Poll: Has PlayStation Plus Improved in 2018?

Abit soon for the year at whole but it's been really good so far.

@get2sammyb I absolutely agree. For me, other than Ratchet and Clank and Bloodborne I rarely get games that I actually want to play from PS Plus or Games With Gold, the real value is the incredible discounts. Getting amazing games for sometimes less than ten bucks is awesome.

I am sure they can keep up with the calibre of offerings this year. The 'quality' of the releases though will be different for individuals - some disappointed because its not a game they want, already own etc but I refer to at least 1 AAA PS4 game a month.

I would hope that by the time March 2019 comes around, PS+ is offering 'more' for the money as PS3 and Vita games will no longer be offered.

Great year so far, for me at least, but as Sammy said the discounts are what make it for me. They really do add up.

The games are good, the discounts are good but since we pay to play online and most games are still way slow it doesn't seem to me that the whole network infrastructure has improved that much. There are games that are simply super slow to connect too. This practically made games like FF15 Comrades or Blazblue less enjoyable. For those two it seems a pain to connect. Tekken 7 still has issues. Only Injustice 2 feels to play as it should. Moreover, especially on midnight releases, psn crashes and downloads are way slow.

@get2sammyb
Its difficult for me to judge PS+. I am a grown adult with an income that can support my hobby, so if there is a game I want to play, I buy that game. I do not wait for 6-12 months and hope that it will come to PS+. When PS+ does eventually release a game that I was interested in, but not enough to buy it, I am happy, but that game goes to the back of my backlog, behind the games that I cared enough about to buy, so they will never be played. They are at the back of a long, long, line. So is PS+ good? Is it better this year? Eh, hard to say.

The discounts do not really benefit me, because I more or less completely ignore digital titles. I have PS+ only for remote save backup/syncing. Its worth the cost for that alone.

@belmont Be careful, we do not pay for online play. We pay for a certain type of online play game. Free to Pay games (which are a very very large part of online games on the PS4, and growing), and Pay to Play games (which are much smaller but include major games like Final Fantasy XIV) do not require PS+ to play online.

That being said, I have never had any connection issues in FF15 Comrades. It has always connected quickly, and been reliable. I have not played any of the other games you mentioned online, but PSN has always been pretty damn reliable for me. I can count on one hand the downtimes/connection issues I have had that have prevented me from playing a game online, since the PS3 launched, on one hand. Thats pretty good as far as I am concerned!

It was at its best when we had a brand new released game each month, I think. Old games that are several years old, that most of us already have isn't what I would call great. Good news for people who have recently purchased a PS4 of course if it's an essential game like Bloodborne.

@get2sammyb
The problem is, in respect of new releases especially, those discounts still leave you paying more for the game than you would pay for the equivalent physical release.

The store prices are chronically overpriced in my opinion.

Although I personally haven't benefited from many of the games on PS+ recently, because I buy almost every major title when it comes out, I think Sony are absolutely killing it with their free game offering this year.

They're stepping it up by bringing bigger titles. Bloodborne has been the real primo addition in 2018, and while I think Knack and Mad Max are mediocre, they're still full games and that's good.

They missed an opportunity by not promoting the God of War remasters through PS+, especially with this being the last year of PS3/Vita inclusion.

Never had a issue with Plus anyway i liked the small games i buy all the triple A games i really want. Almost no down time here so i dont see any problems here nice discounts i love it.

The games have improved think it's pretty obvious by seeing what's been offered up, the service (what you actually pay for) is pretty much the same as it has been since PS4 launched for me, for the price bump that happened last year it needs to be better, the sales are probably the best thing about having Plus for me over the year I save way more than £40 so it's decent for that

@get2sammyb pretty much echoed your post before I even saw it 😂

Games are sometimes better than before and discounts are great value.

But my backlog is so big that I will never get to the "free" games and I dont want to add to it with discounted games.

Now, Sony should allow you to download any free games you forgot/neglected to add to the library during your sub. I didnt get MGSV even though I was subscribed that month cause I have it physical. Now I want to dl the Plus copy to gift the physical copy to a friend and I cannot do it.

@get2sammyb I think we are on the opposite side of the fence there! Digital is very inconvenient, and even more so when Sony eventually shuts down the servers for PS3 downloads, or PSP downloads (and eventually PS4 downloads). It will happen, absolutely 100%, its just a matter of time. They already shut down the Playstation Mini's.

