Feature: Did PlayStation Plus Represent Value for Money in 2015?

While you can put a monetary value on it, the value is entirely subjective. I have PS4, PS3, PSVita and PSP, and I've actually taken very little from Plus this year - most of the stuff is just of no interest to me, and what would have been, I've already bought. I'm the kind of person who, if it doesn't interest me, won't touch it even for free.

I'd much rather they changed it so that your choice is not limited to pre-selected games, but that you get X amount of credit to put towards whatever you want from the store. Maybe throw in the option of renting a couple of movies each month, something like that.

i got enough games from it to warrant the cost of PS+, could it have been better Yeah! but it was still good this year

I've enjoyed the games I've had time to play, really struggling to get any time on my ps3, still working my way through call of juarez from June, my surprise favourite of the year was unfinished swan, that I managed to fit in on a holiday flight £40 for cloud storage and online is good value for me. Also been pretty lucky and not been affected by psn downtime it's improved this year and I just haven't been gaming when it has gone down.

What I just know is that since I have my PS4 I have 0 interest in joining Plus. You may get a value if you have all 3 platforms and play online a lot.

"Free" games are not big with me since I have plenty to play, with time being the biggest issue, so I won't waste my valuable time playing some meh games just because they are free.

I still feel the service was better before it was required for online play.

It was a great year for me Rogue Legacy, Super Meat Boy, Broken Age, Rocket Leauge I pay £40 just to secure those in my libary for 2016!

Most of the games, I weren't interested in... However I have probably got some value out of it with Injustice, Rocket League and Killzone Mercenary. No games that I would of played long but I am thinking of getting a Ps3 and there are some decent titles I added to my collection for that! Also I was used to just paying to play online with the 360 anyway so it's not bad to get the odd game I have missed because off too many games like Injustice for example.

Sony must offer a cheaper PS+ without free games. I don't need these games but I am forced to pay for the online gaming. Give me a cheaper subscription without the indies please!

It has been better in previous years. January was my favourite month for PSN Plus titles. Anyone else miss the free PS1 classics we used to get?

Great year for me with Rocket League, Guacamelee, Valiant Hearts and Infamous to name a few. It could have been even better had I not already owned Transistor and Oddworld both of which are great games. I get why people want so called AAA games and I suspect that they will start to come when the system is a little older but for a little over £3 a month it's hard to argue against its value. Rocket League alone was worth it this year as I've had such a great time with that game and it's unlikely me and my friends would have experienced it otherwise. That goes for quite a few of the games I've downloaded, the service keeps providing me with games I would probably normally ignore and after playing them I wonder why

the problem is that lots of people do not simply care about indies... you can talk about money value and metacritic rating but how much an indie game costs and how well it was rated in metacritic means nothing for people who simply do not want to play games that look like they are from the 8 bit era

@kyleforrester87 I know how it works. I'm not saying that's what they have to do, it's just an example.

I'd just like them to offer some variety. Every month lately it's "retro" themed crap (granted, purely my opinion) on PS4/Vita, and I'm just not interested in it, even for free, so I'm getting very little value from it at the moment. I'd rather have the option of waiving my freebies and discounts on games I'm not interested in, in exchange for, say a couple of movie rentals. At least then I'd feel I was getting something for the money.

Its easy to forget the great games as there are so many. October was a bad point, but there are a load of highlights.

I don't want 6 crap games, 1 for each system will do.

Personally think its very good value for money. A few games I really enjoyed. Only thing I would say, there were a number of games I bought that were on plus under 12 months later... Which is a bit disappointing, it actively discourages you from buying some of these indies at launch (not good for smaller publishers!). Thats my opinion anyway.

I'm overall pretty happy with plus, but I wish they would throw in a bigger game for ps4 once or twice this year, but I can't really complain considering I play the game they offer quite abit

The Plus offerings this year have been kinda lackluster on PS4. I've not been interested in hardly any of the freebies for this year. The PS3 has fair a bit better with the Plus offerings, but I no longer have my PS3, and I didn't really have the time to play them anyway.

