If you're thinking about getting the new Sony PlayStation 4 for yourself or as a gift for someone this holiday season, this is one thing you should know and do as soon as you have your PlayStation 4 in your hands. Well, you can play a game or 2 but then, why not do this first, you'll probably get a game or 2 that you'd love, for free! Pay for an annual subscription to PlayStation Plus.
No, we are not marketing Sony's PlayStation Plus program. It's just that if you're an avid gamer, you may actually end up getting more value than the $59.99 annual subscription fee.
The loyalty program is a great addition to your PlayStation 4 because it allows you to play online games with other people, you get monthly discounts on movies and games and the biggest bonus: you get free games. Yes, that's free games for the entire period of your subscription.
What games, you may ask? Well, for the $60 per year or a monthly $10 fee you will get what Sony calls the "Instant Game Collection" which may include really cool games like Spelunky, Rocket Gear and Metal Gear Solid 5:Ground Zeroes.
This is actually a great deal. Take for example the free games for PlayStation 4 from last month: Everybody's Gone to the Rapture and The Deadly Tower of Monsters. Individually these games would normally cost $19.99 and $14.99 respectively. That's about $35 worth of free games, more than half of the $60 annual subscription fee!
That's just for one month and there will be other free games available for the following months. If you download 3 to 4 more free games, then your subscription to PlayStation Plus just paid for itself.
Apart from the annual and monthly options, Sony also offers a 4-day trial for new members and a 3 month membership for $24.99.
Another great plus is that if you own other PlayStation consoles, you also get free games for those platforms and some of them, you can even play on multiple PlayStation devices. These games are called 'cross-buy games'.
So before going on a game shopping spree and spending $20-$60 per game, consider signing up for a PlayStation Plus subscription to enjoy free games and other perks with your new PlayStation 4.
