One of the great things about the Playstation Network is that, as opposed to Xbox Live, using the network and playing online has always been 100% free for Playstation 3 owners. At Sony’s E3 press conference today, Sony acknowledged this fact, but still wanted to offer players more. That’s why they announced “Playstation Plus” a new premium subscription service that will supplement the Playstation Network and will offer a more “enchanced experience”.
By subscribing to Playstation Plus, Playstation Network users can gain access to demos earlier than other gamers, receive discounts on purchases made on the Playstation Network, and watch the Playstation lifestyle series Qore. In addition, subscribers to the service also will get free Playstation Minis and even classic Playstation games every month.
Playstation Plus will cost $49.99 for the year, or $17.99 for three months of service. Content from Playstation Plus will only be accessible as long as your subscription is active. The service launches later this month, and all Playstation 3 owners will get a free three-month long trial of Playstation Plus. All other features of the Playstation Network will continue to be free.