A few gaming generations from now, when these younger gaming generations decide they want to play some older titles they missed out on, or ones that defined their generation, and they can't because they cannot obtain a copy of the game, or they have to re-buy their digital titles as physical copies to be able to play them, I suspect that they will regret their choice.

I find myself doing this a lot more often now than I used to. I bought Persona 5, and even though the story is not directly tied to the previous games, I decided I wanted to play them anyway, and I can! If they were all digital I would not have been able to (other than with Piracy and hoping that there is a compatible emulator or hacked device) I also did this (same reasoning) for the Xeno games after I picked up Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

They should be supporting smaller games that only get limited exposure. Most of the AAA titles are years old and if someone had wanted to play it then they would have bought it already. I can not really remember that last PS Plus game I played probably Yakuzza 5 on the PS3.

I play all the psplus games. Even the rubbish ones like Tower of guns, bombing blasters and Bloodborne.

Psplus is amazing value. I love it.

@thedevilsjester When i was 14 years old i bought games to just had to put in the hours. 😁

@dryrain Dont put the blame at Sony people scream like little kids that everything is garbage if its a indy game. 😥

I kinda liked the indies i even bought a lot with Limited Run to even double dipped. 😁

@JoeBlogs @LieutenantFatman This is the crux of PS+. If you have an income that can support this hobby, you either already own the games, or you are not interested in them. PS+ with smaller/unknown/hidden gems/new indies/etc... avoided this for the most part, so I think that although the quality of titles as increased, their usefulness has decreased.

@JoeBlogs The problem with that solution is that while all future consoles may be backward compatible, once a certain threshold of people stop downloading titles from a certain platform, they will discontinue maintaining the servers/hosting for those platforms. Just look at Playstation Minis. They are still 100% playable on PSP and PS3 consoles, which are relatively modern consoles, but they stopped hosting those titles because the cost to host them and maintain that infrastructure, outweighed the benefits. This will always be the case, compatibility or no.

A lot of the younger gaming generation does not realize how much they are going to want to play older titles, either to catch up, for nostalgia, or because they are damn good titles, until they are gone. I know I wasn't thinking of that during the NES/SNES/PS1/PS2 eras. It wasn't until the PS3 era and beyond (a grown adult with a few generations of gaming behind me) that I felt that sting. Fortunately I can go back and play those titles because they were all physical. The same will not be true of the current generations.

3 months better than entire last year!
But I think that sooner or later will disappoint

Have to say it really has improved since I cancelled my sub a number of months ago! lol

@RedMan33 I agree, the added discounts you get are where I get the most value (outside of just being able to play online)! This year has been pretty relentless with the sales, especially this last month....let's just say I bought a lot of games I might never play.

Speaking of which...CAN WE GET A NORTH AMERICA EASTER FLASH SALE? I need Rise of the Tomb Raider for $20 (make that $16 after that 20% off code they gave away the other day)!

The only digital games I download are the free games that are offered every month, if I like them. I much prefer physical copies. So I guess I'm paying $60 a year to play online. Which really is affordable when you think about it. Essentially $5 a month. I'd say the cost is worth it.

@thedevilsjester Well said on both comments. To be honest I already feel the sting of not being able to revisit Metal Gear Online on the PS3. So gutted when they turned those servers off, would love to play it again with my friends.

@themcnoisy did you just try to call bloodborne rubbish lmao

Improved compared to when? I'd say the offerings were much better back in the pre PS4 era with the added bonus of it not being an unneeded online tax. Back then you used to get access to the IGC too when that term was used to refer to half a dozen big games you got just for being a member. They were meant to cycle each year, but despite Sony saying they would carry on offering that part of the service, they just stayed quiet after removing them and hoped no one would notice.

In short then I'd say the service is a shadow of its former self.

@thedevilsjester You mean Playstation Mobile, I can still get Mini's on my PS3/PSTV and I have as recently as a few weeks ago.

It's better than 2017, although psplus on ps3 era is way better. I remember years ago having to choose buying either uncharted 3 for $40 or subbing psplus at $60 and getting uncharted 3 and other games for 1 year every month. Of course I choose psplus

buy loads of it if all digital were the same price of disc would by digital all the time

It's been a good start but ask me again in September. They might just be trying to make people forget the price hike. I like PS Plus though, always have.