I own both a PS3 and PS4 but from my perspective, the overall PS+ game offerings have been very poor. I didn't get my PS+ until February and by the end of December, I doubt my overall game time on the few games I did consider downloading as the others were definitely not worthy of space on my HDD, even reaches double figures. The 'value' of these few assuming I bought at the RRP and not in a sale, would maybe equate to the cost of my subscription - just but hen I would own them outright and be able to play them regardless of my subscription status.
I will say though that I didn't buy PS+ for the free games but because it is necessary for online gaming - I certainly wouldn't buy it otherwise.
I know others may enjoy these 'indie' games and get value from them. Not one of the games I did download appealed to me enough after playing an hour or so, that I wanted to keep playing, to finish etc especially compared to the AAA games I have yet to finish. I also felt a lot of the games were similar to the games I wouldn't and didn't download the month before.
I admit I am sounding 'negative' about the games and I will say I have been disappointed with them in general. I don't play my PS3 anymore - not with so many next gen games to play and I certainly don't want some 80's/90's style retro gaming experience clogging up my PS4's limited HDD. That being said, I am not disappointed with PS+ or more importantly, what it allows me do. I am a little disappointed that I now have to pay to play online but I was doing that with my XB360 and before MS offered 'free' games too so I guess its no different now on PS4.
The games may have no value to me but the online component has provided a lot of value and some of the best gaming experiences that I wouldn't have had without it. I certainly won't be cancelling - even if next years offerings are equally as dire to me.
I do hope that next years offerings improve from my point of view - it would be nice to actually be excited or at least 'want' one or two of them. I know you can't please everyone all the time...

@DualWielding I agree I did not get a PS4 for games that look like they were before the sega/snes era..

I add everything free to my library. I think I got my money's worth.

The sales yes

For me, PS + gave a lot of value as I own a PS4, PS3, and Vita. Top of mind free games I enjoyed for the year were Rocket League, Transistor and Apotheon. I was on the fence for some of the free games on the PS+. But making them "free" gave me the chance to play them and had fun as well without "paying" for them.

Also, I agree on the point that more AAA games should be included in the lineup to give subscribers something to look forward to every month.

I really enjoyed this year of plus with games like the binding of isaac, super meat boy, ether one, valiant hearts and prototype 2.

@get2sammyb are you going to do a "what was your favourite plus game/month of 2015?" Poll/Article?

Well ps3 owners did well, ps4 okay, and vita owners got what vita owners expect from sony... there that's not negative kinda sorta.

It's value for money even without the free game's, what else can you buy with £5 these day's.

I see the PS PLus as payment to play games online. It is a bonus if I get good games to play as well. I own a PS3 and PS4 so think it provides good value for money as there are always games on both systems which they provide which I would play. Games like Rocket League I would have never bought but when I played it I really loved the game. Other games over the year I have though yeah I like that game but maybe its a bt too much to pay then it becomes a free game which is great. On the flip side though I am now more cautious about buying digital games and wait a bit longer just in case it does become a free game on PS Plus.Its rare that I buy a game though and it becomes a free PS Plus game. The discounts are good for games I have used them a lot over my time as a member. Paying less than £4 a month and gettiing free games and online play seems like a good deal. People say why do we not get AAA title games. But in general I think its good Sony push the smaller titles that might not get the recognition they derserve.

Went with 'meh.' I didn't care much for the free games, but I have to say Sony had some really nice sales over the course of the year if you're a Plus member and I saved a fair amount of money from that.

As I only own a 4, this year has been bland for me on the game front.

However that being said, I have two accounts I use for different things, and I only need one sub to play them both on line, and I have gotten some discounts on games and stuff that Ive bought so Id say yes.
For me although the games have pretty much all been things I have absolutely zero interest in whatsoever, the other areas I have benefitted from have made it worth the money.

@Neolit that was very well put.
I often feel that some, not all, of the people who get on their high horse about the selection being "amazing", forget that not everyone owns every platform and therefor doesnt get the same benefits as they do.

I have personally been completely uninterested in the games list INCLUDING First Light, but the mad sales and whatnot, coupled with the fact I play online alot and came accross from Xbox 360, have made it worth the cost.

As a side note, I only got a PS3 when TLoU came out so I only saw the tail end of Plus for 3.

Overall its decent, but if you only take the PS4 into account its poor enough. Why don't they use episodic games correctly, an episode a month, and free to play games like Planetside2 could be sorted with a nice setup package.... Starter pack or whatever.

I don't think the math is right. You can't add up the Retail cost and say that's the value, unless you're from marketing . You need to apply a percentage to represent how many of the games a person is interested in at all, and likely only count one Platform as people are not likely to be active on all three. Perhaps value ps3 and vita at 10% to represent the number of people active on multiple platforms.

