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Ps plus sucks and it’s a confusing mess

rofif

Can’t Git Gud
I mainly get physical games but since this year’s Black Friday is terrible, the only deal I’ve got is -30% on ps premium.
I’ve figured, why not. I’ve had ps+ few times before. Claimed some games, finished stray when it released on + and teardown just got out so why not check it out.

And I am instantly reminded why I couldn’t wait until my last time being subbed year ago ended. This thing is a mess:
-cloud saves are not seamless. Somehow it can get confused which one you want and insist on bringing cloud copy back when you delete local etc.
-it’s impossible to tell which games you own and how. Is it on disc, bought from store, claimed or in some of the packs available now. Some game shows download with ps+ icon and other says purchased without any icon even though I never bought it or played. There is sorting in library but it’s not logical.
-then if any of games you have installed from disc, is on plus, it still asks for a disc unless you click view product and download… but it will not download anything and now will let you play without inserting the disc all of sudden.
-I’ve tried streaming hogwarts legacy which I have on disc and installed from it. I was curious about streaming quality (terrible and I am wired)… and I launched the trial. It used my saves correctly but now every time I launch hogwarts it starts that trial. Play game no longer asks for disc lol.
-if I want to purchase a game that is in plus catalog that shows as purchased and not “download with plus icon”, then you have to select product and the price is there in pull out context menu. wtf.
-the fact there is no cheaper tier with just online functionality and maybe cloud saves is a disgrace. I have to live with this mess if I want online in Elden ring.

Nesting nesting and nesting. You can enter game, have play button, view product, see price, select version and be 3-4 layers deep.

It is actually a nightmare to know what you own and it’s just slow.
Honestly, can I refund it?! It’s really hampering my user experience. Especially compared to just reaching for a disc.

Oh btw teardown ps5 port is surprisingly fantastic. I didn’t expect performance this good.
 
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kiphalfton

Member
I don't know how I did it, but I split the games I own own (not the stupid bullshit, monthly redemptions that you "own" until your PS+ lapses) I to a separate list.

I'm assuming I just went game by game, in my library, checked to see which ones I can play now, and then added them to the a different list.

Like you said, not intuitive at all. But that seems to be the way of most sites/software/etc. where they dumbed down the interface to the point it's barely functional.
 
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GHG

Member
The interface isn't the primary issue I have with it, it's the principle of paying for online and I'm simply not interested in gaming via a subscription service. I want to tackle games in my own time, not worry about whether or not they will leave the service at some point or being on the clock because of my sub running out.

Not been subscribed all year and can't see myself resubbing at any point.
 
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rofif

Can’t Git Gud
The interface isn't the primary issue I have with it, it's the principle for paying online and I'm simply not interested in gaming via a subscription service. I want to tackle games in my own time, not worry about whether or not they will leave the service at some point or being on the clock because of my sub running out.

Not been subscribed all year and can't see myself resubbing at any point.
Perfectly said. I play what I want. Not what’s on the sub and its timer.
All I really need online for is souls games functionality. Shame there is no basic tier
 

tommib

Member
Perfectly said. I play what I want. Not what’s on the sub and its timer.
All I really need online for is souls games functionality. Shame there is no basic tier
So true. I only play online on From Software games. I wish PSN had an online-only tier.

With the backlog and Switch games that I keep buying I couldn’t care less about the free games. I have Extra and try games for 1 or 2 minutes just because. Can’t wait for it to expire and never subscribe again.

I think more and more people will be cancelling their subscriptions, not just gaming. There’s an overdose of content across platforms and we’re more than high at this point.
 
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Paulistano

Member
I let mine lapse, too expensive and my PS4/5 and Steam backlog is really gigantic.

The only thing that upsets me is that Sony don't let me backup individual PS5 games I have to backup the entire thing, this is really stupid forcing people to pay to backup your saves.
 

GHG

Member
Perfectly said. I play what I want. Not what’s on the sub and its timer.
All I really need online for is souls games functionality. Shame there is no basic tier

Yeh I had the sub for Demons Souls at launch and then GT7 when that released.

Racing games and souls/souls likes are the only types of games that I tend to play online these days anyway, so unless a new exclusive souls game or racing game arrives on the PS5 I have no reason to resub.
 

Topher

Gold Member
Man....remember how great PS+ was during the PS3/PS4 days.

artworks-000120720438-op7cln-t500x500.jpg
 

King Dazzar

Member
The interface isn't the primary issue I have with it, it's the principle of paying for online and I'm simply not interested in gaming via a subscription service. I want to tackle games in my own time, not worry about whether or not they will leave the service at some point or being on the clock because of my sub running out.