I'd quite like to see more of what we've had so far this year, ie. alternating months between AAAs (Bloodborne + Ratchet and Clank) and off-beat (Rime)

Also, cloud storage is handy.

@dark_knightmare2 I was just checking to see if anyone noticed.

@ReanSchwarzer7 I have gotten those two mixed up a couple times, thanks for the correction. You are right, it was Playstation Mobile, which had games that supported various platforms, including the PSVita, that was discontinued and are no longer available to download.

There's not much point arguing over whether it's good or bad, as it's subjective. This month is widely considered the best yet, with R&C and Bloodborne, but for me it offers nothing.

Sure, I loved R&C back on PS2 and PS3 (well, actually, I got bored of it while playing A Crack in Time, but still), but I've got no interest in replaying it. Although I loved Horizon, I'm generally not into RPGs so I have zero interest in Bloodborne. And none of the other stuff on offer is of interest either, even though I have PS4, PS3, and PS Vita. So for me, this is a "crap" month.

That said, even though I don't take everything just because it's "free", I do still feel that I get my money's worth over the course of a year, especially when you include the discounts.

But as I've said many times, I do wish they'd offer alternatives for those who don't want the games. I'd be happy to get the option of a couple of movie rentals of my choice (not from a pre-selected list) in place of the games if I don't want them, or maybe have 2 games and 2 movie rentals on offer and you can mix and match - i.e. one game and one movie if you prefer.

I feel that they are going to need to offer something else next year when they drop support for PS3 and Vita though, or they're going to have lots of complaints and/or cancellations.

They've done really well over the years adding a ton of value to Plus at (until recently) no extra cost, and everyone has been very happy to claim games they may never even play. But you know full well that the minute they get less, all you'll hear is how bad Sony are for bumping up prices whilst reducing value, even though technically they'd only be rolling back to a level that's still be more than you got originally.

If the movie rental idea doesn't fit, perhaps they can include a PS Now subscription or something.

Too expensive
They should try to lower the price

I can't complain, amazing games are being offered, I hope it stays that way.

Im probably in the minority here. But I prefer getting games I would have never tried on my own. (ie good indie games) I cant argue with the quality of games they have been giving the last several months but I have always liked the offerings.

My main issue is when I find a game with plus that I really like and then I want to buy it (so i own it) when it goes on sale but the store wont let me.

I’ll chime in, albeit a bit late (stupid job keeping me away from these important online discussions...)
I think the last few months is the best PS Plus has been this generation. But the offerings at the end of the PS3 era were exceptional, so we haven’t quite got back to those glory days yet. For example, just a sampling from the end of 2013 and into 2014 — Bioshock Infinite, Shadow of the Collosus, Ico, Virtues Last Reward, Uncharted 3, Hotline Miami, Dragons Dogma: Dark Arisen, Borderlands 2, Tomb Raider, Batman Arkham City and Arkham Asylum .... Those are just a few highlights from that time period and most of that short list are arguably among the greatest video games of last gen, if not some of the greats of all time.
Mad Max is a maybe an under appreciated game but few would put it as one of the greatest PS4 games to date. Telltale’s Batman was an entertaining 12 hours, but can’t hold a candle to Arkham City. Now Bloodborne, yes. One of the greats of all time. But we still have a way to go for 2018 to match 2013 - 2014.

Now the point about AAA games vs Indies is just a personal preference. Although I don’t have the limitless stashes of disposable income that some people on here have stated they have and can buy an endless supply of games and are never want for entertainment, yes even though I don’t have this I do have a huge backlog. And yes, the PS Plus games tend to go to the end of the backlog. But sometimes I just get the urge to move that Ps Plus game up to the top, like I have done with Bloodborne, because I wanted to enjoy playing the game when it is topical. I missed out on it at release, and this has been kind of like a second release and a resurgence of the game’s community and so has made it more fun for me since there is a buzz in the forums and such.
But even if I play just 3 or 4 of the games per year, it is worth it to me.