I have had PS+ since getting my PS4 in Feb and since then I have also picked up a Vita. I have picked up (and played) a few games, Valiant Hearts, Tomb Raider, Walking Dead S2 and I have enjoyed them. However, I am not a huge multiplayer user and I am thinking about cancelling it. For a start, you don't truly own the games so I don't agree with the value. Secondly, I own a PS4 mainly for the AAA games that look great on a good sized telly. A few indie gems are a good change of pace, and I think that works really well for my Vita but in the end I want something that makes me feel like I am getting something non-subscribers aren't. Also, combine this with the additional cost for the PS Now service if you wish to use it and it looks less value.

I would quite like to see a guarantee of at least a set no. of AAA games a year or maybe, even, perhaps one free PS Now Games monthly rental included in it. That would be ace.

@get2sammyb would be nice, kind of a what are you playing this weekend style article were all the pushsquare staff tells about their favourite plus game ending with a what was your favourite month and a what was your favourite game poll. something positive about plus instead of all the negativity and the what a crap month XD.

@get2sammyb Glad I'm not the only one who hasn't really returned to the PS3. I loved it, but with the great selection on PS4, I only come back to the PS3 for my TV Episodes and Movie Downloads...maybe it'll change in the later years, but until then, there's too much goodies on the PS4.

I think Plus was pretty good this year...just like someone stated, you don't own the games, you're just renting them for as long as you're a member, so it's just a little add-on to the service. I've been loving some of the games, with Broken Age being played right now and still going back to Oddworld, so I have no real complaints, and this is coming from someone who doesn't have the best internet signal (living in the middle of nowhere) so I can't really play too long online. The only thing that I wish you could do, is still purchase the games even if they show up as 'purchased' through plus...especially if you really enjoy it.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Drop the PS3 title and give us PS2 titles for the PS4. I know this sound so backwards but this is what needs to be done

I'll break it down without the pro-Sony or anti-Sony spin.

For me, those "free" games are not free first of all. You paid for the sub, so you're paying for the games. And just because they offer "$1000 worth in MRSP" doesn't mean you're going to be interested in even more than a very small portion of them.

Furthermore, I want to own- permanently own, anything worth playing. Meaning I go out of my way to NOT download "free" games. Because once you do, you can no longer purchase it to permanently own it. Not until your sub runs out. So for me these "free" games are nothing but a thorn in my side. Wish they'd just go away.

With all that said, I am now a believer in PS+ but not for any of those reasons listed above. I lost all my data for 40+ physical and 200+ digital Vita games, only to discover PS+ backed up the data. Talk about a life saver. Between that and the actual DISCOUNTS during sales to permanently purchase games, I have changed my stance from staunchly anti-Plus to in its favor.

But those free games, those still mean nothing to me, though I acknowledge for some it's a great benefit. And the multiplayer, well, as much as I don't like the switch this gen, that is something to consider as well. Sucks not being able to play online. I rarely do but when I want to, it's nice to be able to.

@kyleforrester87 valiant heart I paid myself and played it twice. I also really like this game. The vakllur for psn plus is a relative term to what games you prefer to play. I think I got my monies worth from spending $50 per yr but I don't think most of the free games were any good. I don't think Sony sacrificed any of their first party games and modify the free games were left over mediocre games. The games I like were guacamelee, unfinished heart and gone home. I already purchased ground zero prior to it becoming free.

@JaxonH I got some good deals with flash sales from the store.

@Rudy_Manchego I'm line you. I don't see a great value for me witg psn+ with AAA games since they never give us any. I like ground zero but I don't see it as a AAA game but a larger AAA demo.

The biggest thing for me is how PS+ introduced me to games that I'd otherwise have never played. Transistor and Velocity 2X are honestly some of the most well put together games I've played in quite a long time, but I know that I never would've been bothered to pick them up if they weren't given to me.

@get2sammyb @Savino As a PS3 only owner I had PS+ the first 3 years it was out and got more than my money's worth. But I haven't had it the past few years b/c as a PS3 only owner it' sbne lackluster.

Has nobody broken the $ down by system yet - PS3, VIta, PS4? 56 comments and I coudln't find it.

I personally found myself immensely disappointed with nearly all of the selections. Plus, Sony completely backed out on the "Vote to Play" feature that they touted after only one month. Pretty much every decent game on the lists, I already owned. Transistor, Rocket League and Dragon Fin Soup are probably the only games I spend any sizable amount of time on. They really need to stop giving us buggy crap piles of games like Tower of Guns.

I know some people will really disagree, but they probably should stop with PS3 games at this point so they can provide more to PS4 and Vita (even though I no longer own my Vita) users. Hell, start doing PS2 Classics for PS+. I'd accept that, ESPECIALLY if they add in trophy support.