Not been subscribed all year and can't see myself resubbing at any point.
Aside from the obvious multiplayer access, do you have any issues at all being unsubbed? Say if you go into GT7 for single player or login as normal to PSN etc, is it all tickety boo? Any dashboard quirks or nagging for not being subbed? My PS+ and GPU both expire Mar 24 and my plan is to just get a month here and there to maybe demo stuff, if at all but remove my sub from both services. Cheers.

I mainly get physical games but since this year’s Black Friday is terrible, the only deal I’ve got is -30% on ps premium.
I’ve figured, why not. I’ve had ps+ few times before. Claimed some games, finished stray when it released on + and teardown just got out so why not check it out.

And I am instantly reminded why I couldn’t wait until my last time being subbed year ago ended. This thing is a mess:
-cloud saves are not seamless. Somehow it can get confused which one you want and insist on bringing cloud copy back when you delete local etc.
-it’s impossible to tell which games you own and how. Is it on disc, bought from store, claimed or in some of the packs available now. Some game shows download with ps+ icon and other says purchased without any icon even though I never bought it or played. There is sorting in library but it’s not logical.
-then if any of games you have installed from disc, is on plus, it still asks for a disc unless you click view product and download… but it will not download anything and now will let you play without inserting the disc all of sudden.
-I’ve tried streaming hogwarts legacy which I have on disc and installed from it. I was curious about streaming quality (terrible and I am wired)… and I launched the trial. It used my saves correctly but now every time I launch hogwarts it starts that trial. Play game no longer asks for disc lol.
-if I want to purchase a game that is in plus catalog that shows as purchased and not “download with plus icon”, then you have to select product and the price is there in pull out context menu. wtf.
-the fact there is no cheaper tier with just online functionality and maybe cloud saves is a disgrace. I have to live with this mess if I want online in Elden ring.

Nesting nesting and nesting. You can enter game, have play button, view product, see price, select version and be 3-4 layers deep.

It is actually a nightmare to know what you own and it’s just slow.
Honestly, can I refund it?! It’s really hampering my user experience. Especially compared to just reaching for a disc.

Oh btw teardown ps5 port is surprisingly fantastic. I didn’t expect performance this good.
Sounds very messy combining digital, with physical and then adding PS+ on top. I'm fully digital so dont have any of that. But geez oh, it needs improving!
 

King Dazzar

Member
Man....remember how great PS+ was during the PS3/PS4 days.

artworks-000120720438-op7cln-t500x500.jpg
Man, sometimes I miss carts! Only historic gaming format I dont miss, is cassette tapes... complete tangent, but I remember buying a ZX Spectrum second hand with 120 games on one C90 tape. Imaging the joy trying to find your game on that!!
 

Topher

Gold Member
Man, sometimes I miss carts! Only historic gaming format I dont miss, is cassette tapes... complete tangent, but I remember buying a ZX Spectrum second hand with 120 games on one C90 tape. Imaging the joy trying to find your game on that!!

Ah man.....the wonder of gaming back then. Gaming was......simpler, and yet, I would never go back. lol

Gamers today, including myself, are spoiled.
 
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Northeastmonk

Gold Member
I rarely add the PS Plus games I get every month. I usually get a notification telling me to claim them and I’ll quickly glance at what I’m being offered. I don’t add the games because it’s clutter. I’ve got quite a lot of games since I started back on PS3 with digital games. I don’t want some random crap. They don’t offer anything better than what I’m already buying. I utilize the game time I get for titles I want to finish. I don’t want random games to waste my time. I want to cherry pick whatever I want.

I like the cloud saves but sometimes I wish you could time stamp your saves or just go back to the PS4 days and save to UsB. I guess that might violate some game’s ToS, but I always have to overwrite what I have in the cloud or I have to make multiple saves to back up. I also don’t play online a lot, but I do every now and then.

I also miss themes. I miss wallpapers. I still have a handful of themes on PS3/4. I realize they allow you to customize your avatar with photos. I still want to put my own theme/wallpaper. I miss buying a game and getting a theme for that game. I have Dark Souls and Bloodborne themes on my PS4. I wish the PS5 would add that feature. Other than that I’m not subbing to anything higher than basic. It doesn’t even sound appealing.
 
Mine runs out in early January. Not renewing any of it. The whole year of it did very little for me, but I mainly wanted to try Premium and the retro games just disappointed me tremendously. My money will be better spent elsewhere.
 

reinking

Gold Member
Not gonna renew Extra after my current term lapses. Not a single discount for extending sub this year just made the choice easier.

Twins Agree GIF by PBS SoCal


Unlike OP, I don't really find it that confusing but I feel like I am being punished for being a loyal customer. I'm just going to let it lapse (probably GPU too) and stick to PC for multiplayer games. I might do the PC Game Pass if I can get a decent deal but I am good on that for a while.
 

violence

Member
I'm also letting mine lapse. The price increase made it not worth for me. It's better for newer players with no library. I guess I will need to set a bunch of games to hidden.
 

