Celebrating 1 Year of the PlayStation Plus Instant Game Collection

[Mavrick]

With the upcoming launch of PlayStation 4, everyone here at PlayStation is hard at work preparing to deliver the best place to play — the absolute best gaming experiences imaginable.

As you heard at E3, PlayStation Plus will play a huge role in delivering amazing next gen online gaming experiences, while offering incredible value to members. With a single PlayStation Plus membership, you’ll get all of the benefits across PS4, PS3 and PS Vita, making sure you always have something fun to play and experience online with friends.

This week PS Plus has reached a milestone: the one year anniversary of the Instant Game Collection!

PlayStation Plus has been around for three years now, and make no mistake, we’ve always felt that it was a great value for gamers. But at E3 2012, when the Instant Game Collection made its debut, we knew that PS Plus was delivering something innovative, exciting and unique. It was evident in the passionate responses you had in communities around the web that you agreed. From our very own PlayStation.Blog and PlayStation Community, to gaming message boards like NeoGaf.com, to your comments on gaming sites like IGN.com, Destructoid.com, Kotaku.com, we knew that you thought PS Plus presented a gaming service like nothing else out there.

Looking back, it’s easy to see the tremendous value PS Plus offers. In the first year of the Instant Game Collection alone, if you own both a PlayStation 3 and a PlayStation Vita, 64 games were included, including blockbusters such as Sleeping Dogs and Spec Ops: The Line.

We’re not stopping there. We’ve already started Year Two off with a bang with the announcement that #DRIVECLUB PS Plus Edition will be available in the Instant Game Collection at launch and one digital title will rotate in each month. We also debuted a powerful June lineup for PS3, including the introduction of three new marquee titles: Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (single-player), Little Big Planet Karting and XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Up next: the July month outlook next week, which is not to be missed!

Whether you’ve been a member since Day 1 or you’re a newcomer, we thank you for supporting PS Plus and the Instant Game Collection. If you have yet to take the plunge, now is a great time to take advantage of the incredible IGC games offered on PS3 and PS Vita – while ensuring you’re locked and ready for the PS4 this holiday season.

[Bizdady]

Damn I missed out on some good games! I should have joined earlier!! (I just joined this month )

[IllMattIc]

When PS Plus was first announced I was not to impressed with it, but now having had it for the past year I love it.

[jsteinhauer]

If you never had a PS3 and just decided to get on a year ago, you never needed to buy a game, and you probably won't need to ever.

[Havok83]

wow Ive lost track of time. This only came out in the last year? What the heck did Plus offer up in its first two years? I cant even remember

[Mavrick]

Originally Posted by Havok83

wow Ive lost track of time. This only came out in the last year? What the heck did Plus offer up in its first two years? I cant even remember

From what I remember, Auto updates for games and Firmware, Exclusive discounts on games and free full game trials. I think Cloud Saves came before the instant game collection too?

[Havok83]

Originally Posted by Mavrick

From what I remember, Auto updates for games and Firmware, Exclusive discounts on games and free full game trials. I think Cloud Saves came before the instant game collection too?

I thought for sure that they offered free games from the very beginning. That was the main incentive. I think it was maybe 2 or 3 at a time and the IGC bumped that up to 12. When in doubt go to google:

From the original PSBlog post in 2010:

First off, at launch, PlayStation Plus will offer subscribers the full PlayStation Network game, WipEout HD, PSP minis and PS One Classics such as Fieldrunners, Age of Zombies and Rally Cross, full game trial of inFAMOUS, as well as free monthly episodes of Qore – our high-definition, interactive gaming lifestyle show.
With that, here are the basics of the new subscription service that lives on top of the current PlayStation Network:

The current PSN features will remain free. We are still very committed to PSN as a free comprehensive entertainment service and are certainly not planning on reducing this service following the launch of PlayStation Plus.

PlayStation Plus is an evolving service and the features included at launch will be:
Games
PS Store Discounts
Exclusive offers on select demos, betas and early purchases
Full Game Trial
Automatic Downloads

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2010/...ions-answered/

I wish I could find a link to every title offered in those first 2 years and compare it to this past year

[Trace17]

There were free games way before this. The 1 year celebration is of the Instant Game Collection, which debuted June 2012.

49 games released in PS+ first year, per IGN.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2011/06/...r-later?page=1

But I think everyone would agree with the IGC, the quality of games has improved substantially.

[i007spectre]

So $49 a year and there have been at least $1000 worth of free games so far.

[Mavrick]

Originally Posted by i007spectre

So $49 a year and there have been at least $1000 worth of free games so far.

Exactly . It's amazing value for money. Makes having to pay for MP seem much more reasonable.

You pay Sony $49.99 (even less if you shop about) to play MP on PS4 and they give you thousands of $ worth of games in return. It's a win win.

[Havok83]

Originally Posted by Trace17

There were free games way before this. The 1 year celebration is of the Instant Game Collection, which debuted June 2012.

49 games released in PS+ first year, per IGN.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2011/06/...r-later?page=1

But I think everyone would agree with the IGC, the quality of games has improved substantially.

Wow, I had forgotten that it was mainly PSN games, PS1 classics and crappy PSP Minis. I had it and liked it from the beginning but its so much better now. Like the first 2 years don't even compare. I just hope they are able to maintain the same level of quality after they get an influx of users with the PS4.

[MikeCL]

I'm in my 2nd year of PS+ and I've had my Ps3 for 3 years I think and it has greatly improved on what games they have.. a lot of my friends ask me if it's worth it.. Well they will find out with PS4 no but really I think it is, I do 3 month subs but I might switch over to a year.

I ended up signing up again this month because I saw deus ex:HR and uncharted listed.

I'm still playing some of my PS+ games from last year

[Omegaice]

Originally Posted by Bizdady

Damn I missed out on some good games! I should have joined earlier!! (I just joined this month )

[Bizdady]

Originally Posted by Omegaice

[masc360]

I actually just joined this month got a 1 year sub in anticipation for the ps4 figured I'm not going to buy any more games for my ps3 except maybe gta. So I can save my money for November. And this is perfect because I get free games to tide me over until then

[X400]

i thought all the games were available to new members

[Havok83]

Originally Posted by X400

i thought all the games were available to new members

Only the games currently available and its only 18 at any given time. If you just joined now, you missed out on the 46 titles which were previously offered

[Bizdady]

BF3 gets added to this weeks ICG collection.

[snakemaster7]

Originally Posted by Bizdady

BF3 gets added to this weeks ICG collection.

Yeah, a bit disappointing for people that have it already (me included), but the other games seem ok. Dokuro and Oddworld both have a platinum, which is a plus, and I guess my bro can download BF3 and we can private match or something.

[sycro]

So with PS+, if I "purchase" the game, it's in my collection forever, right? So I can purchase something now, but not download it for 6 months?