As an unrelated note, I got to a point where I realized I was spending too much money and time on gaming, so I forced myself to cut back, and it's been a success. This has also led to me buying so few digital titles anymore. I think it was seeing the shutdown of the Wii shop, and all that money I spent on games I'll never be able to re download now. Who is to say it won't happen to MS and Sony? Because it most likely will, eventually.
I hate giving up my freedom to use the stuff I paid for, so my desire for physical media has only increased in recent times, at least on console. With PC, there's almost no choice.

Also agree, top level ps exclusives are most likely in most peoples collection (except the bro gamer that only plays cod and a sports game depending on location, but most likely FIFA).
New quality indie games and/or Japanese games would make sure that many get something new.

Would be great more games like Tales of Zestiria, Tales of Berseria, Attack on Titan and Japanese titles in general.
But let's be honest, many people would complain. Not me, of course...

i thought my biggest ps+ miss was rocket league until i tried it and thought i do not see what the fuss is about at all its good to watch on esports put very poor to play, that said im a huge fan of sony putting out older games i may of missed, i went back to bloodborne and still find it bloody hard, looking forward to mad max and still havent started tpp.

I suspect sony will up their game in summer months then it will taper off in september until november december time

I have PS plus to play online so the quality of the titles on offer make little difference to me, occasionally I find an indie gem but apart From Rocket League I don't think I even have a plus title on my console.

This month is a great example of how plus works for me with Bloodborne and Ratchet & Clank regarding AAA titles as I've added neither one. I bought Racthet & Clank at launch and platinumed it so have no need to go back and Bloodborne is a game I've looked at many times on sales and never been quite tempted enough and even being "free" it's not that high up on my list of gaming priorities. So essentially these games are either those I've played or never wanted enough in the first place by and large, the discounts and Rocket League are what keep me subscribed

For me nothing much has improved, they only offered good game when they made drastic changes such as price hike and vita/PS3 games cancellation announcement. There are only so much good games to offer to be honest, I think the subscription program is in need of a change/ diversify to offer something else that is of value to their customers. MS on the other hand won't have such a problem due to their game pass, BC, Office 365 and Onedrive. They can just bundle it all up and offer it to their Gold service.

For the price hike I really think it hasn't improved connection wise I find it bricks my network when my PS4 is downloading yet it doesn't when my PS3 is. It seems to high the bandwidth when my PS4 is downloading anything and I also think ps now should be included in the subscription like maybe 7 days a month for free at least..

I add games each month to my list but half I've not played at all, R&C I bought and platted. Bloodborne I don't think I have the patience to play it

@Sensechat For me, Bloodborne was in the unique position where I wanted to try it because of all the hype, but I didn’t want to risk buying it and then rage quitting after 2 hours and then never play again, like I did when I bought Dark Souls. Talk about a waste of money. And the fact that there were others like me that were trying Bloodborne for the first time has added to the enjoyment. The forum thread came back to life and many of the passionate fan base have started playing again as a result or have at least offered advice to me and others which has been invaluable to help me stick with it. As such, I have gotten over the hump and am now pouring many hours traipsing through Yharnam, having a blast. I’m pretty sure that my experience would have been different if I had just randomly bought the game on my own this far after its initial release.

Basically each of the PS Plus games I actually took the time to play have been a similar scenario where I was on the fence about a game and didn’t buy it for fear of wasting my money and most of the time I end up enjoying it. (Ex. - Until Dawn, Gone Home, The Unfinished Swan, Tales from the Borderlands, Fez, Severed ... etc)

It has definitely improved for me, i've been hooked on Bloodborne all month, am now nearing the end of it and have loved every minute, it has made me want to try Dark Souls, Demon's Souls and Nioh now, but i'll take a break first as the game is so intense, i need something more relaxing to play next haha

I also thoroughly enjoyed Rime the other month, and am looking forward to trying Mad Max next month, so it's been a great year for me so far

It got more expensive. It is now worse than its ever been

@KingSandyRavage Howcome you get more triple A games in a few months then ever how can it be worse?

@GarySan Yeah Office 365 and onedrive thats where i get a console for....

@Flaming_Kaiser I never asked for them, I don’t want them. I’d rather spend the £50 on games throughout the year that I actually want, not rent whatever they say.

It’s a rip off

@Sensechat No moral. Just a bit of rambling about my experience where the Plus game worked out for me and I found value in it personally.