Trogdor1123

Gold Member
I’m letting mine lapse too. 154 a year is just too much for extra.

But m building a pc that is faster than my ps5 and with that 154 bucks I can buy a ton of games, let alone the ones that are given away.
 

ReBurn

Gold Member
I don't like how the subscription games clutter the library. I've had to contact support a few times to get them to remove a game I played on the extra subscription so that I could buy it because it said it was already in my library but it wasn't playable. After the price increase I'm not renewing next year because it just isn't worth it.
 
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K' Dash

Member
Looks like someone needs to watch so tutorial videos. Because it is not nearly as complicated as you're making it out to be.

it is pretty shit and confusing, the user experience is really fucking bad, but hey! they not only have the same issues they've had for years, they added new ones when the PS5 released... and raised the price!
 

Gamerguy84

Member
Yep it can definitely be tightened up.

Never had confusion with cloud and local saves though.

I just use search because fuck you if you want to find something
 
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Meh. I think PS+ essential is the best sub cause it’s the only one that permanently ties games to your account. I don’t like renting games and playing them on someone else’s time table.
 

DaciaJC

Gold Member
Having to pay a fee on top of your ISP bill just to access online features in a game that you already paid for, even when said game uses dedicated servers provided by the devs/publisher, will never not be bullshit of the highest order. Fuck PS+, Live, and all other similar "services" that represent the worst excesses of anti-consumerist greed.

Formatted for emphasis on the bullshit.
 

Chronicle

Member
I've never had a single problem. With PS Plus. Never. I find games I like and buy them or download them.

Get off discs and keep plastic and waste out of our oceans. Go digital.
 

RickSanchez

Gold Member
I'm SP only gamer so this whole PS Plus is useless to me, I'm never gonna waste my money on it.

Same. I dont see value in either PS Plus or Game Pass. If i like a game, i buy it, mostly on sale, and then i have it forever, and i can keep playing it whenever i want, as many times as i want, without having to keep paying a monthly fee. That's the traditional way of how 90s gamers have built up their game libraries.

But i understand times are changing. Game Pass and PS Plus are great if you're a teenager or otherwise just getting started in gaming, and dont have a game library at all.
 
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Chechack

Member
Lucky im living in asia where nearly ever month there's some sort of religion/race holiday,so most of the time PS Plus would have 25% -50% discount on subs.

A'int never gonna pay it full price,not worth it if there's no sale.
 

rofif

Can’t Git Gud
I've never had a single problem. With PS Plus. Never. I find games I like and buy them or download them.

Get off discs and keep plastic and waste out of our oceans. Go digital.
That’s naive. I would wager that disc is more environment friendly. You print disc once and keep it in home forever.
1 disc gives many installations while digital you have to download whole thing from a server farm each time and they have to expand farms constantly. At this rate of digital data increases we will not have space and power for server farms in the future
 
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killatopak

Member
Haven’t been subbed in a long time. The best time was during the transition to PS4. You had PS3, PS4 and Vita games being given out and costs a lot less than today.
 
It's not perfect but it's fine. Just bought a PS5 yesterday after years on Series X exclusively and I'm using the PS Plus sale to catch up on all the single player games I missed since I sold my PS4 Pro 4+ years ago.

Edit: By the way I really liked the PS4 Pro UI over this version. I miss the clean themes.
 
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Labadal

Member
On PS5, you can go to your library and choose games you own, or PS+ games, but it took me time to figure out. Not the best UI or functionality.
 

Dr.Morris79

Gold Member
I agree, it's a total mess. The MS side over on Xbox does trounce it by a country mile and the cloud saves on the Xbox side just work.

I will say though, PS has the best game sales on the store. Microsoft is utterly lacking in this department, week after week.
 

MidGenRefresh

*Refreshes biennially
Why are people using cloud saves? Aren’t they just for console replacements/upgrades?

People have more than 1 console?

I game on my 4090 PC, Steam Deck (now I have 2) and M1 Mac and cloud saves just work, no extra fees.

If you have Xbox and PC and buy the game from Microsoft store it’s the same story.

Sony is stuck in the stone age when it comes to this.
 

StueyDuck

Member
Alot of what you say is true (I do feel some of your points are just headaches you are creating for yourself though)

My issue is not with PS+ but gaming and to be honest the tech industry as a whole lately.

UI/UX design especially in gaming is atrocious. Look at the latest Call of Duty menu layouts and the degree you need to navigate it. Look at how dogshit the Eshop is to navigate, look at the new and old versions of the Uplay/ea origins app and gamepass and so on and so forth.

Nothing in 2023 is easy or simple to navigate. Even Spotify is a clunky mess. You have random squares generated for music already in your library and to search for like a top 100 or something you have to click through 3 or 4 options.
 
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