to work in any way), the feature is basically useless to me now.