PlayStation drops new free downloads worth over £100

PlayStation drops new free downloads worth over £100, revealing that subscribers are perhaps getting better value for money on the lower tiers.

Since its inception in 2010 for the PlayStation 3, PS Plus has often represented decent value for money. Granted, when it first launched for the PS3, it only offered additional ‘free’ games at a subscription cost as online gaming was free at the time.

However, when we moved into the PS4 generation, PS Plus was a requirement for online gaming as well as the ‘free’ additional games.

Value for any product is subjective to the individual. For example, a £70 new release might be considered great value for some or a rip-off for others. The same can be said for Sony’s recently revised PS Plus subscription service which offers three tiers, Essential, Extra and Premium.

In a nutshell, PS Essential is the same service that was introduced in the PS4 era offering online gaming and a small selection of ‘free’ additional games. Whereas the Extra tier will offer more choices for PS4 and PS5 games. As for the Premium tier, it offers all that’s available in Essential and Extra, but with the added bonus of classic games pre-PS4 era.

As a side note, it doesn't matter which tier you subscribe to, if at any point you purchased PS1 or PSP games on PS3 or PS Vita, those games will become available to download via the PS Store at no extra cost if they become available on the Premium tier.

Anyway, let’s get back on topic. On Reddit, users have been discussing the value of all the PlayStation Plus subscription tiers and at the time of writing, it seems the Essential and Extra tiers are offering the best value for money.

“The value of PS Plus April 2023 Essential, Extra and Premium games, considering the most recent or ongoing sale price for all games,” posted Redditor kabirsingh84.

For the month of April 2023, the PS Plus Essential tier offered $58.52 (£47) in value for additional games. PS Plus Extra offered a whopping $127.89 (£103), whereas the Premium tier offered just $15.96 (£13).

“Extra will always be worth it to me,” said tk3090. “This month is a banger for Extra. Amazing variety of games, from FPS to adventure, fishing, deck building, survival horror, and racing. Great lineup!” replied thread poster kabirsingh84.

It’s worth keeping in mind that while the £13 looks to be a small sum in terms of value (and it is), the Premium tier also includes everything that Essential and Extra has to offer. That being said, it still doesn't look great as subscribers grow concerned with the lack of classic games offered in the top tier.

What’s more, despite the PS1 and PSP games being downloadable through Premium, PlayStation 3 games can only be streamed. So if you have a poor internet connection, the top tier would be considered even less value for money at this point. For me personally, and like so many others, until Premium offers more, I’ll be happy sticking with my Extra subscription for now.

In recent PlayStation Plus news, subscribers have declared that April 2023’s offerings include a game that ‘shouldn’t be ignored’.